The document provides an overview of the career paths and experiences of John Stamatis, VP and Director of Account Services at Team Epic, and Billy King, GM of the Brooklyn Nets. It details their career timelines, starting from internships and graduating college in the 1980s-90s. Both have risen through various sports marketing and management roles to their current positions, where their biggest challenges are securing new clients and deals, and meeting high expectations and pressure to build a championship roster in Brooklyn, respectively. Their advice includes having a passion for sports, long work hours, gaining experience, confidence, and developing honest relationships.

1. Networking Presentation
By Michael Pedulla

2. John Stamatis: VP/ Director of
Account Services of Team Epic

3. What the Job Entails
 Strategy and campaign development
 Experiential marketing
 Digital Marketing
 Analytics
 Find new clients and develop strategies to meet their
objectives
 Pitching your ideas to new clients

4. Timeline of Career
 1986: Intern at West Kentucky University Athletic Department
 1988:Graduated from Columbia University and received his B.A. in English
 1993: He then received a M.S. in Sports Management at the University of Amherst
 1993-1998: Worked for the NBA as a manager of Sales and Business Development.
 1998-2000: Director of Licensed Products and Marketing at Sesame Workshop
 2000-2001:Account Director at Octagon Sports Marketing
 2001-2007: Associate Manager at Pepsi Co.
 2007-2009: Director of Sports Marketing at Pepsi Co.
 2009-2010:VP of Marketing and Partnerships at Alliance of Action Sports
 2010-Present: Vice President of Team Epic

5. Reason for Career Path
 Like most people that want to work in Sports, Stamatis had a
passion for sports all his life.
 As he started interning and gaining experience he saw that the
business side of sports was the right fit for him.
 He was interested in brands and how he can create
partnerships with Sport Companies and Teams
 He saw that he was good at pitching certain brands like
Mountain Dew and Pepsi to Sport figures and companies and
his career blossomed from there.

6. Biggest Challenges of the Job
 Pitching business deals is the hardest part of Stamatis’s job
because there is always someone else who can offer more
than you can.
 It is up to you to do anything in your power to secure your
client
 Stamatis has sat across from Dale Earnhardt Jr. pitching to him
how Mountain Dew is the best sponsorship for him and has
pitched on why Target should carry NBA merchandize but
pitching is still the hardest aspect of his job because there is
always different factors involved in each pitch.

7. Career Advice
 “You have to have a passion of sports to work in this industry”
 “Number of hours should not matter to you because you will
always be working”
 “ Get involved early so you can know exactly what you want to
do with your career”
 “Make wise choices and be confident”

8. LinkedIn

9. Billy King: GM of the Brooklyn Nets

10. Early Life
 Born on January 23,1966 in Sterling Virginia
 Received a scholarship to play at Duke
 Known for his tough defense
 In his senior season, he served as the captain of Duke’s 1988
Final Four team.
 Helped the Blue Devils to a 112-27 record and won two ACC
Tournament titles.
 He now resides in Manhattan with his wife and their two
children
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1oWzbLJK7c

11. Timeline of Career
 1998:Graduated from Duke University
 1988-1992: Assistant coach at Illinois State University under
Head Coach Bob Bender
 1993-1997:Assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers under Larry
Brown
 1997:Joined the 76ers as VP of basketball administration
 1998-2007: General Manager of the 76ers and in 2003 was
named President as well
 2010-Present: Hired as GM of the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets

12. Reason for Career Path
 From his resume, we can see Billy King loved basketball
 He did not go to the NBA but still wanted to be involved with
basketball
 He started from the ground up and eventually worked under
legendary coach Larry Brown
 He was offered the opportunity to operate on the business
side of sports and he did not look back
 His career has blossomed from there and has been a GM for
15 years

13. Biggest Challenge of the Job
 The pressure from the fans is Billy King’s toughest aspect of the job
 Since moving to Brooklyn, the Nets are now in the spotlight
 They now have high expectations and have one of the highest salary
caps in the league
 Billy took a lot a criticism for trading for Garnett and Piece last season
because of their age
 The owner of the Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov pays millions of dollars a year
to the NBA in luxury taxes and he expects to win championships very
soon
 The pressure is all on Billy King to create a roster that can compete for a
championship

14. Average Work Day
 Overseas all business operations
 Makes sure all players are satisfied
 Meetings with higher executives
 Evaluation of his players

15. Hours of the Job
 During the NBA season, Billy King is constantly working and on
the phone
 He travels with the team to most away games so the job does
include a lot of traveling
 He is always on the phone as well, especially towards the
trade deadline
 In the offseason, King always works diligently to make trades
and sign free agents
 It is a highly stressful and big time commitment to be a general
manager for a professional sports team.

16. Advice
 “You have to develop a relationship where you can be honest
with your players and that they don’t take it the wrong way if
you give them advice”
 “You have to get the job done, no matter what the
circumstances are”
 “You have to lead by example”
 “Know the game of basketball, all the ins and outs, and what
differentiates the “good players” from the stars.
 “Have good relationships because you never know what can
happen”