By Mark Rossman
Joshua Rose ’09 has risen above the ranks as the first ever group sales manager at one of the greatest baseball franchises in the world: the New York Yankees.
Rose graduated from F&M in 2009 knowing he wanted to get into sales and business development but not exactly sure what industry he wanted to pursue.
“It took myself some testing of the waters by doing some internships,” Rose said. “By my first internship I knew that sports would keep my interest, which is the most important thing. After some exposure to the industry, I said this is for me, and I could do this for the long-term.”
Rose’s first experience in the sports industry happened as an undergraduate one Summer working as a media intern with ESPN Radio in Washington, D.C. This was Rose’s first exposure to professional sports and professional athletes, and he was able to attend games as well as go to the Redskins’ training camp.
The next Summer, Rose interned for Leverage Agency, a sports marketing company set in Manhattan, NY.
“I became a huge fan of the media side,” Rose said. “I like the sports side and the business side of [the industry].”
Here, Rose decided on what he wanted to do even more. With Leverage Agency, Rose planned client events.
His senior year, Rose had to really hone in on what he was going to do for the rest of his life. Already having his foot in the door in multiple venues, Rose applied to a number of entry-level sales positions throughout the Northeast. After a successful job interview with the New Jersey Nets, Rose landed a job with inside sales, selling tickets for the Nets.
The following Winter, Rose acquired a job with the New York Islanders, and worked as a group sales executive. Impressively, just eight months later, Rose was promoted to director of group sales for the Islanders. About two years later, Rose got the position of group sales manager for the New York Yankees, where he is currently employed.
“Part of it was hard work, part of it was right place at the right time, and part of it was me moving out of my shell and taking it upon myself to make it happen,” Rose said.
Last October, the Yankees started their first ever group sales department, and hired Rose. Rose runs a sales team of seven sellers, with whom he works directly and helps to work with clients, plan events for games, sell individual game suites, and work around the stadium on game days, making sure events run smoothly.
In just one year, Rose and his team have taken this department from a $9 million operation to a $15 million operation, which is quite an impressive statistic — let alone for just one year’s work.
“It’s our job to develop the business for the team and generate revenue,” Rose said. “Being able to push such a strong brand is definitely key because people will take your calls and your meetings, simply because of how strong the brand is.”
Both nationally and internationally, the New York Yankees is one of the most recognized brands in the world of sports.
“I am super proud to be representing the brand,” Rose said. “The Yankees is probably the strongest brand in sports and maybe the strongest brand in the world.”
Rose said one of his most memorable, proudest moments working for the Yankees was when he went abroad and saw people thousands of miles away wearing Yankees hats and recognizing the brand. This is something not many in the field of media can say about their brands.
Rose offered advice for undergrads at F&M, particularly those interested in getting involved in the field of sports. “You have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone,” he said, “You have to come in and do a job that you might not be willing to do: working with clients, customer service, [whatever it may be].
“Look for entry-level sales and customer service positions,” he continued, “Look everywhere. You might have to be willing to move somewhere with a smaller market team.”
Rose is an alum who started from the bottom as an intern and climbed his way up to the top, working with one of the most recognized sports teams in the world. Rose would like to thank F&M for all the preparation the College provided him.
“F&M definitely did a good job preparing me for my job thus far,” Rose said. “I had a lot of good opportunity at F&M to get me where I am.”
Rose would also like to attribute much of his success to the Chi Phi Fraternity and the Business, Organizations, & Society department at F&M.
“I would tip my hat to F&M to get my career started and get my foot in the door,” Rose said.
Senior Mark Rossman is the Sports Editor. His email is mrossman@fandm.edu.