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This week in The CEO serieswe went to Riddell headquarters to get a look at the sports equipment giant's president and CEO's leadership playbook Dan Arment.
“Smart helmets will be the future of football“Arment told me. 'What we do at his company is really important – we're continuing to make the game for athletes with innovative technology.'
Watch the video above to hear Arment's insights into his company gROWTH and the multi-billion dollar sport it supports. And read below to get the highlights of that conversation, which have been edited for length and clarity.
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Making an impact through safer impacts
“Riddell's part in NFL is approximately 75 percent and our collegiate portion is 85 percent. Riddell develops technology and equipment for all levels of play and one of our focuses is to ensure that those technologies used at the elite level trickle down to all levels of play. MOST innovations in helmet technology have come from Riddell. And that's because we saw an opportunity to take a database of over 8 million impacts and start mining data for teams, coaches, trainers, strength and conditioning coaches to understand what's going on with athletes. theirs in terms of impact.”
The game plan for dealing with inflation
“Because of inflation, we've seen cost increases across the board, whether it's material costs, labor costs or transportation costs. The challenge is that the budgets of football programs are fairly constant. They do not necessarily react to inflation immediately. So we have to balance the cost increases we can go through while making sure the product remains accessible at all levels.”
Heroes of leadership
“I had a great time mentors throughout my career, but if there is one person who has truly been the most supportive in my career, it is my wife Julie. We have moved around the country several times with three children in diapers. When you up and leave a support system and have to go somewhere else and start over, it's not easy to do. And I wasn't home much. I traveled a lot, I ran the business. So I think it's fair to say that her support through this process has been an essential part of what we've been able to achieve.”
Lifelong passion for football
“I grew up loving football, wanting to play football. I'm the youngest of six kids. I remember going to one of my brother's college games and my other brother and I were in the tunnel as the team was coming out on the field of the crowd – it was electric. And football has always been part of what I've done.”
Lessons in leadership
“I'm very results-oriented, so I tend to be pretty direct. But at the same time, I've learned over the years that you have to empower people. Set a strategic direction, align people with who you are. Strive for done, and to step back The longer you're in a role, the more you understand the pace of the business and where your priorities are and where you need to focus you need to step back and let people do what they do .”
See more profiles of innovative and influential leaders by visiting The CEO series the archives.