CHARLOTTE — Nicole Tepper is always on the move. She has to be in her role as Chief Administrative Officer of Tepper Sports and Entertainment -- the parent company that owns the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC.
It’s her job to put the companies’ more than 350 employees exactly where they need to be.
“If I’m not in meetings, I’m walking around the building, just sitting down with people, touching base, checking in, I feel like that’s the way I do business,” she said. “Making sure that we have the right people in the right spots, utilizing our young talent, making sure they have the opportunity to grow.”
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It’s a job Tepper has been doing from the moment she and her husband, David, bought the Panthers in 2018 for an NFL-record sales price. She didn’t officially get the title until a reorganization earlier this year.
“It was hearing the employees, listening to what they want and what they needed, and knowing that they trusted me to come into that role and figure it out,” she said.
Instead of talking, Tepper said she focused on listening.
“I just wanted to get to know everyone, I wanted the city to know who I was underneath the surface of the football owners, me my heart,” she said.
>>> In the video at the top of this page, Channel 9′s Sports Director Phil Orban spent two days alongside Nicole Tepper learning about her leadership style and how she connects with the community.
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