Hi, and welcome to How to Score, the show that highlights the unique experiences and journeys of professionals and sports biz.

I'm your host, Megan Robertson, and I have the privilege to be here today with Green Bay Packers Chief financial Officer Maureen Smith.

Welcome, Maureen.

Hello.

We are so happy to have you on the show today.

So we'll kind of start from the very beginning, but we're actually going to fast forward and then work our way back.

How does that sound?

That sounds great.

You grew up in Davisburg, Michigan, received your bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in sociology, and now you're the CFO of the Packers.

Like, how did that happen?

What's your day to day?

Like, what's the most exciting thing about your job?

Tell me everything?

Well, how did that happen?

I don't know that I even know how to answer that question, but I think we'll go we'll talk a little bit later about the journey that got me here.

And it's a bit unconventional as far as my day to day.

I mean, listen, I get up every morning and I drive to lambeau Field.

Like that pitched me it's a pretty incredible thing.

I had a few people ask me, really, you go to work there every day, so it's pretty awesome location and I kind of place to come to work each day.

Yeah, I know, like in lambeau Field, our marketing department puts up new banners every year, and one of them that always reminds me like, even on the toughest of days, like this is someone's bucket list and it's so true and for you, like getting to work for the packers has to be kind of part of that journey, even though you didn't necessarily know that was going to be part of your bucket list.

So like, how cool.

It's very cool.

A long way from sneaking to television into my room to watch Monday night football when I was in middle school.

But if you go back to what's the most exciting part of my day, I will say, after getting over the fact that you're coming to Lambeufield to work every day, I'm just incredibly honored to get to work with the people that we work with here, such an incredible staff that is so dedicated to what we're doing, and love this team through and through, and at the end of the day, I oversee a finance and an IT function, but we get to do it in one of the coolest industries and businesses in the world, And.

You pointed to it, you have such an incredible team, Like I get to work with some of them, and really the uniqueness of their journeys again talking about that journey and how they all come together to make sure that we're functioning.

And a lot of those people are behind the scenes, so you don't really have a true appreciation until you get to be in their.

Day to day to really understand that.

So this kind of goes into my next question, which was when you took the role, like what did you expect the biggest challenge to be working for this and leading those two departments.

So I'll say I've worked in sports for a little bit before coming here, and so one of the things you get kind of used to that you don't realize before you work in the industry is in a lot of ways, these are small businesses with big business visibility, and so the assumption is behind all of the things you see in the media, there's a very large, sophisticated operation, and what I will say is underneath it, there's a couple hundred people doing really big things to make it all work.

So I wasn't surprised by that because I was used to that from the sports industry.

But I will say one of the things that I had a friend asked me when I took the job, is aren't you going to be bored?

You're a builder, you like to do new things and create, and this place has been around for a really long time.

There might not be anything for you to build.

And what I'll say is unpleasantly surprised.

And what is true is no matter where you are in the life cycle of a business, there is always work to be done, and there's always things to work on and improve.

And so I just here to say I am not born.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, it's funny.

The Packers are always looking to evolve and figure out the next the next big thing.

Whether we're not necessarily like the front runners a lot of times for someone that's going to take on these new projects.

But I mean the Packers Athletic Club.

Right like you had a big hand in making sure all of that came together, specifically from a finance perspective.

So I think that's just one one way to demonstrate that yeah, we're You're definitely not.

There's always something new that's incredible.

So growing up in Michigan, I have to ask, were you a Packers fan or were you.

I know, heaven forbid me say a Lions fan.

I did not grow up Alliance Ovan.

Actually I grew up in the era of Boomer sisin and and the Icky Shuffle, and I had a temporary stint following the Bengals.

But when you are a University of Michigan UH fan and and and UH student, you don't really need another team.

So they've been my team in football for a lot of years and.

It was a very exciting season last year, for sure.

So your youngest son, Wesley, we'll get to your family in a little bit.

One of five is a huge Packers fan.

Can you describe the moment you told him that you got this job.

So Wesley, born and raised in Minnesota, came home from preschool with a green and gold painting and when I asked him what it was, he told me it was Greg Jennings.

So this was a lot of years ago and we have no idea where it came from, but he was a huge Packer fan.

We owned several cheeseheads.

Well before I even dreamed of working for the packers.

I'll have to say that might have been a talking point with Mark Murphy during my interview that he appreciated.

And so when I told him that I was interviewing here, he was obviously very excited.

And when I got the job offer, he said to me, Mom, you have to take it, just don't make me leave high school.

So Wesley did stay behind this year and finished high school in Minnesota while I commuted back and forth.

And so he got his wish.

His mom worked for the packers and he got to finish his high school career with his friends in Minnesota.

I have chills just thinking about it.

What a dream for both of you.

All right, so packers, But then before that, you actually were with you know, as a as a former soccer player, working in the MLS would be incredible.

So you worked for Minnesota United.

Let's start from you became the COO, but you started as the controller.

Is that correct?

That's correct?

So let's start there.

So I received a really fortunate opportunity to be introduced to doctor Bill McGuire, the owner, the primary owner of Minnesota United.

In twenty sixteen.

I want to say.

And I knew that they were a minor league team at the time, and they were getting ready to bid for MLS, and there was talk of a new stadium, and I was really looking.

I was spending I had been at a United Health group and looking to do something a little more entrepreneurial and step away from big corporate for a little bit.

And I got this introduction and it was just a fantastic time to get in at Minnesota United and be part of what a fantastic project.

So we got to build and open the most beautiful stadium, in my opinion, in North America for soccer, which is Alian's Field, launched a team and really did tremendous things with a team of people that were very hard working and dedicated.

So it was a fantastic seven years, and.

You grew the organization from fifty employees to more than one hundred and fifty.

What was the process of that and how did you know when it was a good time to continue that growth?

Well, we really didn't have any choice.

So when I started, we had just not I started.

I accepted my job the day that we announced that we were entering the MLS.

Got it, and it was the fastest transition from minor league to major league soccer yet to occur.

So that announcement happened in the summer, and we started playing in the league the following spring, so we had to ramp up very quickly.

We were playing in a temporary venue.

We hired to hire staff, so the first year we really spent just launching and then we started building.

And so then we built a stadium, we built a team, we built a staff with everything from the ground up.

You know, we had this base of a minor league team, but really had to fill it out.

And then we opened, and we opened this beautiful, fantastic stadium that we all poured our heart and souls into and we'll be everyone who worked on that project has fond memories and we'll be proud of it their whole careers.

I'm sure.

And then, you know, it was difficult.

After the big year of opening, we hit COVID and had to close down right away, and it was a difficult transition to leave.

But they're back up and running, had an amazing start this season, and in a little bit of a slump right now, lacking some players to international duty.

But I have full faith in the team and we'll always hit my court be a fan forever.

I love it.

If you could give up your proudest moment, would it be the opening of the field.

You say, that's a point in time that I'm proudest of, and it's certainly standing there that day and seeing it all come to life is super rewarding.

And I know people who work in our industry that have opened multiple buildings and have experienced that multiple times.

I will say I have no desire to do it again.

One was enough for me, But I at that point in time I'm very proud of.

But I'm more proud of, like the the entirety of the project and kind of the people that we did the work with and the relationships that I have from that time, and so I'm just really grateful for the whole seven years.

That's amazing, all right.

So you alluded to United Health Group.

So prior to Minnesota United you were there there, you were the director of operations.

What was that like did you Because as you can see.

We're working our way back, but you can tell that every position has been a stepping stone for the next.

So at United Health Group, what was most valuable for you?

So I spent five years actually in the Office of Social Responsibility and with the United Health Group Foundation, and so those years taught me a lot about big corporate.

And navigating kind of that environment.

It was a finance specific role, but I wasn't directly underneath finance, so I had kind of a niche job that I really enjoyed.

It gave me a lot of opportunity to senior executives because we were working on both the corporate giving and the foundation given, which is often decided by you know, you're senior most leaders, and so really appreciate what I learned in a big corporate setting and kind of the disciplines and the structure that you learn in that setting, and that's been really helpful for me taking that back into a small business environment.

So really thankful for that time too.

And it's different, but it all kind of comes together again, like as you've moved on in your career, all right.

So prior to that public accounting small business consultant, that was for how many years?

So I went to United Health Group at twenty eleven, so the combination of those two things was probably ten to fourteen years prior to that.

So started in public accounting.

And then I have five children.

So this is where it gets harder to tell a story without intermingling my personal and my professional.

So I have five children, and when they were younger, obviously it was very difficult to balance both my career and and parenting five children that were very busy.

So I did a lot of consulting and I had a lot of small business owners that I did accounting, bookkeeping, you know, HR, I t other types of consulting for And the nice thing about the I only took on clients that could be flexible with my schedule, and so I would, you know, balance part time work.

I would balance working evenings after the kids went to bed.

That's my office hours were late at night in that era.

And so I did that for a lot of years, and I learned a lot about how businesses are operate.

I learned that if a business owner trust you with their money, they will trust you with just about anything, and you become a resource really to help them guide and operate their business, which is how I learned a lot about how things work, legal, finance, HR, it all kinds of things.

And so that really was the foundation that I was able then to carry into the rest of my career and apply those skills and just in a bigger setting like the Green Bay Packers.

The woman of many trades is what I'm what I am imagining in my head.

So you mentioned five children, yes, all right?

So and a couple of grandchildren yes, and some grand puppies and all of the above.

Let's let's talk about them.

So oldest is My oldest daughter is twenty nine.

I have a son.

I'll just go in order.

I have two daughters and three sons, and they range in age from twenty nine to eighteen.

And so this is the inner you know, the part of the story where you get to hear how I went from sociology undergrad to public accounting.

That wasn't a straight path.

So I got married straight out of college and had three children pretty close together, and then found myself at twenty five as a single mom with three young children under the age of four.

And it was a time of reflection and certainly a stressful time where I had to figure out, you know, what's next, and what do I do and what does the future look like?

And how do I provide for my family now that I'm on my own?

And so accounting became something that was introduced to me through a nonprofit a micro enterprise course that I took just to get some exposure to business, and I decided that I would go back to school and basically accomplish an equivalent of an accounting major, which allowed for me at the time to sit for my CPA exam.

And so that's what I did.

I went back to school and took all accounting classes and then in the fall of two thousand and one, I sat for the CPA exam, And that honestly was one of my biggest accomplishments, going through that schooling and setting that goal and then and then passing that exam while parenting three children.

With a lot of uncertainty.

I look back and that really was a turning point for me and kind of prove to myself that, you know, I can overcome anything.

It's very inspiring and I think one of the biggest things that I'm taking from that is just because the hand that your dealt may not be exactly what you envisioned, there are ways that you can get out of those situations and find ways to improve yourself that may not be the typical route that that is customary in society.

Yeah, I'll add to that.

You know, an important part of the story I haven't touched upon yet was my husband.

You're steeling the words right out of my mouth.

That was my next question.

And so Sam Smith is an incredible individual who came into my life in soon after that time and met me, you know, working towards a goal as a young mom with young children, and he came alongside me and said, let's do this together.

And so we supported me through that process and we married soon after I passed the CPA exam, and we decided to have two more children in the following years.

And then over time, you know, we've really done this dance of supporting each other's careers.

And there have been times when you know, I've needed to be more in the support role and he's really been chasing important career goals that he's had, and then other times when he's been able to provide more of that for me while I had different transitions.

And so the partnership that we have and the relationship that we've developed and all that we've done together really is a testament to that partnership.

So I certainly didn't do it alone.

Absolutely, and just this year right with Wesley still being in Minnesota and him making the back and forth.

It just it truly shows what a great partner he is.

So we don't have that much time left.

I know it's flown by, but let's go a little bit.

You don't have a lot of free time, as you've previously alluded to, five children, a huge responsibility at the packers, so your time is really valuable, and I hear.

Hockey is a big part of that.

Can you explain hockey?

That's so cool.

So none of our children played hockey except for Wesley, and I fell in love with the sport watching him play, spending many many hours in the rink.

And an opportunity came about ten years ago to take an adult women's beginner hockey clinic, and happened to gather a group of women in the neighborhood, and we decided to give it a shot, and we just had the best time.

I didn't grow up with any hockey experience.

One of my teammates grew up in Florida, so she certainly hadn't laced up before.

And we had such a great time taking these clinics that we ultimately formed a team and that team has been together now for about ten years, and we just really enjoy learning something new, stepping outside of our comfort zone, working hard together, and for someone who didn't grow up in an era where team sports were as available to women, having this team atmosphere and locker room support and experiencing this as an adult, even if our hockey may be marginal at best, the fact that we have that experience has been really rewarding and so so thankful to be part of a team.

That's really cool and it's actually really neat what's happening in women's professional hockey currently and kind of the rise of that.

So I'm excited to continue to watch that and other women's sports who are seeing kind of spikes and engagement.

Well, you're welcome to come watch us sometimes.

Oh chick about I have to.

Do that in Minnesota United.

I've yet to attend a game there.

So all right, I like to end my podcast with one final question.

So, if you were to provide one word that describes the culmination of your career up until now, what would that word be.

It's a hard one.

I think I think I'd go back to I think I've used that word a couple of times, which is fortunate.

There are times when I step back and say, there's nothing about the path that my life has taken that would provide me with the opportunity I have today, and so I am very grateful for the experiences I get to have and for the job that I have today.

And it's not that there wasn't work that went into it, but there's certainly things that were just really fortunate path that I was able to find myself in, and I'm just really grateful for where I'm at today.

Truly inspiring.

Maureen Smith, chief Financial Officer of the Packers, thank you so much for joining me today on how to sport for