Eric Platte is the Vice President of Ticket Sales for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. He has been with the Hawks since 2010 when he graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Supply Chain Management. Eric is highly regarded for his innovative ideas for workplace culture and leadership training. Eric believes that leaders drive culture, culture drives people, and people drives business.
In today’s episode, we discuss:
- His journey and career advice for others looking to get into professional sports
- Creative ways to motivate employees and team members
- On-boarding and training of employees
- How leadership is important in the sales business
Dayvee Sutton is an award-winning journalist covering a range of beats: travel, sports, entertainment, movies, and a number of lifestyle topics for television and digital media. You can watch Dayvee on-air as a national lifestyle and travel correspondent on HLN, and the talk shows “
On the digital side, Dayvee has been a national contributor to sites like U.S. News and World Report, AOL, Yahoo, ESPN, The Root, NBA.com, Black Enterprise, NBC News and USA TODAY Network. She also has worked with brands like Firestone, Lifeproof, Nikon, Coke and Staples. 
Dayvee is a part of the new wave of entrepreneurial journalists. Through her production company 
As if that wasn’t enough, Dayvee still finds time to play. In 2013, Dayvee was the #1 USTA tennis player in her division for the state of North Carolina and #7 in the Southern Division (9 states). She’s an avid traveler, and a self proclaimed karaoke queen. Dayvee Sutton is a southern California native and graduated from UCLA. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
Ruston Pierce is the Head of School at highly regarded Mount Pisgah Christian School just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. He was hired at Mount Pisgah in January of 2017. Ruston has created an innovative leadership development program for his staff. The RISE (Reach, Inspire, Serve, Equip) program accepts only a limited number of staff per year. Staff members have to complete an application process with the goal of finding the right staff members each year to go through the program. The program helps staff members develop their leadership skills so that they can be better in their current positions but also be more prepared for future advancement opportunities. Before coming to Mount Pisgah, Ruston spent time as the Head of School at Concord Christian School in Knoxville, TN. Concord Christian was recognized as the fastest growing private school in the city, moving from 11th to a 2nd overall ranking among private schools in Knoxville over a 3-year span as ranked by the Knoxville Business Journal. During his tenure, the school completed a strategic marketing plan, successfully renewed dual accreditation, initiated a recent capital campaign, expanded marketing and social media plans while doubling enrollment to approximately 1,200 students across all divisions. Ruston also served as the Director of Dual Enrollment at Bryan College, Director of Development and Assistant Principal at Grace Baptist Academy, Dean of Student Affairs at Silverdale Baptist Academy and as a member of the Young Life staff.
One of the nation’s premier leadership companies has announced the addition of a certified leadership coach, trainer and speaker to their team.