Cathy Lyttle, a former journalist turned Columbus Chamber exec turned C-suite officer at Worthington Industries, had a front row seat to the Columbus Crew's arrival in Columbus.
She was working for the chamber at the time, and was closely involved in the push to bring the team to Central Ohio. How did she feel, then, more than 20 years later, when it looked like the team might leave?
"I was sad about that, and a little bit angry, to be quite honest," Lyttle said during a recent taping of our Women of Influence podcast.
Now an executive at Worthington, Lyttle said she "kept tabs" on the effort to save the team "from afar," and was aware fo the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to keep the Crew here. Now the power player who not only helped land the Crew but also helped launch the business office of what the Columbus Blue Jackets says she's excited to see all of Columbus' sports teams come together in the Arena District, once the Crew's new stadium is finished.
"We've always appreciated what sports can do for a city," Lyttle said.
Of course, sports aren't doing much of anything right now, as all the country's major leagues remain on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic. My conversation with Lyttle was recorded in late March, just a few weeks after most of us started working from home and not doing much of anything else.
Listen to the full conversation to hear how Lyttle is de-stressing during this unprecedented time, why she thought her first big job offer was a prank by her brother at first, and how she decides which opportunities to take on and which ones to turn down.
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