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News

Mon. 18 March 2019

FIFA MASTER ALUMNI – WHERE ARE THEY NOW? – TIM GOETHALS

Tim Goethals

Current Position: COO, Wiz-Team SA, Event Data Experts

Year of graduation: 2005 (5th Edition)

Nationality: Belgian / Swiss

 

What does your current role involve?

Currently I’m COO of Wiz-Team, a management owned Swiss technology company providing software solutions for event managers. Through Event-Works, our main product, we provide a fully integrated event management platform, which puts everything an event manager needs to handle into one customised web platform (SaaS – Software as a Service).

My role involves running the daily operations required for the business. As we are a small company this goes from making sure we service all our clients correctly, which includes sometimes providing training or support as well as internal duties such as communications, invoicing, account management etc. On top of that, and this is my major responsibility, I’m in charge of business development & sales. More recently I’ve also spent a lot of time working on the transformation of Wiz-Team as we recently changed our legal structure and also created an external advisory board. This change allows us now to seek external funding to finance our future growth, which is now going to be one of my key priorities for the next months.

Which aspects of the FIFA Master course have helped you most in your career?

Firstly, the FIFA Master gave me a very broad and general overview of all aspects of the sports industry. As I was not involved in the sports industry before, I managed to get from the course a good understanding of the depth of the industry (football vs Olympics) as well as the different functions involved (legal, marketing, event operations, etc.). This gave me a better perspective of what I wanted to do after the Master.

Moreover, I would say that the network is undeniably the most valuable asset of the Master. Not only when you finish the Master to get you a foot in the industry but also as your career progresses.  Knowing that alumni are working at the other end is always useful, either to have an informal chat or even to discuss work-related topics. I like our FMA motto: “You will never work alone”. The recent creation of the different networking groups by the FMA Committee are a good illustration of that. As an entrepreneur now, I find it very useful to be able to exchange with other fellow entrepreneurs that have done the FIFA Master on issues we have in common. This is incredibly valuable! 

What advice would you give to future students on the course?

Enjoy the course as much as you can. And listen and learn from each other as one of the unique aspects of the course is the broad and cultural diversity it offers through your fellow student colleagues. And remember that you will keep the friendships and memories you make during the academic year forever. This might not always be that obvious during the course! And don’t think too much about the job search yet! This is an important and final outcome of the course but don’t forget to “live” the current moment and to enjoy every piece of it, as it goes by so (too!) fast. 

FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport, ranked No.1 Course in Europe 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 by the SportBusiness International global rankings.

Organised by CIES in partnership with De Montfort University (United Kingdom), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).

Discover more examples of inspiring FIFA Master alumni career paths by clicking here 

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