Joe Favorito welcomes Rick Alessandri, Managing Director of Media and Sports Technology at ZRG Turnkey, to discuss a career that spans four decades across some of the most pivotal moments in sports media history. Alessandri traces his path from running the overnight newsroom at Sports Ticker in 1982, to his role as George Bodenheimer’s first-ever chief of staff at ESPN, and his years building new business ventures inside ESPN’s enterprise development group. He shares how a call from a headhunter led him to Univision, where he spent seven years building businesses for the US Hispanic market including a pharmacy discount program that saved 2 million members over $70 million in healthcare costs. Alessandri covers what he has learned in eight years running executive search, including why the two qualities he looks for above all else are curiosity and trust, and how to push back against clients who want to hire the wrong candidate. He also discusses his new children’s book Ricky Stands Tall, and why he gets joy from sharing the story with others.

Connect with Rick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickalessandri/

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The CUSP Show is hosted by Joe Favorito (@Joefav) and Tom Richardson (@ConvergenceTR) and produced by Sam Henry (@s_henry11), LJ Holmgren (@LJ_Holmgren), and Danny Hagenlocher (@DhColumbiaSPS), with social media efforts led by Lissa Ruiz and Sydney Cristall.

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