Olivia West: WNBA/NBA In-Arena Host & Keynote Speaker

For Olivia West, it was her initiative, resilience, and passion for the game of basketball that prompted her start in the industry as an in-arena host. "All I did was ask. I was in the arena a couple of years ago watching an Indiana Fever game, and I got this feeling inside of my head and heart and spirit that I wanted to be involved," she highlights when reflecting on her professional start in sports. The rest is history! From cultivating electric gameday atmospheres for organizations such as the Indiana Fever, Indiana Pacers, Indy Ignite and Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball to partnering with brands through keynote speaking engagements, Olivia has fostered an inspiring career over the years grounded in her love of

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storytelling, community, and empowerment. When pondering on what's next in her journey, Olivia beamingly states: “I want to partner with more brands. More brands that are looking to do more than (just) capture a fire piece of content. Brands that want to improve people's lives. Brands and stories are the most powerful things in the world; and our ability to share stories and to share information with one another will push us all forward collectively. I look forward to cheering all my teams as we win more games. I also want more closeness and allegiance to our fan bases. You know, our fans are just amazing. They're resilient, they're kind, they're like our road dogs. So I look forward to just getting to meet, be around, and work with fans all over the globe." Truly incredible!

Take us all the way back! How did you get started in the industry?

I first got started in the basketball industry by asking. All I did was ask. I was in the arena a couple of years ago watching an Indiana Fever game, and I got this feeling inside of my head and heart and spirit that I wanted to be involved. Now remember, this is when the Indiana Fever were building. I will call it a building year. It was B.C., meaning ‘Before Caitlin (Clark)’. I just wanted to be involved in this great team that I grew up knowing and loving. I knew that there was nowhere to go but up, so I got introduced. I got introduced to the people by going up, shaking their hand, and telling them my name—that's how it all started.

You initially started in the agriculture and healthcare sectors after college. Could you share more with us about making that transition into the sports space?

Yeah, absolutely. I studied agricultural economics because that is what I grew up seeing and knowing. I grew up in a very rural part of the country, and so success to me meant agriculture. A lot of the people around me were very successful—owned farms or sold seeds. I said, “I want to go to school and study agriculture.” So I went to one of the top agricultural universities in the world, Purdue University. I was not halfway through my time there when I said, “I don't know if this is what I want to do. I think I want to do something a little bit different. Maybe something a little bit edgier. I've always loved sports, but I don't really know how to get involved.” So I accepted a job in the healthcare industry. You know, sometimes when you listen to advice from parents or friends, they tell you to go get a job in a bulletproof industry. I was like: “Oh, healthcare. People are always going to be sick, they're always going to want health. Let me go over and work in the health space.” I also had some family members who had some pretty, pretty devastating things in health that have happened. So I've always just been very health literate when it came to prescriptions, medications, and all that stuff. I said, “You know what, let me do that. Let me go in that world, learn how to build brands, learn how to solve problems.” That's what I did. I didn't get involved in sports until I was a couple of years in working in Corporate America doing healthcare marketing.

Wow! Take us through that transition into the sports industry. As you took that leap of faith and immersed yourself in the world of sports, how was that journey like for you?

Surprisingly, I think that it transitioned really well. Now, I do want to be clear about something…I did not quit my full-time job for a while. I went to Indiana Fever games and wanted to get involved. From the first time I asked and got introduced to the leaders of the company to then kind of starting to get to know maybe what some of the opportunities were in sports…at first, I actually did not want to do it full-time. I still don't work in sports full-time. I'm a full-time keynote speaker and I talk to businesses—both large and small—around the country about how to compete and win at anything they do. What's so cool about that is I knew that I wanted to be involved in my community meaningfully. So, I said: “Okay, how can I engage in a part-time, maybe game day type of way?” That's where I actually got the idea of wanting to be the emcee. There was a gentleman at the time who was the emcee and he was really good, but he was just kind of filling in. It wasn't really his thing either. I think the transferable skills that are just invaluable wherever you go are: communication, problem solving, adaptability, and energy. I knew that I could bring that every single day, whether in the boardroom or in the arena.

As you reflect back on your journey early on, what were some challenges that you faced and how did you work to navigate through those?

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