The CFO Bracket Challenge Q&A: Paul Trager of MKTG

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Paul Trager is the CFO of MKTG, a New-York-based marketing firm. Clients include Nike and the NFL, so it's no surprise Trager would join GE's CFO Bracket Challenge for charity... and it's even less of a surprise when you find out he coaches basketball on the side. We asked Trager about his bracket picks, his business experience, how schooling a team of fifth-graders in the finer points of basketball informs that experience, and his charity of choice, Pet ResQ. His answers - and his picks - below. (Interview condensed for length and clarity.)

One thing that sticks out is you picked Michigan State and Louisville to make the Final Four, with the Spartans winning the championship. Why do you like those teams so much? Is it how well they've been playing recently? Do you think they have weak regions they can exploit?

Nothing about the regions. Michigan State: I think they played really well in their [conference] tournament, and Tom Izzo, I think he is just money. I think they're playing just about as well as anybody, and some of the teams they're playing along the way - I think they're gonna kick the crap out of Virginia [chuckles]. Virginia's a good team, but I think their time has come and gone. Louisville, I think they are tough and aggressive. And again, it comes down to the coach. Rick Pitino, when he gets in these [tournament] situations, he's just going to be the man.

Like a few other [CFO brackets] I've seen, yours is light on upsets, especially early on. One surprise you do have is Oregon going to the Elite Eight. And your main upset in the early round is North Dakota State over Oklahoma. Is there any reason you picked that one or just trying to capture the one 12-over-5 upset that happens almost every year?

On the morning drive in, I listen to ESPN, and they were talking about how the most likely upsets are 12-over-5 upsets. I've seen Oklahoma play; my daughter goes to the University of Texas, so I'm kind of familiar with that whole conference. [ESPN] was talking about all these reasons why North Dakota State was great at the 12-5, and I just said, "You know what, I've got to go with one upset."

Oregon is really the only much lower-seeded team you have going a long way. Any particular reason?

Yeah, I watched them play recently. I watched them play Arizona in a game Arizona won, but Oregon hung in there the whole way. I like their tempo. I love the way they play - just like their football team, it's totally up-tempo. I have them beating Wisconsin. I think Wisconsin's a typical Big Ten or Big 12 team, and that's going to be a good game. Wisconsin, if they play Oregon's game, they can't keep up with them. I just said, I can't be conservative the whole way around. I'm going with teams that I've actually watched play in the last four weeks or so, so I have an idea of what they're doing.

The more [CFO Challenge] brackets I see, I notice they're fairly conservative on upsets. Does that reflect your personality and the way your approach your business? Is it risk aversion? Do you think that plays into how you pick your bracket?

Part of it is I know I have to take some chances on this if I'm going to win it. And I think that the risks I took, just like I explained them to you, they're calculated risks. And I would have to say that's how I approach business or life in general. Like Oregon, I'm familiar with them; I've watched them play. Michigan State, there's a reason I have them beating Virginia. I've watched both these teams. And I'm not playing for them, they have to show up and play, but there's rationale behind the chance.

For the [CFO] Challenge we're interested in the intersection of sports and business. Although the company you work for isn't a sports company per se, you do have clients who are in the sports world - Nike, and even more so the NFL. I've asked almost everyone [in the challenge about] the parallels between the sports and business world, and what it takes to succeed in both of them.

I use sports analogies all the time at work, and one of them I always ask is: "Who's the quarterback?" I want to know who that person is - if they've stepped up, if they're taking total ownership of what's going on. And when I find out who the quarterback is, I self assess if I think they have the respect of their team, if they're going to have the accountability of it.

I will also sidetrack and tell you: I've coached basketball teams for a long time, and I currently have a travel team. One of the reasons I like to do this so much is, this is a great way for kids to learn to work with people that you're not necessarily going to be friends with, but you're working towards a common goal. Everyone has to rely on everyone else to get the job done.

Do you feel your experience in business makes you a better coach, and vice versa, does your experience working with these basketball teams with young players make you better at your job?

I think it's a two-way street. There are things you can learn from these kids, because they're young. They're fifth-graders; they're innocent. The team I have right now, they were small, were not quick, and we didn't have a great record this year. But we fought, and we were in every game. And initially, in the beginning of the year I think I put way too much pressure on them to win. What I took away from that: if we're under unbelievable deadlines for our project, sometimes I need to take off the pressure and just guide them through the whole thing and get them to the end goal. It's much more productive.

Lastly, I'd like to hear a little bit about the charity you're playing for. What is it and how did you choose it?

[My family] rescued a dog about 10 years ago, and the dog died back in August. I'd never had a pet as a kid, and everyone was really upset; it was a great dog. We decided we weren't ready for a dog, but my wife got involved with this organization called Pet ResQ. So we started fostering dogs. We get them stabilized and give them to families. The third dog we had was just adopted - it's just a wonderful experience, I think the people running this thing are unbelievably passionate.

And the thing I got out of it was that adopting a pet like this - I saw the families we gave these dogs to, and they're so happy. These dogs are going to give them a lot of happiness, and we also saved these dogs' lives. Their [previous] owners just gave up on them. Having had a dog and seeing this, I think it's a really wonderful thing. [Pet ResQ] operates on a shoestring budget. The people who really run this thing don't take any compensation. They do this because they love to do it, and I think this will go a long way to help them out.

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