Former NFL CIO Michelle McKenna Shares the Importance of Taking Risks
President Chuck Redden and Rotarian April Mason with Michelle McKenna
This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed Michelle McKenna, Founder and CEO of the Michelle McKenna Collaborative. She discussed lessons learned through her experience as a senior leader with the NFL, Disney and Universal. The Enterprise, AL native highlighted her foundational experience growing up in a rural part of the state and the impact of a Rotary scholarship that enabled her to attend Auburn University. She shared that above all, her parents encouraged to dream and to work hard.
McKenna focused on the components that helped her achieve success despite a path that did not always follow the trajectory she envisioned. She identified her competitive spirit, resilience, strong self-reliance, a spirit that is not afraid, being her own advocate, trusting her gut, finding advocates, tenacity and embracing ambiguity as the keys. She shared that embracing a serendipity mindset enabled her to be open to opportunity and take risks.
“Risk-taking is the catalyst that propels innovation forward,” McKenna said. “It requires us to embrace resilience, grit and courage while listening to our instincts and surrounding ourselves with a supportive team. It calls us to know our strengths and leverage them for the greater good, all while staying grounded in our core values.”
About Michelle McKenna
Michelle McKenna spent over two decades as a senior leader within Disney, Universal Studios, and the NFL leveraging technology to improve the human experience. McKenna brings her technical expertise and leadership acumen to C-Suite executives as they consider how to tackle their toughest challenges. She is a senior advisor and partner at Evercore in technology, media, sports and entertainment M&A banking.
As CIO of the NFL for 10 Seasons, McKenna was responsible for the NFL’s technology strategy and management of the league’s technology activities, including all in-game technology (statistics, sports betting feeds, replay, communications systems), the in-stadium fan experience, and reaching new fans through data and digital marketing. Implemented The League’s cyber security program, established data science foundation, led the 2020 Virtual Draft and The League’s technology response for tracing and testing of COVID19. Executive Sponsor of NFL’s Women’s Interactive Group. Partnered with NFL Sponsorships to bring in a new era of technology partnerships/sponsorships, and drove the league’s digital transformation. mckennacollaborative.com.
McKenna is an experienced Public Board Director, her strong technology, operations, marketing, and financial background make her both a strategic and operationally insightful member of the boards on which she serves. She is also an active investor and advisor to private companies through private equity and venture capital. She is on the public board of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where she is member of the audit committee and was a member of Ring Central’s (RNG) until this past January - where she was a board member since 2015 and served and led various committees. She has served on the public boards of QUOT, SCOR, and NSP. She is an advisor on the National Advisory Board for Advent Health, and board member on the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Foundation.
McKenna joined the NFL from Constellation Energy in Baltimore, Maryland where she was the Chief Information Officer. At Constellation, she led the acquisition of competitive energy businesses and the ultimate merger with Exelon. In this capacity, she served as a board advisor and worked closely with the Chairman and CEO.
She has extensive experience in the media and entertainment industry as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Universal Orlando Resort. In this role, she was responsible for the innovation, oversight and leadership of technology at Universal Orlando Resort, including the launch of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which included building an entire new theme park and renovation of the reservation, booking, and POS systems across the entire resort.
McKenna was also Senior Vice President, CRM & Chief Information Officer at Centex Destination Properties. She had a 13-year career with The Walt Disney Company in a variety of executive positions in Resort Development, Finance, Marketing, Operations and Technology. As Vice President, Information Technology, McKenna led the company’s largest ever technology investment – Destination Disney, a multi-year company strategic initiative to transform the company’s marketing, sales, on-line, and customer relationship management processes. Prior to Disney, McKenna held positions at MetLife and Pricewaterhouse Coopers as controller and CPA respectively.
McKenna is a certified public accountant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Auburn University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.
She has been a guest on CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Morning Joe, Good Day New York, Cheddar and is a sought-after speaker on topics of technology, operational change, and women in leadership.
She lives in New York and Florida.