Meet the Rising 25 Class of 2018: Sarah Winfield

1. Tell Us About Yourself and Your Current Role

I am 24 years old and live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am an #AztecForLife twice over as I have a Bachelors in Statistics and an MBA with a focus in sports business from San Diego State University. I’ll watch any sport or game that is on but my interest lies mostly in MMA and the Oakland Raiders.

Sports and business have always been a passion of mine and I am thankful to get to go to work every day and be surrounded by both. I am an eMarketing Specialist at Fanatics, the largest online licensed sports apparel retailer in the world.

My day to day responsibilities are in paid marketing where my immediate team manages marketing on Google, marketplaces, and other comparison shopping engines with my focus mainly on marketplaces.

The company and team that I am a part of challenge me to learn more and be better each day which is one of the reasons that I love my job.

2. Where do you see yourself in 15 years/dream job?

In 15 years I hope to still be doing something that I love that incorporates business and sports. My current vision of my professional life 15 years from now is in one of two places. The first is at the executive level of a sports business company in a position that allows me to drive business through exploring new, advanced revenue streams.

The other is working for myself on a company that my husband and I build together that introduces digital marketing and business development strategies to smaller companies in sports. Either way, the most important component of my future professional life is that I look forward to going to work every morning.

3. Who is your mentor at this point?

Fortunately, I have many people that I consider mentors that I look up to in admiration and can call on for support and advice. My MBA program at San Diego State University has supplied me with professors, a director, and classmates that will support me throughout my career wherever it takes me. At Fanatics, I am surrounded by strong, successful women at the highest levels of the company that sit a few steps away from me. Each day they display incredible business savvy and strong leadership while being examples of the importance of work-life balance and putting an emphasis on individual growth and development.

4. What’s one thing you’ve learned early in your career that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?

The phrase “other duties as assigned” applies to any job in the sports industry whether working for a professional team, a university, or a tech company. Those other duties are often what challenge you to grow and learn valuable things that are outside of your comfort zone. The other duties make you better.

5. What does winning the Rising 25 Award mean to you?

I am honored to be a part of this group and be recognized alongside 24 other very accomplished individuals. Winning the Rising 25 award affirms my hard work, but most importantly confirms that my steps to this point in my professional career have been guided by many people that have given me the tools to succeed. I am so grateful for the people at all stages of my education and my career that have given their time, attention, and resources to help me grow. This is just the beginning and I am excited to see where God takes me throughout my career.