Breaking the "Grass" Ceiling
For nearly two decades, Ebru Koksal has defied expectations as one of the world's most prominent female football executives. The first woman elected to the European Club Association board, she currently works at investment firm J. Stern & Co., where she helps football clubs secure financing. In 2017, Ebru fulfilled a longtime dream by attending our Advanced Management Program (AMP)—during which she was elected class president. She recently sat down with us to discuss her unique career journey and how that path brought her to Harvard Business School.
What inspired your interest in football/soccer?
I've always been a sports lover, but coming into the industry professionally was a bit of an accident. I was working for a private equity fund, which bought shares in the Turkish football club Galatasaray. I spent six months as their interim CFO, was asked to stay another six months, and eventually became their CEO and found magic outside of my comfort zone.
Have you faced challenges as a woman working in a male-dominated field?
There's a prevailing assumption that women don't understand football. My counterargument has always been that even if that is the case, football is a business. At the end of the day, we are managing large brands with big budgets and millions of followers all over the world. It shouldn't be any different than managing any other international brand.
That being said, I had to continually prove myself. I've had to be intentional about staying ahead of all the new technologies, developments, and trends—as I feel like I need to be the most knowledgeable person in the room.
Was there a moment where you first felt like you "made it" in the industry?
The period from 2009 to 2011 was the peak of my football career. I opened the new Galatasaray stadium, was the first woman elected to the European Club Association board, and was named Executive of the Year by the Stadium Business Awards.
Shortly thereafter, I became the first female general secretary of the Turkish Football Federation. But when the clubs received an international ban because of a match-fixing scandal, fans started a social media campaign against me, and I began receiving death threats. In the end, I decided to leave the organization. From the peak, it felt like I fell a thousand kilometers. I guess the lesson is that career paths aren't always up and straight but are more like a jungle gym.
Tell us about the leadership course you designed for FIFA.
The idea for the FIFA leadership course came to me at the lowest point in my life. Around the same time that my career was crashing, my brother's wife passed away after giving birth to their first child. After a couple weeks of mourning and not knowing what to do, my husband and I asked my brother and the baby to move in with us. I realized that there must be other women facing similar personal and professional challenges, so I decided to design a leadership course based on my personal story of resilience and perseverance.
One of the main messages in the course is "Why not?" Many women are really scared to try new things or pursue a role that they think might be too ambitious for them. But if you fail, it's okay. You get up and try something else.
I created the course before I attended AMP, but the program gave me new ideas for refining it. For example, I revised and enlarged the negotiation section, because I loved that module so much at Harvard.
Why prompted you to apply to AMP?
In 1992, I was a second-year analyst at Morgan Stanley and applying to Harvard Business School when my boyfriend proposed. I was so in love that I withdrew my application, got married, and moved back to Turkey. I don't regret it—we're still married after 25 years, with two wonderful kids who just started college. However, I never stopped thinking about Harvard.
Almost 25 years later, I gathered the family together over Christmas and asked if they could manage without me for two months so I could attend AMP. They were very supportive and said, "Go fulfill your dreams."
How has AMP helped you to evolve as a leader?
Before AMP, success for me was more about having a big title and power. Something I loved about my role in football was being a public figure. I loved managing a lovemark with 25 million fans and being in front of cameras. But AMP helped me redefine success and shifted my mindset by helping me realize that you can make an impact without being in the spotlight. After the program, I actually went into wealth management—but I still managed to find a football connection. The company has a football finance fund, so I not only work with high-net-worth individuals, but I also have the opportunity to work with football clubs. I also took over as Chair of Women in Football, a leading NGO to champion and showcase the success of women in the industry and work with governing bodies to promote gender equality.
If you could give one piece of advice to women who are considering a program like AMP, what would it be?
Your family can survive a few weeks without you. Women often feel that if they leave, their family will fall apart. If you take some time for yourself and go in with an open mind, you will learn a lot and meet amazing people. Think of it as your reward. I’m so glad I took the leap and attended AMP. Every day of the program, every single moment of it, was amazing and mind-opening.