T'99

Alex Smith

Finance Manager, Programming and Ad Sales, ESPN

Through Tuck, I’ve learned that it’s about the journey, not the finish line.

It was the spring of 2003 when Alex Smith T’99, got a call from a fellow Tuck alumnus, Eric Fleming T’92. Smith grew up down the street from Fleming’s father in Oak Park, Michigan, likely delivering newspapers to his dad’s front porch on his paper route.

Fleming was calling to tell him about a job opportunity at ESPN, where Fleming worked. The recommendation ended up landing Smith a job as a financial analyst at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. It was a major turning point in Smith’s career.

After graduating with a degree in accounting from the University of Michigan in 1993, Smith worked for two years in public accounting, followed by two years in the private sector. When he decided to enroll in business school, he landed at Tuck, because, as he says, he wanted a smaller environment, a place where he was “the number one customer.”

At Tuck, he took a lot of accounting and finance courses, but he says he learned even greater skills beyond finance. “The school was very good at working on problem solving,” Smith says. “A lot of what we did was trying to frame the debate for our business partners. You’re trying to lay it out and say, ‘We’re at Point A and we need to get to Point B.’ You’re doing case after case to solve problem after problem.”

Smith got more than just an MBA in Hanover. His first year there, a friend suggested he meet a woman who worked in undergraduate admissions. “You should really meet Christine,” his friend had said. He did and the two later married and had a son, now aged 13. Smith’s a proud hockey dad now.

After graduating from Tuck in 1999, he dove into the investment banking world, working for a number of firms. He’s always been a sports fan (“I’ve got a team in every league and every sport,” he says), so when the call came about the job at ESPN, he jumped at the chance.

Smith’s been with ESPN for 14 years and now works as a finance manager, working with the programming department and the ad sales department on deals related to Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, The Masters Golf Tournament, UEFA Football League, Little League World Series, and IndyCar.

“I look back at my time at Tuck really fondly,” he says. “Through Tuck, I’ve learned that it’s about the journey, not the finish line.”

Continue Reading

Related Stories

A Winning Story: Meet Crunchyroll CFO Travis Page T’10

As the CFO of Crunchyroll, a specialty streaming service that boasts 120 million users, Travis Page T’10 is leveraging his varied experience in the media and entertainment space to bring the Japanese art form to a wider audience.

Read More

Story & Strategy: Meet TikTok CMO Kate Jhaveri T’03

Building strong, vibrant, and supportive communities like the one she joined at Tuck has been a central theme throughout Kate Jhaveri’s decorated career.

Read More

The Financier

Peter Lengyel T’64 always knew he wanted to work in the movie business, but it took him nearly 35 years of working in finance to get there.

Read More

The Documentarian

Despite having no formal training in film, Jim Butterworth T'91 co-founded NakedEdge Films, a production company whose documentaries have earned an Oscar, two duPonts, and four Emmy nominations.

Read More

The Reporter

As a consumer and retail reporter for CNBC, Lauren Hirsch T'12 covers transformative corporate events of the country’s biggest retailers and consumer packaged goods companies.

Read More

The Fixer

When Jeffrey Hirsch T’99 was hired by Starz in 2015, his task was essentially to fix things—and the fix is working.

Read More

The Equalizer

Carey Albertine T'05 is changing media for the better, starting with books made for children and young adults.

Read More

The Creator

By taking extra time to research and develop ideas and lean on fellow writers as a sounding board, Greg Thompson T'92 figured out a way to write on his own.

Read More

The Connector

Christine Amirian T'96 likes to be challenged and try new things, so in 2016, she took another leap and accepted a job at The Walt Disney Company. 

Read More

Nykia Wright

Nykia Wright T'09, an Atlanta native and newcomer to the news business, comes to the job with a background in consulting, the instincts of a problem-solver, and a work ethic honed from childhood.

Read More

Russell Wolff

At the 2018 Super Bowl, Russell Wolff T’94 was sitting between his wife, a fellow Tuck alum, and a VIP client. Wolff, the executive vice president and general manager of ESPN+, takes a lot of clients to sporting events. It’s part of his job description.

Read More

Leslie Andrews

What if learning how to play golf could mean the difference between advancing your business career and not? That’s the thinking that Leslie Andrews T’90 has built her business on.

Read More

Peter Grieve

Soccer has long been a part of the life of Peter Grieve T’84. He played soccer growing up and at the U.S. Naval Academy. After graduating in 1977, he spent five years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an infantry officer. Then, he had a decision to make: law school or business school? 

Read More

Kurt Zwald

Kurt Zwald T’12 is walking through an empty Fenway Park on a Tuesday evening. It’s not always this quiet at his workplace. “When we have 38,000 fans in the ballpark—that energy from the fans is really what invigorates me every day to come to work.” Zwald says.

Read More

Fay Gosiengfiao

Fay Gosiengfiao T’11, VP of finance for the NBA, never set out to work in sports. It was never part of her master plan. 

Read More

Kevin Demoff

Ask Kevin Demoff D'99, T'06 what he loves most about his job, and he’ll tell you that it’s that feeling he gets standing on the sidelines of an NFL game, watching 75,000 fans cheer at once. 

Read More

Catie Griggs

Growing up in North Carolina, Catie Griggs D’03, T’09 was a goalkeeper for her soccer team. She loved the sport but she never imagined that one day, she’d have a career on the business side of professional soccer.

Read More

Marketing a Disruptive Brand

Together, two Tuck alumni, Kate Jhaveri T’03 and Michael Aragon T’01, led marketing and innovation at the growing global brand Twitch.

Read More

Gibson “Gib” Biddle

NerdWallet's Gib Biddle T'91 came to Tuck as a marketer, but then realized he was more of a builder.

Read More

Tom Christie

For Tom Christie T’85, the COO of Showtime, show business has been the proving ground for an unforgettable lesson from Tuck.

Read More

David Chemerow

David Chemerow D'73, T'75 uses big data to watch what you’re watching.

Read More

Roger Lynch

Disruption doesn’t scare Roger Lynch T’95. Since leaving Tuck, he has headed three industry-changing companies and continues to innovate at the intersection of media, technology, and developing new markets.

Read More

Andrea Perez

As general manager, North America soccer for Nike, Andrea Perez T’08 is sharing the transformative power of athletics with anyone who has ever wanted the opportunity to play. Just like she did.

Read More

On Influencing Company Culture

In his six seasons as executive vice president and chief human resources officer for the National Football League, Robert Gulliver T’97 has helped manage the NFL through some major cultural shifts.

Read More

Gene Hornsby

After a successful career in everything from finance to manufacturing, Gene Hornsby T'73 is now the vice president of the Firebirds, a Cape Cod Baseball League team.

Read More

Eduardo Pokorny

Eduardo Pokorny T'01 Pokorny is the newly appointed chief financial officer for the Spanish-speaking businesses of ESPN Latin America.

Read More