| Rod O’Connor: New Home Depot Center GM Wants
Open Door Policy in Partnership with CSUDH
Having served as chief executive officer for the 2004 Democratic National Convention Corporation in Boston, Rod O’Connor is used to orchestrating large-scale events and leading people to success in a common goal. As the recently named vice president and general manager of The Home Depot Center (HDC), he hopes to do just that. Along with his responsibilties to his staff at the world-class sports facility, he plans to add to the job skills of CSU Dominguez Hills students with a marketing internship program.
“We’re opening our doors to ask students for help in marketing this facility and strengthening the partnership that we have with the University,” he says. “I hope they learn a lot and I hope they contribute by challenging our thinking as well.”
O’Connor, who will also be the venue’s primary contact with the CSUDH faculty and administration, as well as with the city of Carson and the surrounding communities. He looks forward to collaborating with the marketing department in the College of Business and Public Policy for the marketing internship. Six students, who will be paid part-time interns, will assist in promoting the connection between the 125-acre multi-sport and training facility and the University. O’Connor hopes that the project will bring national recognition to both entities.
“We want to hear the students’ ideas, show them what we do and how they’ll contribute by bringing us new ideas, and hopefully taking something back about the way a facility like this runs,” he says. “We have the X Games coming here this summer, maybe we can come up with a product that markets the University and work it into some of the programming and broadcasting that takes place for that event.”
He emphasizes other opportunities that would benefit the campus, including employment for students and access to events.
“We need people to help this facility run, and are thinking of ways to appeal to students with employment opportunities,” he says. “We are looking at what we can do to make events easy for students to attend, and how we can come up with events that Cal State Dominguez Hills is going to be excited about us having here.”
A graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, O’Connor first encountered the HDC when it was just an idea on paper. Serving as chief of staff for the 2000 Democratic National Convention, he met Timothy Leiweke, president and chief executive of Anschutz Entertainment Group, while working on the event, which was held at the Staples Center.
“I talked to him about what the company was doing next, and he told me about The Home Depot Center,” he recalls. “I actually talked to him about possibly helping to manage the project from the beginning, but I ended up moving back East for a while. But I stayed in touch until I came back out here six months ago and saw that it had actually been built, so I wanted to come and be a part of it. I am proud to join the team that, in less than three years, has built one of the top U.S. sporting facilities. My goal is to add more marquee events to our lineup of sports and entertainment to elevate The Home Depot Center to the premier destination for Angelenos and those visiting the Southern California area.”
Prior to joining HDC, O’Connor was the president of the X Prize Foundation, Located in Santa Monica, X Prize is a nonprofit organization that creates and manages multi-million dollar competitions to enable radical breakthroughs in space and other technologies. He is also the founding principal of The ROC (Return on Communication) Group, a grassroots, communications and event marketing consulting practice with clients in the business, nonprofit and political sectors. As chief executive officer for the 2004 Democratic National Convention Corporation, he built an organization from the ground up, managing 300 employees and consultants with a budget in excess of $55 million. He has also served as vice president for corporate affairs at Citynet Telecommunications and senior aide to Vice President Al Gore.
With his extensive experience related to public service, O’Connor is mindful of HDC’s responsibilities, not just to its partner in CSUDH, but to the surrounding community.
“We want to be good neighbors to the community that extends beyond the University,” he says. “We want the community to be proud of this facility and feel like this is their home, too.
“We really want to make sure we’re pursuing those opportunities that help the University take advantage of us being here. I think the internship program is a great way to start,” he says. “We always need to be thinking about how we can be a good partner and how the programming here is something that will enhance the University’s reputation.”
- Joanie Harmon
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