In the world of professional sports, where walking away is seemingly an unbearable task for athletes and the desire to hang in for one more game or one more season is a badge of honor, Jane Geddes scripted her exit beautifully. The curtain came down on her terms, with great contentment.
Four-hundred-seventy-seven tournaments across 21 seasons were enough, so when she shot 72-77 to miss the cut at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., in late September of 2003, Geddes, then 43, heard the message loud and clear in her heart and in her soul.
“It was great fun, but I’m done.”
The decision had been made just two weeks prior for the woman of superb skills – 11 LPGA wins, the first of which was the U.S. Women’s Open, one of her two majors. “I had never won in Portland, but the tournament had a great vibe, I loved it and I decided, ‘I want this to be my last one.’ ”
No regrets. None of those farewell tours. “Put my shoes in the middle of the ring and said, ‘I’m done,’ ” said Geddes.
Not an ounce of regret stirred within, nor was there a farewell tour of any sort. For Geddes, walking away was easy, perhaps because she looked forward to new challenges.
We are not suggesting Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo had Geddes in mind when he said, “If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.” But certainly the life story scripted by Geddes – who also won the 1989 Weetabix Women’s British Open, a major now, but not then – invites your respect and admiration for doing wonderfully what so many athletes cannot do: Close one chapter in a life and open other ones.
Promises were kept to herself (she finished her undergraduate degree in criminology) and challenges were passionately accepted (Geddes pursued Law School). To know Geddes is to appreciate how a fearlessness polished on the sports field can help morph into a confident business executive.
Heck, even a voice at the other end offering a job with WWE didn’t rattle her. “It was a phone call from a recruiter and I said, ‘You mean, wrestling? So I laughed,” said Geddes. “He said, ‘Stay with me, stay with me.”
So she did stay with the recruiter that day and lo and behold, Jane Geddes, a star in the prim and proper world of golf, was at the age of 51 swiftly immersed in the world of turnbuckles and smackdown. From 2011 to 2015 Geddes was the Vice-President of Talent Relations for WWE and should you chuckle about wrestlers coming through the ropes and doing body slams and working in steel cages, understand this: WWE has mega-rich TV deals that beam it into nearly a billion homes in 145 countries and is valued near $9 billion. It is a behemoth of an entertainment company.
Like the man said, brave goodbyes are met with new hellos.
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John Lawrence and Jane Geddes have something in common. They were both born in 1960. Now there are other commonalities – they both love golf and they’re joining forces for a new business endeavor called Project 1960.
A native of Danvers, Mass., who remembers watching Geddes win the Boston Five Classic in 1986 the week after her U.S. Women’s Open triumph, Lawrence reached out to her because so many pieces fit with their personalities and business acumen.
Lawrence and Geddes are still formalizing their business plan for Project 1960, with a variety of goals in play. “I’ve always had an affinity for doing deals,” said Lawrence, who years ago bargained contracts for NYNEX, then for 20-plus years was co-founder of Tournament Solutions along with Pam Berube.
Providing quality awards, trophies, golf accessories, timepieces and other products to the USGA, PGA of America, and a healthy line of other tournaments and private golf clubs, Tournament Solutions was a fixture on the golf scene but a few years ago Lawrence and Berube sold it to Ahead, LLC.
It was a win-win for both, coming at a time when both Lawrence and Berube wanted to pursue other avenues. For Lawrence, he thought there was a need to help state golf associations and PGA sections get more corporate help. So, too, vibrant junior golf missions like Youth on Course and First Tee.
“These groups have a lot to offer,” said Lawrence, who asks why not to naming rights for tournaments or title-sponsors for groups who are in the business of giving golfers golf opportunities.
“There are so many different ways to tap into the assets. But they need help from the outside to get funding. They really don’t have the bandwidth or infrastructure,” said Lawrence.
Another side of Project 1960 is the desire to help LPGA tour professionals secure more sponsorship from the corporate world. During his years at Tournament Solutions Lawrence met Megan Khang from Rockland, Mass., who was so talented she made it onto the LPGA as a teenager.
Some solid deals eventually came Khang’s way, and Lawrence directed her to Jeff Chilcoat’s Sterling Sports Management. “I liked helping Megan,” said Lawrence, “but I’d like to help her more and help Jeff’s group of players even more.”
The call to Geddes was an easy one for John Lawrence to make. “She is so impressive. She has completely re-invented herself and has become such a good executive.”
OK, so the WWE years offer that “whoa, that’s so cool” step-back when you study Jane Geddes’ post-playing days. She totally understands, but is quick to rave about her years with WWE from a business vantage point.
Jane Geddes (left) and Gigi Fernandez surrounded by their twins, Madison (left) and Karson. Jane and Gigi, major champions during their playing days, are both busy in their own business endeavors.
“I just tell people that it was an entertainment juggernaut and, oh, by the way, there’s a little wrestling that goes on.”
Geddes explains that “they were four unbelievably intense years” at WWE and that she learned so much by working closely with Paul “Triple H” Levesque (still the Chief of Content with WWE). “I’m just so glad I did it, but it was time to move on.”
Lawrence knows the WWE days catch your attention, but he sees so much more depth to Jane Geddes’ resume. Finishing college and going to Law School shows a commitment that impresses Lawrence, but he points out that she worked for two LPGA Commissioners.
During Carolyn Biven’s years, Jane Geddes was the Senior Director of Tournament Affairs, then promoted to Vice-President of Competition and later to Senior Vice-President of Tournament Operations and Player Services.
After the stint at WWE, she worked with Michael Whan and became CEO of the Executive Women’s Golf Association. Later, she was Executive Director of the International Association of Golf Administrators.
Business experience, all of it, but there have also been successes in life that have shaped Jane Geddes significantly and positively. She is married to Gigi Fernandez, the former tennis professional who teamed with three different partners (Robin White, Martina Navratilova, and Jane Novotna) to win 17 titles in the majors championships.
They are the parents of 16-year-old twins, Karson and Madison, who are at the center of their world, but both Jane and Gigi exemplify how former professional athletes can surely re-invent themselves and meld seamlessly into the working world.
(Gigi operates popular tennis experience trips and successful camps and remains active in padel tennis. In addition to her WWE and LPGA experience, Jane Geddes has a real estate license and has been a volunteer golf coach at the local high school in Tampa, Fla.)
“When I retired from golf, I didn’t retire from life,” said Geddes. “I didn’t melt away. I wanted to dare myself and I have. I wasn’t afraid to step outside (the box) and challenge myself.”
For Geddes, enter Project 1960, and Lawrence couldn’t be more thrilled. “I know a lot of people in golf," he said, "but she’s the first one I turned to. She still has the drive; that’s impressive.”
