Team Insight

10 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2024 teaminsightmag.com I t came as a bit of a surprise to many – myself included – back in June when the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) announced that president and CEO Tom Cove would retire, effective October 4, 2024. Aer all, Cove had led the organization since 2005 – aer previously serving as SFIA's VP–government relations for more than 13 years – and he still seems so young. But it was time to move on, Cove tells Team Insight, so as he stays on as part- time senior advisor until December 31, we sat him down for one last industry interview before he rides into the retirement sunset. Team Insight: You and I go way back, to the days of The Super Show and SGMA indus- try meetings. What do you remember from those days? And what do you miss? Tom Cove: e Super Show was almost an unreal experience in terms of the excite- ment, energy, celebrities, legacy products, new products — just an indescribable energy. No one could attend e Super Show and not be fired up about working for this industry. I miss the single coming to- gether of the entire industry. at was cool, to have every aspect of the sports product world under one roof. You took over from John Riddle as head of SGMA. What did you learn from him that helped with that transition? John Riddle was a terrific mentor to me. I worked directly for him for 13 years and I learned a lot from him. He was great at keeping a big picture view of whatever challenge might be facing our organiza- tion and keeping a steady approach no matter how much crisis we might have felt at the moment. In terms of transition, John was a military man, retired Air Force general. He showed me the change of command philosophy. And what is that? One person is in charge and then when the new person comes in, the previous person gets out of the way and only gets involved when asked. It worked out well for us and I intend to do the same with my successor Todd Smith — available for any help, but at his request. How is John doing these days? John and I still keep in touch. He lives in New Hampshire, walks every day and still plays golf. Your transitioned from SGMA's lobbyist in Washington to its CEO. Did you have an "ah ha" moment when you realized you were now the boss? Uh, yeah, when I had to walk into our Board meeting in 2005 and present the case for closing e Super Show. Most of our big member companies were all for it — the industry was changing dramatically and big brands didn't want to spend money on shows. But it was still a massive deci- sion for the organization and it was clear that day the results were going to be my responsibility. You were also in charge when the organi- zation changed from SGMA to SFIA. Can you walk us through that process — the whys and hows? It started with a basic understanding and embracing of how the industry was changing. Look at our name — SGMA, the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. By 2012, "sporting goods" was a limiting term. Fitness, active lifestyle, athleisure, outdoor recreation — those were key com- ponents of our broad industry that sort of fell out of what some people saw as sporting goods. e concept of "manufacturers" also had fundamentally changed. The One-on-One Project By Michael Jacobsen TEAM TRENDS ONE-ON-ONE WITH ... TOM COVE PRESIDENT & CEO (RETIRED), SPORTS & FITNESS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

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