Rita Benson LeBlanc has been recognized as one of the 10-Most Powerful Women in Sports by Forbes. She is the Owner /EVP of the New Orleans Saints and is the granddaughter of Tom Benson the Principal Owner of the New Orleans Saints. I had the honor of interviewing Rita at the Beyond Sport Conference in Chicago, September 28-30, 2010.
Rita has a great story where she has actually earned her stripes and has been instrumental in growing the team’s accumulated annual revenue to $232 million. She began interning for the Saints and in various league offices while still in high school, and went to work for the Saints after college. In 2003 she took over management of the New Orleans VooDoo, the Arena Football League team also owned by Benson, and was named the indoor league’s top executive
Her story is very inspiring as she was worked her way to the top of the NFL (as a team owner) in a male dominated industry. The Saints have also been an inspiration to the nation, Louisiana, and the Gulf Region during Hurricane Katrina and Rita. The Saints have used their team resources, players and finances to help rebuild the community.
As a side note I would like to mention that Rita was very down to earth during the interview process. If she wasn’t credentialed and on the schedule to speak at the Beyond Sport Conference I would have though she was a regular attendee. I appreciate the fact that she wasn’t lost the common touch with all the success she is having with the New Orleans Saints.
To find out more about the New Orleans Saints website I have included the website address below:
Team Website: http://www.neworleanssaints.com/
About the author
Hajj is the founder of Brand Camp University . He has been featured on Fox 2 News (http://bit.ly/Hajj_Fox2News), ESPN.com and BusinessWeek.com on the subject of Personal Branding. His clients include Walt Disney, Ford Motor Company, Skechers Footwear, U.S. Department of Defense (Telecom Division). He has spoken at Iowa State University, Davidson College, University of Michigan and numerous colleges and universities around the nation on personal branding, social media and career development to crowds of 3,500 plus.
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