Berman assumes NLL Deputy Commish role
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) announced on Monday, August 26, they have named Jessica Berman the league’s Deputy Commissioner and Executive Vice President. Berman, who spent 13 years with the National Hockey League as their vice president of community development, culture & growth, becomes the first woman across men's professional sports leagues to hold the title of deputy commissioner, making her the highest-ranking women in men's professional sports.
The NLL is North America’s largest and premier professional lacrosse league, ranking third in average attendance for pro indoor sports, with 13 teams in key markets across North America.
Berman’s responsibilities include working on the collective bargaining relationship with the union, managing the league’s relationship with its member teams, supporting expansion efforts with league Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz and branding and marketing the league.
"This was a unique opportunity to be part of something that's really in this huge growth phase, and a great opportunity for me to learn and work alongside a leader like Nick whom I think will catalyze my personal and professional development from a career perspective," Berman said.
“The NHL has been like a family to me. I feel like I grew up here at the NHL, and so, when I began to learn about this opportunity, I had to push myself to be open-minded and to think about where I want to be in the next phases of my career,” she said.
For Berman, the ability to continue working in the same business areas as the NHL made the position so appealing. She participated in the design and execution of the NHL’s strategic corporate social responsibility goals, initiatives, policies and programs in the areas of importance to the League, the NHL clubs, the NHL’s business partners and the hockey community. She particularly focused on ensuring the initiatives were properly aligned with the league’s overall objectives and strategies.
She also served as the NHL’s Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, helping craft the 2012 NHL/NHLPA collective bargaining agreement and analyze the impact of the proposed changes.
“I feel the right amount of uncomfortable, in that I think to grow and stretch, you need to push yourself beyond your comfort zone," Berman said when asked about starting this new position. "This is a step outside of what would be comfortable, while leveraging what I’ve done historically.”
“It takes the brightest and best to build great leagues and teams and we are very proud to welcome one of the brightest, best and most progressive minds in sports business to the National Lacrosse League,” Sakiewicz said. "Her wide-ranging background fits exactly with the growth trajectory we are on, and her addition to our veteran team is a perfect cultural fit and win for the league, our member clubs and the sport of lacrosse."
Berman compared the league’s current growth trajectory to the four major American sports league's growth plans of the 1980s and 90s. She said she would be able to utilize best practices she learned from the NHL and her 20 years in sport management to help take the league even more into the mainstream of American sports.
She was introduced to Sakiewicz by University of Michigan alumnus John Goldman (BA Economics ’95), whom she met through previous encounters with the NHL and U-M alumni events.
Berman, who graduated from the School of Kinesiology with a bachelor's in Sport Management in 1999, credits the school for giving her the specializations and skills to have a successful career. She also appreciates the experiences she gained while working with the Sports Information Department for the men’s ice hockey and football teams and making connections within the alumni network.
She offered one piece of advice for Sport Management students: become a master of your particular trade, no matter the concentration. “Those who are making the hiring decisions tend to hire the best and the brightest and those who are working hard; those who work the hardest and are diligent and persistent in making sure that they get to the top of the pile or the front of the line,” she said.
Before working for the NHL, she was an associate in the Labor & Employment Department at Proskauer Rose LLP, where she represented employers in collective bargaining mediations, arbitrations, and litigations. In 2009, the School of Kinesiology awarded her Early Career Achievement Award. She currently serves on the school's Sport Management Advisory Board and has served on the Kinesiology Alumni Society Board. She is also on the Board of Advisors for the Michigan Sport Business Conference.