Meet Sarah Loh, Chief Executive Officer at Softball Australia. Sarah's career spans nearly four decades across the sport, education and not-for-profit sectors, but it started at a reception desk.
In 1988, she asked the owner of a Dandenong gym for a job every day for six months until he cracked and gave her three hours behind the desk. By the end of that year she was centre manager. From there she built one of the most deliberate careers in Australian sport: the YMCA, a local council role at the City of Whittlesea where she project-managed a $29 million leisure centre, her first CEO chair at the country's biggest junior football league, a headhunted executive role at VicHealth, and now the top job at Softball Australia, with a Women's World Cup on home soil in 2027 and softball's return to the Olympics at LA 2028.
In this episode, Sarah unpacks why she deliberately took \"detours\" through corporate and government roles to build the credibility sport wouldn't give her, the interview question she now asks every candidate she hires and why \"what have you built?\" beats a polished CV, and how to actually progress from entry-level to executive when everyone is chasing the same limited roles.
We cover:
(02:48) - Interview Begins
(04:38) - Quick Fire Questions
(13:46) - How Sarah's career in sport panned out
(21:10) - Why Sarah enjoys teaching at university and being on volunteer sporting boards
(28:54) - What legacy does Sarah hope the 2027 Softball World Cup leave behind
(35:41) - What is the best sport event you have attended and what is on your bucket list?
(38:03) - Sarah's question for next guest
If you liked this ep, give these a go next:
#206: Journey to CEO of Champion Data with Libby Owens
#217: How to be the CEO of the ICC T20 World Cup - Michelle Enright
#338: From the AFL to Cricket NT CEO at 29, to Executive GM at Cricket Australia with Joel Morrison
Want a job in sport? Click here.
Follow SportsGrad on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok
Follow Reuben on socials: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok
Thanks for listening, much love!
","author_name":"SportsGrad"}