A Handshake And A Mission

This month of May 2012 marks the ninth anniversary of the loss of a visionary man, Mark Hume McCormack (1930 - 2003).

I was fortunate to meet Mark in 1986 and the man universally recognized for pioneering the modern sports marketing industry left an indelible impression on both my career and my life.

This column could very easily be filled with his myriad accomplishments.  Names like Jean Claude Killy, Wayne Gretzky, Bjorn Borg, Mohammad Ali, Jeff Gordon, Chris Evert and Arnold Palmer would be bantered around.  Hallowed places of sport such as Wimbledon, Augusta National, Yankee Stadium, St. Andrews, Madison Square Garden, Wembley and The Indianapolis Motor Speedway would surely be mentioned.

But that's not what makes Mark McCormack special to me.

It was his thirst to innovate, his desire to do things better.  It was his creative nature, his drive to be first tempered by a common touch.  And it was his love of and appreciation for competition that drove him always into new territory... a true pioneer in every sense of the word.

I love to tell the story of how IMG was born with a handshake between Mark McCormack and Arnold Palmer... it is one I continue to tell with pride today.

His company, IMG, was an audacious experiment.  His team of executives and staff were a collection of talented people, from all corners of the world, who could make the seemingly impossible possible.  And his energy and enthusiasm filled the halls of IMG offices from New York to London to Paris and Aukland to Johannesburg to Hong Kong.  For goodness sake, MHM, as we IMGer's affectionately referred to him, was well known in New Delhi, Hamburg and Kuala Lumpur.

Mark was, quite simply, on a mission.  A mission to innovate.

He was legendary for some of his quirks.  He maintained a meticulous file of index cards on people and projects that he would fill with handwritten notes allowing him to keep track of details, large and small.  And he was forever preparing to-do lists on yellow note pads... and then knocking off the tasks one by one.

He was feared by some, admired by many and respected by all... but never ignored, underestimated and rarely, unknown.

What I like most about Mark was his dedication to IMG and the people that made up the company.  And what will stay with me forever is the way he steadfastly kept after his goals.

With a handshake and a mission.