2025 Inside the Front Office | Data and Analytics Impact on the Sports Industry
Tuesday, April 8th, 2025
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
TCO Performance Center
WISE Twin Cities and Minnesota Vikings hosted the 3rd Annual Inside the Front Office event. This year, we featured women in the data and analytics space and learned about the differences and similarities across organizations. Our members left inspired about how they can apply these practices in their own roles to find efficiencies and advance their ideas using data.
Featured General Manager Panelists
- Laura Meyer, Senior Vice President of Business Intelligence, Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx
- Laura Shingler, Senior Director of Product Development and Lifecycle Marketing, Minnesota United
- Lisa Moschkau, Director of Customer Data Strategy and Architecture, Minnesota Twins
- Meaghan Fors, Senior Manager of Innovation Strategy, Minnesota Vikings
Panel Moderator:
- Brooke Beuthling, Manager of Advanced Analytics, Minnesota Vikings
Quotes:
- "Get very comfortable with 'No's as that will happen repeatedly. The longer you can stick it out the better off you will be... The more you can back it up with analytics, insights, connections the easier it gets." - Meaghan Fors
- "At the core of innovation is a novel concept or idea that adds value, whether that's to the business or the consumer." - Meaghan Fors
- "There used to be this stigma of competition between women as we thought there was only one spot. If someone gets to the door, that great! As Michelle Obama says, 'Leave the door open, and then pull them through'. We have to be purposeful about that." - Laura Meyer
- "What is the problem statement that is driving that goal and how big is that problem and who is impacted by it? Those are your stakeholders... When it comes to getting funding, the center of that is going to be driven by 'What is the solution to your problem?'. - Lisa Moschkau
- The RACI model presented by Laura Shingler
- R - Responsible, a number of people responsible for the tasks to create said outcome
- A - Accountable, one person who is almost the project manager
- C - Consultants, people who can influence the decision or an outcome of the larger project
- I - Informed, those just along for the ride, typically those higher up in your organization
- "What I have noticed over the years, you can grow in and out of mentors - and that's totally fine. I think it's really important to notice if you have a sponsor... A mentor is working with you on a regular basis, giving you advice, they are the people you really interact with. A sponsor is someone who is going to speak on your behalf when you are not in the room or recommend you when you are not in the room. It's really important to have both of them, simply because they do different things for you." - Laura Shingler
- "[Operations] are the hardest to turn in terms of being strategic and introducing new things because they also have the most to lose. If something goes sideways, they need to figure out how to fix it now. Getting ahead of them to try to help them understand where they can optimize is key." - Lisa Moschkau
FULL IMAGE GALLERY:
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Thank you to our event partner, Minnesota Vikings!
