Olympic champ Angela Ruggiero built the ‘Moneyball’ of sports business

Angela Ruggiero has the Olympic medal trifecta: gold, silver (in fact, two of those) and bronze. Since retiring from ice hockey as a player and being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, she’s focused on becoming a successful businesswoman.

That has taken her to the board room in ‘The Apprentice’ and now CEO of Sports Innovation Lab, which examines market research to help brands figure out the behavior of sports fans.

On the latest episode of Outsports’ Five Rings To Rule Them All podcast, Ruggiero talks about her move from the ice to the corporate C-Suite, and how her market-research company is creating something brand new for the sports-business space.

“What ‘Moneyball’ did on the field is what we’re trying to do off the field,” Ruggiero said of her work with Sports Innovation Lab. “‘Moneyball’ showed you could win games, win championships taking a more analytical approach to what players you select and where you put them on the field. And we absolutely try to do the same thing with your business strategy.”

While winning on the field can be a great business strategy, her company also helps sports brands figure out how to build a great fan experience beyond that, as winning on the field comes and goes for even the most successful teams and brands.

As she’s built a successful business, she has had to navigate a business world dominated by straight men. We talk about some of the steps she takes to combat any possible misconceptions about her as a woman in the business world.

And we even talk about Elf on the Shelf.

You can listen to the conversation with Olympic champion and businesswoman Angela Ruggieor on the Five Rings To Rule Them All podcast on Megaphone, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple podcasts and many more platforms. Just search for Outsports wherever you get your podcast.

And be sure to follow Five Rings To Rule Them All on Twitter.

You can follow Ruggiero on Instagram and on Twitter.