Jonathan Mariner, the former Chief Financial Officer of Major League Baseball(MLB), brought his wealth of experience to the Black Ownership in Sports Symposium. With an impressive career that spans decades in the sports and finance industries, Mariner has been a trailblazer in executive leadership. His insights on financial strategy and fostering diversity in ownership provided invaluable knowledge to attendees. He has seen everything from navigating billion-dollar deals to championing inclusive opportunities. He chatted with rolling out after speaking on a panel.
How do you view your legacy?
I think about a legacy in terms of the programs that I put in place. I might have heard my comments, but I put in place a number of major programs at the league that I think, hopefully, will speak greater than my ethnicity.
In your experience, what steps are necessary to ensure more black professionals reach executive roles in sports?
It’s going to take a lot of networking. When I was at the league office, I would return phone calls and emails to any person, especially anyone of color, just to get them exposure to me and to talk about career paths, etc. I think it’s in the sports space in particular that networking is actually about having people who will be sponsors or can help circulate your resume or help you get a foot in the door.
I know you spoke about expansion being a great way to get in. What do you feel is the hotbed league to get in now, Major League Soccer or the WNBA?
WNBA. Women’s professional sports are getting a lot of attention, attracting capital, and, more importantly, the media tend to like them. There are live eyeballs out there who want to follow them.
What actionable steps do you believe leagues and organizations can take to create more black ownership opportunities and executive leadership opportunities?
It takes leadership in the financial world, and they talk about the tone at the top in the accounting world. They speak at the very top, being committed to it. You heard people talk about how, here in Atlanta, Arthur Blank, you know, committed. It takes that kind of initiative. I mentioned earlier Jerry Reinsdorf was instrumental in getting the first pair of black men to own a basketball team. It takes that kind of leadership.
For that young black boy like you, who wants to be a CFO one day in one of the best sports leagues, what advice and things can he start doing today?
Just work hard. You know, this role of mine wasn’t something I aspired to, but it was something that I thought, ‘If I just keep working hard, it’s going to pay off.‘ We all got a copy of Will Packer’s book Who Better Than You? That’s the motto: Who better than you?
