Chief Operating Officer at Indiana Sports Corp

Our client, The Indiana Sports Corp, is expanding its leadership team and adding a COO!

Some organizations operate on predictable calendars. Indiana Sports Corp does not. Our work includes major sporting events, long-term community initiatives, public- and private-sector partnerships, and an ambitious statewide sports strategy. It requires people, priorities, and resources to come together, often around highly visible moments when execution matters.

We are seeking a Chief Operating Officer to make sure they do. Reporting to the President and serving on the senior leadership team, the COO will provide enterprise-wide operational leadership and help Indiana Sports Corp translate priorities into disciplined execution.

This leader will connect people and functions, strengthen organizational systems, improve accountability, and create the operating rhythm necessary for an organization with both major-event responsibilities and significant long-term ambitions.

What You'll Lead

• Provide executive leadership across the organization's core operations and internal business practices.
• Translate organizational priorities into clear plans, ownership, timelines, and accountability.
• Create effective operating rhythms across the leadership team and organization.
• Identify opportunities to improve systems, processes, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Help allocate organizational resources against the highest-priority work.
• Lead complex initiatives involving multiple departments and external partners.
• Strengthen planning, project management, and organizational discipline without creating unnecessary processes.
• Partner closely with the President and senior leadership team on organizational performance and execution.
• Anticipate operational risks and ensure the organization is prepared to respond.
• Support a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and service.
• Help ensure Indiana Sports Corp has the structure, capabilities, and operational capacity to deliver on its 2050 Vision.

What You’ll Bring

We are looking for an experienced operator who sees both the big picture and the details that make it happen. Ideal candidates will have senior leadership experience in sports, live events, entertainment, hospitality, tourism, venues, collegiate athletics, nonprofit leadership, or another complex, stakeholder-intensive organization.

You may currently be a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, Senior Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Business Operations, Executive Director, General Manager, or another senior leader with broad organizational responsibility.

Our ideal candidates will demonstrate:

• A track record of successfully leading complex operations.
• Exceptional organizational judgment and follow-through.
• Experience leading across departments rather than through a single functional silo.
• The ability to simplify complexity and establish clear accountability.
• Well-honed people leadership and talent-development skills.
• Comfort working in a fast-moving, highly visible environment.
• Experience managing competing priorities and significant stakeholder expectations.
• Financial and business acumen.
• The ability to build trust quickly with staff, executives, Board members, and external partners.
• A practical, collaborative leadership style with a strong bias toward action.

Sports-industry experience is valuable, but we are equally interested in leaders from adjacent environments who understand major events, hospitality, community partnerships, and complex organizational execution.

Why Indiana Sports Corp

Indiana Sports Corp has helped establish Indiana as one of America's leading sports destinations. The organization is now looking ahead through its 2050 Vision - an ambitious statewide strategy designed to unleash Indiana's potential through sports.

Delivering on that vision will require operational excellence behind the scenes as well as bold ideas in front of them. This role will be central to making that happen.

Indiana Sports Corp offers a competitive executive compensation and benefits package. Indiana Sports Corp is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes candidates with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.