Hospitality, Data & the Future of Fan Experience w/ Sandeep Satish: The Learning Lever | Ep 8

Hospitality, Data & the Future of Fan Experience w/ Sandeep Satish: The Learning Lever | Ep 8

Episode highlights / what you'll learn: 1. How Levy built E15 and turned food & beverage analytics into a competitive advantage. 2. The embedded partner model: why the best hospitality is invisible to the fan. 3. Multi-generational fan strategy: serving seven generations in one building. 4. Balancing tradition vs. innovation in premium and concession experiences. 5. The future of hospitality: AI-driven personalization at scale without losing the human touch. About the Guest: Sandeep Satish Sandeep is the Chief Commercial Officer at Levy, the leading hospitality company in sports and entertainment. Over an 11-year career at Levy — starting as an intern with the company's in-house analytics group E15 — he has risen to oversee the company's commercial strategy across every major professional sports league. A Northwestern University and Kellogg School of Management graduate, Sandeep began his career in investment banking before pivoting to sports through internships with Major League Baseball and the Chicago Bears. His approach blends financial rigor and data analytics with a deep passion for hospitality, driving fan experiences across hundreds of venues nationwide. He is an operating expert for Rise Sports Collective. Timestamps & Chapters: 0:00 – Intro: Sandeep's background, from investment banking to Levy CCO 3:41 – Levy's hospitality culture: hiring nice and passionate people 6:21 – The invisible partner: operating as a B2B2C in sports venues 8:52 – Handling mistakes: turning service failures into memorable recoveries 10:58 – Data evolution: how E15 brought Moneyball to food & beverage 13:47 – Biggest opportunity: scaling data across venues and business lines 14:43 – Career advice: why the partner/vendor ecosystem is a great entry point 17:19 – Multi-generational fan engagement: seven generations in one building 20:09 – Balancing tradition and innovation in premium experiences 21:49 – The future: AI personalization vs. the human touch in hospitality 25:13 – Final thoughts: take a step back and keep it fun About RISE: Rise Sports Collective is an innovative EdTech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the Business of Sports. We empower professionals with our cutting edge curriculum, built by operating experts, designed to impart the essential skills, knowledge, and context needed to excel in the dynamic world of the Business of Sports.   Resources & Helpful Links: Check Out Our Curriculum: https://www.risesportscollective.com/professionals

Building a Sports Business Skill Set w/ Ryan Richardson and JD Abbott: The Learning Lever | Ep 7

In this episode, you’ll hear about: * JD’s career path: investment banking and hedge funds → New York Jets finance → VP of Finance at the Baltimore Orioles. * How he reframed skills like modeling, business analysis, and executive communication so they made sense to team leaders hiring for sports roles. * NFL vs. MLB: 10 games vs. 81 games, what that means for experimentation, in‑season changes, and reps for early‑career staff. * Why he thinks you don’t have to start in sports—if you’re building strong, flexible skills in finance, analytics, or operations, you can create real optionality later. * JD’s approach to joining a new front office in Baltimore: communication, clarity on priorities, and building relationships quickly during organizational change. * Practical advice on networking with intention, preparing for informational calls, and treating every role as a “learning lab” for your next move. About RISE: Rise Sports Collective is an innovative EdTech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the Business of Sports. We empower professionals with our cutting edge curriculum, built by operating experts, designed to impart the essential skills, knowledge, and context needed to excel in the dynamic world of the Business of Sports.   Resources & Helpful Links: Check Out Our Curriculum: https://www.risesportscollective.com/professionals

Future Proofing Your Venue w/ Ryan Richardson and Josh Barney: The Learning Lever | Ep 6

Tune in to hear * How Ryan first experienced SEAT as a uniquely community-driven conference, where the person running the event is as loved as the programming itself. * Josh’s career arc: early interest in sports marketing, a detour into tech and network engineering, a pivotal jump to the Utah Jazz as a network engineer, and eventually leading arena technology strategy. * Lessons from renovating the Delta Center: designing “venues of the future,” building infrastructure that can support rapidly shortening tech life cycles, and staying nimble as tools change every 6–9 months. * Why internal alignment across IT, marketing, partnerships, and operations is non‑negotiable when you’re choosing and deploying new technology. * The shrinking budgets versus growing expectations paradox: 99% of fan interactions in‑venue run through technology, yet tech is often the first line item cut. * How AI and modern tools can actually improve both fan experience and employee experience when organizations use them intentionally, not just because they’re “cool.” * Career advice: become a utilitarian “translator” who understands technology and can clearly connect it to business needs, decisions, and outcomes across multiple verticals. * Josh’s learning journey: moving from traditional university to more hands-on environments, leveraging vendor workshops, and then embracing always‑on learning via platforms like YouTube. * Why mentoring in sports is talked about more than it’s structurally supported, and how SEAT is building matchmaking and membership models (roundtables, webinars, year‑round community) to close that gap. * A personal story from SEAT Nashville About Our Guest: Josh Barney, CEO, SEAT Josh Barney is the CEO of SEAT – Sports & Entertainment Alliance in Technology, the leading peer community and annual forum for sports and entertainment technology, data, and operations leaders. Before acquiring and rebooting SEAT, he spent more than a decade with the Utah Jazz, where he rose from network manager to Director of Technology & Innovation, overseeing consumer-facing systems and guiding the 2017 Delta Center renovation, including Wi‑Fi, digital signage, and the team app. A former director of esports and technology who launched Jazz Gaming in the NBA 2K League, Josh blends deep infrastructure expertise with a passion for fan experience, community-building, and helping peers translate technology into real business value. Today he leads SEAT’s evolution from a once‑a‑year conference to a year‑round membership platform of roundtables, webinars, and curated connections, all grounded in his personal philosophy to “give more than I take.” About RISE: Rise Sports Collective is an innovative EdTech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the Business of Sports. We empower professionals with our cutting edge curriculum, built by operating experts, designed to impart the essential skills, knowledge, and context needed to excel in the dynamic world of the Business of Sports.   Resources & Helpful Links: Check Out Our Curriculum: https://www.risesportscollective.com/professionals

The Non-Linear Path to Sports Business w/ Ryan Richardson and Bryan Lodigiani: The Learning Lever | Ep 5

About RISE: Rise Sports Collective is an innovative EdTech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the Business of Sports. We empower professionals with our cutting edge curriculum, built by operating experts, designed to impart the essential skills, knowledge, and context needed to excel in the dynamic world of the Business of Sports. Resources & links: RISE Sports Collective membership & courses: risesportscollective.com/membership [http://risesportscollective.com/membership] Business Strategy & Analytics Technical Skills Certification: https://www.risesportscollective.com/bsa [https://www.risesportscollective.com/bsa] About the Guest: Bryan Lodigiani Bryan Lodigiani is a senior sports business executive who serves as Vice President of Business Strategy & Operations at Tepper Sports & Entertainment, helping lead the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC on the business side. His career blends high-level strategy, finance, and analytics across investment banking, consulting, global apparel, and now major-league sports. About RISE: Rise Sports Collective is an innovative EdTech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the Business of Sports. We empower professionals with our cutting edge curriculum, built by operating experts, designed to impart the essential skills, knowledge, and context needed to excel in the dynamic world of the Business of Sports.   Resources & Helpful Links: Check Out Our Curriculum: https://www.risesportscollective.com/professionals

Building BSA from Zero w/ Ryan Richardson and Steve Chan: The Learning Lever | Ep 4

In this episode, Ryan sits down with Steve Chan — Rise Sports Collective co-founder and former 49ers Business Strategy & Analytics leader — to break down how modern teams use data (and storytelling) to level up revenue, operations, and the fan experience. Together, they cover: The advantage of coming into sports from “outside industries” — and how it brings fresh best practices into teams How the 49ers helped pioneer what’s now a standard BSA function across pro sports Why the real job isn’t just building models — it’s getting stakeholders to understand, trust, and adopt the insights The “Executive Huddle” at Levi’s Stadium: a real-time analytics room tracking entry scans, F&B/retail, and fan satisfaction to fix issues during the event What great on-the-job training looks like (and how RISE courses replicate the “playbook + context” effect) A fun learning takeaway from Breaking Bad: skills + context = real impact (and momentum) If you work on the business side of sports — analytics, ticketing, marketing, premium, or operations — this episode is a practical look at how teams actually turn data into action. About RISE: Rise Sports Collective is an innovative EdTech startup dedicated to revolutionizing the Business of Sports. We empower professionals with our cutting edge curriculum, built by operating experts, designed to impart the essential skills, knowledge, and context needed to excel in the dynamic world of the Business of Sports.   Resources & Helpful Links: Check Out Our Curriculum: https://www.risesportscollective.com/professionals