Title:GEMA Externship: Where Are They Now? Grant Hastings (MBA’14)

Grant Hastings (MBA’14) leads Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s corporate development group, driving new revenue and growth opportunities across its platform of team, venue, and media businesses.

What was your first “big break” into your industry? Or, what is the most significant experience you have had that has made your success possible?

I had two “big breaks” that helped me get to where I am today. 

First, I took an unpaid internship between my first and second year of business school with local MLS club, DC United. This was my first experience working in sports and I had the opportunity to work on a few special projects for their senior leadership team over the summer. That was a breakthrough experience for me because it helped me realize there was a pathway to leverage my experiences and skillsets to find a role in the sports industry when I graduated from Georgetown. 

My second big break was when I was hired in my first full-time sports role at Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) upon completing my MBA program. I was hired as a business and corporate development analyst with an initial focus on local media specific strategies and projects, but it was a role that ultimately allowed me to grow and build my own path to where I am today.

What was your first job?

My first job after graduating college was as an associate for a boutique consulting and advisory firm. My goal upon completing my undergraduate degree had been to work in finance, but the 2008 financial crisis forced me to initially pivot and find a job opportunity in a different sector. That job ended up being an important step in my career as it helped me develop some key skills in problem solving and executive communications that have helped me succeed in all the roles I’ve held since that first job.

What do you do in your job now? What is your favorite part of your current position?

I enjoy many aspects of my current role, but what I appreciate most is the opportunity I have to work across our platform of businesses on a daily basis. No day is ever the same, and I’m constantly working with a variety of stakeholders and leaders across our teams, venues, and media businesses to close deals and drive growth initiatives.

Over the span of a few hours during a workday, I could go from working on an equity capital raise process, to an arena renovation project, to reviewing diligence work on an investment opportunity, to supporting planning on a strategic local media initiative. My role keeps me engaged, challenged, and learning each day.

What was the externship experience like for you? Did it have an influence on your career/help kickstart your career?

The externship was a wonderful experience, serving as an opportunity to broaden my knowledge of certain sectors of the media and entertainment space to which I was not previously exposed. Media is a major part of MSE’s business, and the externship provided a valuable opportunity to gain awareness and insights on how certain media businesses operate.

The experience also reinforced the strength of the Georgetown and GEMA alumni networks. The year I participated in the GEMA externship, conflicts with my business school schedule were not going to allow me to participate in the externship experience as it was scheduled. However, GEMA went above and beyond to create an externship specifically designed to fit our business school schedule, ensuring me and a classmate had an opportunity to benefit from participating in our own unique version of an externship experience.

What part(s) of the Externship did you find most valuable?

The most valuable part was the expanded network of alumni that I met. While I was able to connect to a wide network of Hoya alumni on my own during my time at Georgetown, the externship experience further broadened that network by introducing me to people in the media and entertainment sectors I would not have connected with otherwise. 

What was your experience like attending Georgetown? Were there any particularly formative experiences that were special to you?

My two years at Georgetown were incredibly formative and transformational for my professional career. I enrolled in the full-time MBA program with the goal of utilizing my time at Georgetown to pivot careers. While I was not originally planning to pivot into the sports and entertainment space, the relationships I built ultimately played a large part guiding me toward my current career. 

Networking with the Georgetown alumni network, specifically in the sports, media, and entertainment space, was incredibly impactful in guiding my career aspirations. I never came across a Hoya alum who was unwilling to speak with me or provide genuine guidance as I tried to learn all I could about the industry—that is something that I have always tried to pay forward since I graduated.

What’s your advice for an undergraduate trying to break into your industry? Is there anything you would tell your younger self now?

It can take a lot of things aligning at the right moment to get the break you are looking for when trying to get into sports. Some of those things you can control, but some you cannot—for example, when that aspirational role becomes available. 

My advice is focus on the things you can control. Do everything you can to put yourself in a position to be able to capitalize on the moment when everything aligns and that opportunity you are seeking becomes available. Put in the work to learn all you can about the industry. Put in the effort to develop real relationships and leave good impressions when you network with people in the industry. Do all that while keeping a positive mindset that all your work is building to get you to where you want to be.

Lastly, do not be afraid to take some risks along the way. Take them with the confidence that even if something does not work out, you will grow from it and be all the better in the long term.

Name someone in your career who has been a valuable mentor or role model to you and why?

It’s difficult to select a mentor or role model to highlight as I’ve been very fortunate to learn from a variety of managers, colleagues, and peers during my career. 

Our leadership team at MSE is made up of a phenomenal group of business leaders that I’ve tried to model myself after, and whose collective influence has shaped my continued growth both personally and professionally. 

That goes all the way up to MSE’s founder, chairman, managing partner, and CEO, Ted Leonsis (a fellow Georgetown alumnus). I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work and learn under his leadership for the last 11 years, and I can’t think of a better role model in this industry. The visionary and dynamic leadership he brings, with an entrepreneurial mindset focused on a double bottom-line commitment to our company and community, is truly inspirational and aspirational.

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