Greg Labanowski

The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business

“Passionate about the business of sports, lifetime sneaker collector, and Houston Rockets fanatic.”

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Fun fact about yourself: I’m 1 of 6 kids – with 4 older brothers and 1 younger sister.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Southern California, Business Administration

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Playfly Premier Partnerships (formerly Premier Partnerships), Corporate Partnerships

Where did you intern during the summer of 2021? Nike – Beaverton, Oregon (internship was virtual due to COVID-19)

Where will you be working after graduation? Nike, Global Operations Manager

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Co-President – Sports, Entertainment, Media Association (SEMA)
• Board Fellow – YMCA of Austin
• Marketing Fellow
• Volunteer – Prison Entrepreneurship Program
• 3rd place – UCLA Anderson Sports Business Case Competition (Spring 2021)
• 4th place – UT McCombs Operations Case Competition (Fall 2020)

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Co-hosting the Sports, Entertainment, Media Association (SEMA) 2021 Symposium event along with my classmates James Farrimond and Garrett Ley. We started working on this as a team almost a year in advance and put on a fantastic event for industries that are not typically as well represented. It was special to bring in speakers from the likes of Disney, Warner Bros., Nike, and more while helping first year students build relationships with the panelists. I also think the MBA path is considered somewhat non-traditional in some of these industries, so it was great to have such a powerhouse lineup of people who made the investment to obtain the degree early in their career and have gone on to achieve great things in their respective industries.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? It represents the work of a much larger team, but I am proud to have played a small role in the development of the next generation of men’s professional tennis players in the United States while working with the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) Player Development group. There are currently 11 top-100 players on the men’s side, and I was fortunate to have been on the road at tournaments, training camps, and more with many of these players who are now well established in the top-100. There are many individuals at the USTA who have put in a tremendous amount of time and energy in to getting this group to where they are. I hope we see an American capture a Grand Slam singles title soon.

Why did you choose this business school? A combination of the global reputation of UT as a whole and the ability to get my MBA in my home state. UT is known internationally as a source of innovation and talent in the business world. Being able to attend a school with that kind of a reputation and getting the degree while being close to family felt like a win-win.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor John Doggett.

First, his experience is phenomenal – Yale JD, Harvard MBA, and McKinsey consultant who ran his own consulting practice. He’s been in the trenches with so many companies at key times and done the actual work to guide them strategically. Getting to absorb this knowledge as a student from someone who has been in the hot seat so many times is rare.

He makes you understand global markets in a way that I’ve never experienced before. Each class dives deep into the specific consumer in a region and what matters to them. It seems obvious, but it’s incredibly nuanced and specific.

I really appreciate the way Professor Doggett updates the syllabus and cases every single semester. You are always looking at businesses and strategic decisions that need to be made right now – cases are never from 10 years ago.

I have yet to leave a class where many months later I remember and utilize the takeaways from nearly every session. Some professors can get lost in the weeds with the details, but Professor Doggett gives you the information that you need to know in a very tactful way so you can implement immediately. What makes a good slide, how to cut through the clutter to identify an opportunity, what to do when your audience interrupts your presentation to ask questions – the knowledge from this course has stuck with me more than any other.

Finally, the class comes with a substantial amount of life advice. We used HBS professor Clayton Christensen’s How Will You Measure Your Life? as a framework to lead our final class discussion. Professor Doggett was incredibly open with us about where he has gone right and wrong throughout his life, and I found the last class session to be perhaps the most special during my time at McCombs. The expectations are high, and he will push back and challenge you, but I find Professor Doggett to be an incredibly empowering individual who believes in his students.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? During my second year, a group of us set out to try as many of Texas Monthly’s top-50 Texas BBQ joints as possible. I’m a huge foodie, and I love central Texas BBQ because of the time and attention it takes to turn a brisket into something really incredible. We’ve been to Snow’s BBQ, Franklin BBQ, Interstellar BBQ, and others. Each trip normally includes an early morning car ride, time spent bonding while waiting in line on lawn chairs, poker, and throwing the football. Food has a unique way of bringing people together and providing a sense of community, and this has been one of the best possible ways to build deep relationships with my classmates.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would have gotten involved with the Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) organization. I have a strong personal connection to some of the challenges women face in corporate America. My mom worked for 25+ years while raising 6 kids, my younger sister works in finance in Houston, and my girlfriend works in tech. I wish I had done more to be supportive of this student organization and the way that they seek to empower women. The organization is incredibly impressive and the leadership team from my class is inspiring.

What is the biggest myth about your school? I think the idea that McCombs is a strong regional school, but lacks a presence on the international business stage is a myth. Our alumni network runs deep but also very wide. I found this to be the case across the sports and media industries specifically when organizing the SEMA Symposium event. This school does a great job of producing great leaders in business by giving them the fundamentals, and many go on to lead at a global level far away from Austin.

What surprised you the most about business school? How much I have learned from my classmates and simply how interesting and impressive they are. Well into my second year, I continue to learn from the most fascinating group of people I have ever been around. I have learned more from my peers and classmates than I ever thought I would.

What is one thing you did during the application process that gave you an edge at the school you chose? I stayed engaged throughout the entire process and took advantage of all the opportunities to learn about and connect with the school. It’s more than just an exercise of checking the boxes or signing up for every info session. Researching the school, attending admissions chats and application workshops, reaching out to the Admissions Committee to ask questions, contacting current students, educating your recommenders on why McCombs specifically, preparing for the interview – all these steps were important. The Admissions Committee does a fantastic job of providing the applicants a real feeling of what being a student here is like, so take advantage of it!

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Noe Negrete.

He is highly inspirational person and one of the best humans I know. Business schools boast about how the culture is a family and team environment, but every program ultimately has some level of students competing against each other for opportunities. Noe puts everyone else before himself. He is the embodiment of a servant leader. He would much rather buy you or a classmate a coffee or beer and just have water for himself. Within 30 seconds of meeting my girlfriend at a recent social event in very cold weather, he offered her his jacket (I never even thought about it!). It seems like a weekly occurrence that I overhear a story about some act of kindness from Noe. Ultimately what makes great businesses are great people. While there are so many classmates I admire Noe is certainly at the top.

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? It was speech I watched on YouTube given by Andy Campion (Nike’s current COO and former UCLA Anderson MBA). He gave a really interesting talk about managing paradox in business, leveraging intuition, how to take complex problems, and make them simple. I particularly remember him speaking about the importance of mastering the fundamentals. This fueled my initial motivation and inspiration, and I began researching schools from there.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? To get involved in a business leadership capacity in professional tennis. I am obviously very biased, but I do believe that tennis is the best sport in the world because of the ultimate meritocracy type of playing field it provides. However, I also believe that tennis professionals are the most underrepresented and undervalued athletes in the world – just look at the percentage of revenue they take home at Grand Slams compared to athletes in the NBA, MLB, and NFL. I saw how this affects players firsthand during my time at the USTA.

Second on my list would be working abroad. I was lucky to spend 30+ weeks a year on the road (many times in foreign countries) when I worked for the USTA, and there really is no substitute to firsthand exposure to other cultures – especially in business. I think living and working abroad would be of great value as I look to further develop myself and my career.

How has the pandemic changed your view of a career? It has forced me to buy in to the importance of rest and recovery. We are living in a time where email, Zoom, Slack, Teams, etc. are two feet away. We are always plugged in and available. The reality is that quality of work will always beat out quantity. The pandemic has required me to develop more discipline in my routine: sleeping, eating, exercising, getting outdoors, interacting socially, time away from screens, and reading. I have learned that it’s only when I give myself the time to step away and reset that I can be fully present and ready to do my best work. It has been a process and something I am still working on, but more important than ever given the challenging environment we all live in today.

What made Greg such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2022?

“Classmates describe Greg Labanowski as smart, curious, kind, passionate, tenacious and selfless. He has an infectious energy and passion, especially when it comes to anything related to the sports and entertainment industry. Greg came to McCombs knowing that he was in pursuit of his dream job at Nike. While that might have led Greg down a solo pursuit of this goal, he chose to take the rest of the program with him on this journey, sharing in the glory every step of the way.

Greg’s most impactful contribution during his time at McCombs was as co-President of SEMA (Sports, Entertainment and Media Association). He worked doggedly and tirelessly with his peers, James Farrimond and Garrett Ley, to host our first major in-person event post-Covid: the SEMA Symposium. The Symposium brought talent from top companies like Disney, Warner Bros. and Nike to campus for an exchange of ideas, trends and innovations in the sports and entertainment space. While this may be a standard event in an MBA program, it is hard to capture the challenge, and necessary energy, optimism and flexibility, to pull off the first of this type of event post-COVID. The event set a high bar for future events to emulate.

When it comes to his classmates, Greg always willing to lend a hand with classes, student organizations or recruiting. He is a consummate relationship-builder and no relationship is lost on him. His congeniality and school spirit have helped build community a critical time. As faculty member, John Doggett, summarizes: “Greg has a very “big” and warm personality that is paired with a very strong set of business analytical and leadership skills.”

Greg was nominated for this honor by an overwhelming number of his classmates, which highlights his indelible impact on his peers.”

Tina Mabley
Assistant Dean and Program Director

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2022