SigEp Journal - Spring 2011

SigEps in Sports Alumnus helps elite athletes reach peak performance

Forty-three stories above 50th and 6th streets in New York City is the center of an expanding empire—at the helm, Kevin O’Connor, Loras ’88.

O’Connor isn’t the head of a growing hedge-fund or bank.

He manages futures, just not on the stock exchange. O’Connor is the chief operating officer of the expanding American division of Lagardère Unlimited, a sports management and athlete representation firm.

“I wake up and I feel like I have one of the greatest jobs in the world,” he said.

“Every day is game day. Getting and keeping athletes at peak performance is a year-round effort.

There are so many different variables to consider—training,

nutrition, medical.

It takes a team of talented people to do the job well,” O’Connor explained.

Throughout his career, O’Connor has managed teams of experts that are responsible for developing the careers of sports superstars: James Blake, Pete Sampras, and Derek Jeter, just to name a few. “It’s amazing to see the results of our work, especially when we’re watching our athletes play in Super Bowls, World Series, Stanley Cup Finals and tennis grand slams.”

O’Connor said his success is the result of identifying opportunities and empowering others to maximize those opportunities. “We help talented athletes realize their potential and elevate their careers to a new level.”

According to O’Connor, success derives from “composure.”

“Composure is an inner-calm that sort of says, ‘I can do this, I want to do this, and I’ll accept

that responsibility.’”

It’s something O’Connor said he has himself, along with a competitive drive, which was what propelled him as a varsity college tennis player and leader in his SigEp chapter.

Helping others reach their potential isn’t isolated to O’Connor’s career either, it fuels his personal life. He followed in the footsteps of his mentor, Bob McCune, Bradley ’50, who passed away in 2008. Now O’Connor mentors others, teaching the lessons he’s learned.

He has served the Fraternity as a district governor

and was a chapter counselor at South Florida.

“I started really significantly moving into that giving-back mode after Bob died.

There’s no better way for me to give back than rolling up my sleeves, and making a difference for someone else,” he observed.

O’Connor said alliances and relationships beyond business are the most gratifying. He has hired SigEps as interns and some have transformed those internships into permanent jobs. “I have a lot of professional relationships, but the personal ones

that develop in my career are the most special.” O’Connor previously worked at Saddlebrook, a premier tennis and golf resort in Tampa, Fla., that offers a range of sports programs, clinics and camps.

His role there involved all aspects of the business, and growing Saddlebrook’s sports programs and developing new business was his focus.

While many SigEps are finding success as professional athletes, some of them have chosen to enable those players to be their best, a noble endeavor indeed.

ASSOCIATED PRESS/ BEN MARGOT

KEVIN O’CONNOR Sports management Loras ’88

By STEVE DORSEY, American ’09

Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras in 2009. O’Connor heads the American division of Lagardère.

He represented Sampras in his playing days, and Roddick is a current client of Lagardère.

“Every day is game day.”

~Kevin O’Connor

SIGEPS IN SPORTS

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