An Interview with Maria Angelova
I learned that it is not the way to manage and be a leader. Now, I am definitely more of a listener than a talker when it comes to leading and managing. I hire the right people, put them in the right positions and let them do their jobs.
It feels most comfortable to stick with what we are familiar with. But anyone who has achieved great success will tell you that true growth comes from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. What are some ways that influential people have pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to grow both personally and professionally? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Rittenberry.
The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, TN takes place on the streets of downtown Nashville from Friday to Sunday, August 4th — 6th, 2023. Jason Rittenberry is the President and COO of Music City Grand Prix and is a visionary and key organizer of the event. Maria Angelova had the opportunity to interview Jason via Zoom.
Jason Rittenberry, CVE, President & COO of the Music City Grand Prix is a 20+ year veteran of the motorsports and live event industry with experience at all levels of production of events from small local shows to major events such as NASCAR, the NHL Stadium Series and internationally with MotoGP and Formula One. He is a proven successful senior level executive who drives organizational and revenue growth. As a Certified Venue Executive (CVE), with expert knowledge of venue operations including racetracks, stadiums, amphitheaters, and convention centers, he has overseen some of the largest venues in motorsports, entertainment, and the live event industries. Jason has extensive expertise in all facets of business operations, live entertainment, event management and as a promoter of live events, concerts, festivals and some of the top trade shows in the US.
Most recently Jason has been instrumental in launching INDYCAR’s newest street racing event — the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville. As one of original partners who had the vision to develop this three-day international festival of racing, music and food, the event is now in its third year in Nashville. The event draws 100,000+ fans and is a major economic engine for Nashville coming out of a pandemic.
“Believe in yourself, believe that you can get it done, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and don’t give up.”
This is Maria Angelova with Rebellious, and on behalf of Authority Magazine, it is my great pleasure to welcome my special guest, Jason Rittenberry, today. Hello, Jason, how are you doing today?
I am fantastic today. How about you?
I am great. I am excited to be talking to you, especially in light of the huge event you have coming up this weekend.
Jason, you are the president and COO of Music City Grand Prix, you are a veteran in the live entertainment and motorsports industry. You don’t produce just any event; you are known for putting together world-class events. And now, you have a huge one coming up this weekend, which I can’t wait to talk about in a second. Before we get to that part, let’s learn a little bit about you. Who is Jason? How did you get to the point of doing what you do today?
I have been in motorsports and entertainment for about 23 years now. It all started in 2000, really totally by chance. I wasn’t looking to be in this industry.
After college, I was working in the wireless industry. I was working for Nextel back in the day, and we were sponsoring some NASCAR events. I got to know the promoters and organizations within NASCAR.
One day, during a meeting, they offered me a job. I left the wireless world and went to work as a Director of Sales and Marketing for a NASCAR track.
Six weeks later, the corporate jet showed up from Delaware. They fired the general manager and offered me the job. There I was — a 25-year old with only six weeks of experience, now running a NASCAR track.
I had to learn on the job very quickly at a very young age. Of course, I made many mistakes early in my career, but I was very fortunate to have an amazing CEO at the time who became my mentor.
I still talk to him every year on his birthday. He was very patient with me and taught me the business. I owe most of my career success to him taking a chance on a young 25-year-old back in 2000.
I am sure you stepping up your game to the challenge played a role in your success. Let’s talk about you being a disruptor in the industry. You started a career that is not typical for a 25-year-old. What was it like to push yourself outside of your comfort zone?
Yeah, it was definitely a challenge. At the time, I am not sure anybody really knew how old I was. Fortunately, I may have looked a little older, and having been married a couple of years might have contributed to that perception. I am not even sure the company knew my exact age when they offered me the job, to be honest.
What really helped was finding mentors in the industry, people who would lead and guide me and give me the best advice. I always tell young people today, whether they are in a new industry or just starting anything, to find those champions who will support and help them. I was lucky to find those people and to learn from them. I listened and absorbed as much as I could at such an early age.
You mentioned making mistakes early on in your career. I think mistakes are key for our personal growth. Can you share how your mistakes have served you on your growth journey?
Absolutely. Early on, my mistakes were probably a result of my age and inexperience more than anything. I think I let the title of being a general manager go to my head a little bit — I was in charge, and I expected people to listen to everything I said. I am sure I did that for a while, but I also learned from those experiences.
I learned that it is not the way to manage and be a leader. Now, I am definitely more of a listener than a talker when it comes to leading and managing. I hire the right people, put them in the right positions and let them do their jobs.
I don’t want to hire someone I have to micromanage. I think that is probably the biggest thing I learned from those experiences.
You mentioned listening, hiring qualified people, micromanaging people. In your opinion, what makes a leader an effective leader?
Understanding your team and their strengths is crucial in shaping your company around those strengths. I am a big believer in that — getting the right people and then finding the best positions for them down the road. You know the saying: get people on the bus and then put them in the right seats; that is very much how I manage. I find good people, get them on the team, and create roles that fit their skill sets.
This builds loyalty and trust within the team. That’s the way I try to lead — by example — showing people to trust their coworkers, allowing them to do their jobs without micromanaging, and knowing that we have the best team available for any job we take on.
There are times when we organize big events with hundreds of thousands of attendees, and sure, there are stumbling blocks and things that do not go as planned, but that is all part of the learning process.
How do you handle roadblocks and manage a team, especially when dealing with young people who don’t know how to deal with unexpected changes and collaboration among different personalities?
Again, I think it is about putting the right people in the right positions. We do have a lot of young people on our team, but we also spend a lot of time with them and make sure they have the tools they need to do their job.
When it comes to obstacles, our goal is to minimize them and keep them out of the public eye. Hosting major events and producing them means challenges will arise — during setup, the event itself. The key for us is to is to make sure the public never sees those, to have a plan and be able to react as quickly as possible to ensure it does not affect the fans or guests and their experience.
An interesting question for you — do you do any kind of mindfulness work for your team to help them stay calm and collected in case an emergency happens or something falls through the cracks last minute?
I would not say we necessarily do any kind of specific work to prepare for that. We meet, discuss the details of the event and have a plan in place. I think planning and being prepared is the best strategy for any situation.
Ultimately something could come up that we are not specifically prepared for or planned for. However, we have vast experience, plan and prep for anything from small situations to major catastrophic issues at an event.
As for mindfulness work, we don’t specifically prepare for emergencies that way. We believe planning and being prepared for all situations is the best training.
Let’s shift gear and talk about the upcoming event this weekend, the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, TN. This is your third year running it, right?
Yes, that is correct. The event takes place on the streets of downtown Nashville, a three-day event from Friday to Sunday, August 4th — 6th, 2023. We will have the NTT IndyCar Series racing along with three music stages throughout the property. There will be tons of music and racing.
We have a diverse line up of race series — really some type of racing for every type of fan, whether they are IndyCar, sports car or American muscle car fan. There will even be trucks racing on the track that jump ramps and race on two wheels.
Same will apply to the music scene — there will be all different genres of music — from country to rock to Flo Rida on Saturday night with hip hop and rap.
Literally, there will be something for everybody — from music, racing and food, all the Nashville favorites — food, food trucks, tons of opportunities on site.
This year, we also added something new to our lineup — a fast pass.
For those who have been to Nashville and know Lower Broadway and all the Honky Tonks and the clubs that are down there, you know that on a weekend night, there is anywhere from 30 to 45 or even over an hour wait to get into those clubs.
Something new we have added this year — we have partnered with all those clubs on Broadway. If you are a three-day ticket holder for our event, you have a fast pass wristband. It is kind of like Disney World — you get right to the front of the line and into those clubs after the race. These are your late night, after-hour activities once you leave the racetrack.
That sounds amazing! You were one of the visionaries behind this event. What is it like to have a vision and successfully bring it to life, especially on such a large scale?
It is definitely one of my career highlights and an incredible experience for our team — our investors, ownership groups and management team. It is definitely a group effort. It took almost five years to make this race a reality — from having the vision and working on it to finally seeing it hit the streets of Nashville.
It is an awesome experience, and I would encourage anyone with a dream or vision to put their mind to it, pursue it with determination and never give up. We faced numerous challenges and obstacles along the way, but we stuck to our plan and kept moving forward.
That is a powerful message. Do you have a favorite piece of advice or a quote you would like to share with us?
Believe in yourself, believe that you can get it done, don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and don’t give up.
We heard a lot of ‘no’s’, and we could have quit long before we got this race finalized. We went through a stretch here in Nashville over a two-year period when we had four different mayors in a string of circumstances.
We had to start from scratch explaining what we are trying to do every time we had a new mayor. We could have easily quit. We didn’t.
Stick to your plan, believe in yourself and keep moving forward.
I love it. Jason, I am super excited to attend the event. I have never been to such an event and actually, I have only been to Nashville for a couple of hours. I am really excited to see Nashville during an event such as the Music City Grand Prix.
You will have a great time!
I hope the event goes smoothly and you and team have a blast. Wish you continued success Once again, thanks so much for being here with us.
Absolutely. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.
Jason Rittenberry On How to Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone To Grow Both Personally and Professionally was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.