Women of Angels Baseball: Molly Jolly

[AngelsWin.com]

By Ellen Bell, AngelsWin.com Staff Writer - 

 

Molly Jolly gets asked the same question all the time.

 

"How did you get such a cool job?"

 

As Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration, Jolly oversees financial matters for the Angels. It may seem that working in professional sports requires specialized talents. But the steps that brought her to the front office of a major league baseball team are the same ones needed for success at any job: finding your passion, making a plan, and gathering as many skills and experiences along the way. 

 

When Jolly was a kid in Florida, going to Miami Dolphins games with her dad, she couldn't have known that she would one day work for a professional sports franchise. Instead, she started on a typical career path, majoring in economics and accounting and working in a traditional corporate environment. 

 

Her job at the Atlantic Ritchfield Company (ARCO) led her to Anchorage, Alaska where she was an inventory accountant and financial analyst for their exploratory drilling operation. While in Alaska, Jolly became interested in the business operations of the local minor league hockey team. This attraction to the financial side of professional sports set her on a course that would lead to her future career.

 

“I had run the gamut of the oil experience,” said Jolly. “I was looking for a change.”

 

She brought her dream of a new career in the entertainment/sports industry with her to  Los Angeles, where she earned her MBA in Business Administration at UCLA.  For her thesis project she wrote a business plan for buying a minor league hockey team. This  led to consulting work with the Long Beach Ice Dogs. It was about this time when The Disney Company was looking for a Director of Finance for both the Anaheim Ducks and the Angels. 

 

The right job came along at just the right time.

 

Success may have seemed like an overnight stroke of good luck, but it was really a result of years of business experience and an intentional plan to join the industry of her choice. 

 

“It was a combination of moving in the right direction and then having enough momentum to make it happen when the opportunity came along.”

 

Today, Molly Jolly is responsible for the financial and administrative side of the Angels Organization, which includes everything from financial reporting and budgeting to ticketing operations and human resources. From her side of things, working in the front office of a major league baseball team is no different than any other corporation.

 

“Baseball is a business,” said Jolly. “Having a broad tool kit of transportable skills is more important than knowing the difference between an ball and a strike.”

 

Being a woman makes little difference when it comes to business opportunities in the professional sports industry. 

 

“In the Angels organization, we need people with a wide variety of skills,” Jolly explains. “Regardless of gender or sports experience. We look for people who are good at what they do.”

 

During home games, she can be found at Angels Stadium, making sure that all is going smoothly. Being on duty during the game is part of the job description in professional sports. But every once and awhile, Jolly likes to takes a break and enjoy the same experience as the fans. Once on her birthday, she told her husband that she wanted to sit in the stands, eat a hot dog and watch the game like everyone else. 

 

“Nobody knew who I was. I could just relax and enjoy the game like all the other fans.”

 

Look for my next 'Women of Angels Baseball' segment on Monday, June 17th as I uncover yet another influential woman behind 

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[Chuck]

The first in this awesome series by Ellen Bell. 

 

Great job capturing these fine women of Angels Baseball behind the scenes, Ellen. 

[fan_since79]

She has a cool name!

[mancini79]

Great first article of the series. But you missed the most important part...Can she pitch?

[Bruce Nye]

Terrific, Ellen.  You've done it again.  I look forward to the next edition.

[red321]

Kudos! well done.

[Bombsauce]

Fun to read about those contributing behind the scenes. Nice work!

[Blarg]

Great first article of the series. But you missed the most important part...Can she pitch?

Don't be a dope you can clearly see she is a left handed power hitter. Josh better get his act together or there going to be a new right fielder.

[Halo25Power]

Great article and feature.

 

Way to go Ellen and AngelsWin!

[Angel Oracle]

Great start to this series, Ellen

[Chuck]

She has a cool name!

Ellen? was Molly Jolly when doing this interview?

Really cool name indeed.

[LBHalos17]

Very nice read... I would think the first question she always gets is about her awesome name!

[Afternoon Angel]

Molly was very gracious with me and I ended our conversation even more impressed with the Angels Organization than before. 

Thanks for the kind words :-)

[ettin]

Not that she would ever say publicly, but I wonder how organized or unorganized this franchise's finances are.  I have a suspicion that this isn't the most structured finance dept. she's ever been a part of.

 

Not sure why you would think or say that? As of last year the Angels were one of the few clubs in MLB that had ZERO debt?

[yk9001]

That's a great story.

[Chuck]

Molly was very gracious with me and I ended our conversation even more impressed with the Angels Organization than before. 

Thanks for the kind words :-)

 

Very good, Ellen. Looking forward to Monday for the second in this series. 

[Chuck]

Heads up: Our second part in this awesome series is going to be posted this Thursday, not on Monday (today) as originally announced. 

 

When I asked Tim Mead if he saw the article he said: "We actually passed along this outstanding effort last week.  Ellen did a wonderful job and I know Molly and the organization are most appreciative."

[101halo]

Love the name, feel bad for her younger self with that name in HS. 

It's weird, in my experience professionally the finance execs have been all male, but the few female ones I've had the pleasure of working with have been way better at their jobs. Small sample size of my long time single employer, but that's my experience.