New business executive at GEM focused on winning

Tom Reddin, the new chief executive officer of Gillett Evernham Motorsports, has been around NASCAR for a long time, and when team owners Ray Evernham and George Gillett plucked him from LendingTree, it was experience and management style that caught their collective eye. (read more)

But for Reddin, it was the thrill of competition that made the team too good to pass up.

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Before starting the Country Time Lemonade sponsorship in the late 1980s while a senior product manager with Kraft, Reddin caught the racing bug as a young man and competed nationally in a variety of series, including the Sports Car Club of America, Formula Ford and BMW Club.

"I think every business opportunity is a challenge," Reddin said. "I feel very confident, given that I've been in the marketing and sales arena at Kraft, Coca-Cola and LendingTree, and ultimately general management of the business, for two reasons. One, I know the sport. Country Time Lemonade was one of the very first sponsors from the non-automotive world to recognize the power and the value of a full-time sponsorship of a Cup car. We used that as a marketing platform to advance the brands, not only from business to consumer but from business to business.

"Also at Coca-Cola USA, I saw the value, with the Coca-Cola Family of Racers. I have two strong experiences in the business world of how this property [NASCAR] can grow a business and grow a brand. The second piece is, I used to be an amateur racer."

It is perhaps telling that one of his best racing memories occurred when he himself was behind the wheel.

"I was up at Lime Rock [Conn.] and in one of my better races, I qualified fifth," he said. "My wife was up in the flag stand with my driving coach. The first lap, I passed a car to get to fourth place. The second lap, I passed another one to get to third. The next lap, I passed another car to get to second and the following lap I passed one more coming down the front straight, and I went into the first turn, the red haze came over my vision. I went in way too hot, the back end came around, I overcorrected and hit the guardrail.

"My wife looked at my coach and asked, 'What happened?' My coach said, 'Too much foot, not enough talent.'"

That experience, combined with stellar stops at Kraft, Coca-Cola USA and LendingTree, give him a unique view of the sport, and that is what Evernham and Gillett were looking for in a CEO.

"This is another step in our plan toward build a winning organization," said Evernham when Reddin was named CEO. "Tom is a world-class business executive who brings a wealth of experience to Gillett Evernham Motorsports. His management style will enable this organization to maximize its production off the track so the competition side has the resources to win races and contend for championships."

Reddin has a philosophy about business that echoes that competitive spirit.

Ray at the mike

GEM co-owner Ray Evernham has joined ESPN as an analyst for its NASCAR coverage.

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"First of all, you have to have a relentless focus on winning as a team, and you need to win on the track and off the track," Reddin said. "We feel like we have the platform here and the people and all the pieces to win races. It's the same team here today that won a record number of races year before last. We feel like we're putting the pieces back in alignment. We kind of view it as Rubik's Cube. We took the pieces apart for a while and now we're putting them back together.

"We have a brilliant head of competition in Mark McArdle, who has brought some processes and discipline to the competition side of the business. Ray sits next door to me. He is a close advisor for me and Mark, and we have an outstanding group here in the shop. Yes, it's a smaller group here at the shop than it is as a sponsor, but if you focus on winning and you're relentless about that, you get there."

Reddin is also aware that NASCAR is not the same group he broke ground with back in the late 1980s with Bobby Hamilton and Country Time.

"NASCAR is changing," he said. "These race teams now are top flight businesses that have to be as good off the track in the business community as they are on the track. I have grown and built businesses my entire career. To succeed in this sport in the coming years, you are going to have to have a business plan that provides a major win for your business partners, your drivers, and your employees.

"Success will center on people, process and technology. You have to excel in all three dimensions."

Just like any other racer, Reddin is playing to win. The playing field -- or track surface in this case -- is just a little different.

"We're playing to win at Gillett Evernham Motorsports," Reddin said. "Our plan is to significantly expand the scope of the business, exceed our business partners' expectations, and enjoy many trips back to Victory Lane as we chase toward a championship."

As for getting the racing bug again, Reddin was pretty adamant that would never happen, even on a road course.

"I'm smart enough to keep my day job," he cracked.