Meet Phil Speake, Head of High Performance Operations and Finance at Golf Australia.
Phil's path into sport ran through some of the biggest clubs in the world. After nearly seven years as a senior analyst in professional services, Phil took a pay cut and \"two steps down\" to land his first role in sport as an assistant accountant at the Essendon Football Club. From there, he moved to London, grinded through rejections, and worked his way from William Hill to Brentford FC to a dream job at Tottenham Hotspur FC, beating 800 applicants for the role. He's since returned home, worked with Western United and turned that into a role that looks after high-performance operations and finance at Golf Australia.
In this episode, Phil breaks down how to prove your skills are transferable when switching industries, the four-day interview prep that landed his dream job at Tottenham and why leading with what you can give opens more doors than asking for something.
We cover:
(02:59) - Interview Starts
(06:05) - Quick Fire Questions
(12:53) - How Phil transitioned from working in financial professional services to working with the Essendon Football Club
(15:34) - Key parts of Phil's role at the Essendon Bombers
(19:43) - How Phil built culture and relationships internally across departments
(21:00) - Phil's move to the UK after his stint at the Bombers
(24:26) - How Phil landed a role at Brentford FC
(29:29) - Phil's move from Brentford to Tottenham Hotspur FC
(32:33) - The scale of financial operations at the Spurs
(39:14) - How Phil entered the Football Operations team at Western United
(42:40) - What Phil's role at Western United looked like
(46:05) - Difference between working at Tottenham Hotspur and Western United
(47:02) - Phil's role at Golf Australia
(53:03) - Challenges to entering the sport industry
(54:30) - What degree/qualifications do you need to work in the finance team of a sport organisation
(55:10) - Impact of mentors on Phil's Journey
(56:02) - How to land a job in Sports Finance in the next 30 days
(58:06) - Biggest 'Pinch Me' moment working in sport
(58:59) - How would you help grow the AFL in international markets?
(01:01:35) - Phil's question for next guest
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#296: Manchester City FC Head of Research Tom Wilkins on using fan insights for business growth
#339: How to land your first job in sport with Josh Marton, GM of Public Affairs & Marketing in Golf
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Thanks for listening, much love!
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