Meet a playmaker who helps the Carolina Panthers go — on the business side
You’re probably familiar with some of the most important moments of the past few years for Tepper Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns and operates Charlotte FC and the Carolina Panthers.
To name a few:
This year’s Joy to the Carolinas festival in western North Carolina.
The week the Carolina Panthers hosted the Giants in Germany.
The night of Charlotte FC’s inaugural home match — March 5, 2022 — when over 74,000 people descended on Bank of America Stadium and made for one of the most special nights in the city’s sports history.
Others, too.
And for all these moments, Cameron Hutchinson wasn’t all that far away.
She was — and is — part of the team that brings those moments to life.
“I was standing right on the field,” Hutchinson recently recalled to The Charlotte Observer about Charlotte FC’s inaugural home game. Hutchinson is the Panthers’ director of partnerships. She was there because kids at the Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital — one of TSE’s biggest corporate partners — were carrying out the game ball to midfield, something she and her team helped facilitate. It started with her ensuring everything under her control went according to plan; it ended with her and the entire stadium singing the national anthem in goose-bumping unison.
These are just a few of the “pinch-me” moments Hutchinson has been a part of as the Panthers’ director of partnerships. And these and many others have made her an important playmaker for the Panthers — on the business side, that is. No cleats or shoulder pads necessary.
In her role she serves as a lead liaison between the Panthers and their partners. Such a role is vital in order to secure funding, sponsorships and general support for the company on Mint Street.
Beyond that, Hutchinson, 35, is also a co-chair of Thrive, which is TSE’s women’s employee resource group. The group, started by now-CEO Kristi Coleman, is evidence of the fact that Tepper Sports and Entertainment is a leader in the sports industry when it comes to employing women. Under Dave and Nicole Tepper’s leadership, the percentage of female staff has grown year over year from 18% to 30%, according to a team spokesperson.
“I love my job here,” Hutchinson said. “I love what I get to do. I love working at the Panthers. It’s an amazing organization with wonderful people here, and I have a great team, and we get to do some really great things.”
In celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, The Observer got the chance to sit down with Hutchinson to discuss her Charlotte roots, her path to the Panthers, what it’s like working for a company that values everyone’s voice and more. The interview below has been edited for clarity and brevity.
From Charlotte, to Nick Saban’s Alabama, back home
Zietlow: Where are you from?
Hutchinson: I grew up in Charlotte. I went to Charlotte Latin. All the way from kindergarten through the 12th grade. And then I went to Alabama for college.
Z: Did you grow up a Panthers fan?
H: I did. I actually went to our very first inaugural game at Clemson.
Z: Oh wow. Do you remember any moment of that game?
H: I was really young. So I remember big picture but not all the details. I mean, I remember coming to Bank of America Stadium growing up all the time, very vividly.
Z: Were you in a sports family?
H: Yes, we grew up in a huge sports family. I played sports year-round growing up, which is kind of what led me to working in the sports industry, to just keep it part of who I was.
Z: Which sports?
H: Field hockey, soccer and basketball.
Z: So you wanted to do something in sports for a while. How young were you when you knew you wanted to do that?
H: So I think it really started my senior year of high school. So at Latin, they do this program called Observe and Serve. It’s your last two weeks of your senior year. And you’re encouraged to go and get a mini-internship for two weeks, or a shadowing opportunity more or less. So through a family friend, I was connected with a lady out of the whitewater center who did their events in marketing. I went and shadowed her for a little over a week, and just loved all the things I was getting to help her with, as much as you can help as a senior in high school.
They were putting on events, hosting partners out there, and just looking at some of the brand marketing that they do, and so that really opened to my eyes: ‘Wow, there are jobs in sports.’ I’m hanging up the cleats, but how can I still stay in the sports world?
And so when I went to Alabama, I tried to get involved as quickly as possible. I had an internship in Nick Saban’s recruiting office in Alabama football. Did that for a couple of years. And that ultimately led me to working for Crimson Tide sports marketing, which is the Learfield office in Tuscaloosa. I interned there for about two years, and as I graduated, there ended up being an opening there. So I stayed there for about five years.
Had several national championships as a student and also as an employee, so it was an amazing time to be there. And then, that led me to beginning to work for the Panthers in 2017.
Z: What made the Panthers job appealing? I imagine it was nice to be back in Charlotte, working for a team you grew up watching. Is that part of the reason?
H: Yes. I love Charlotte. And I love the community, and I love the Panthers. And so, it was just marrying all of those things together. It was just kind of a dream come true to kind of come and work for the home team.
How Tepper Sports sets a good example in male-heavy industry
Z: So I know your official title is director of partnerships success and strategy, and I know sort of what that means and what that requires. (Key word: sorta.) Could you explain what you do?
H: Yes. So I lead our partnership services team on the Panthers side. So we work with all of our corporate partners. So Bank of America. Coca-Cola Consolidated. Atrium Health. Lowe’s. Harris Teeter. Bojangles. All of the brands that you see us partner with. So we bring their partnership completely to life — whether that’s in the community, their activations around game day, or things like their LED signage. We are the conduit between them and the team here at the Panthers.
Z: Before we began, you mentioned that it means a lot to you to work on a team with a lot of women. And among those women is the CEO of Tepper Sports and Entertainment, Kristi Coleman. She’s one of two women presidents in the NFL. Is that something that is important to you — working for Coleman individually but also for a company that values women’s voices?
H: It’s extremely important to me. Kristi, whether she realizes it or not, is a huge role model to me and so many other women in this organization and beyond. Like you said, she’s one of the highest- ranking females in the sports and entertainment industry. And what I love about Kristi is she leads by example. And she leads with kindness. And she just has a relentless pursuit for excellence. She carries that throughout everything she does — no matter if it’s big or small.
We joke that Kristi has the most incredible and best memory of anyone in this building. You leave meetings, and she remembers every single detail. And it matters to her. And I think you can see that throughout how the organization runs and how we carry ourselves. And that’s all through the leadership of Kristi.
In addition to that, we have a female-heavy executive leadership team. And to see all of them in those roles is so inspiring in how they lead as well. … We’re up to now about 30% (women) across Tepper Sports and Entertainment. So it’s just been exciting to see the growth here. When I started, Kristi was the director of finance. So to see her move forward has been really exciting. And when I started, I think she was the only female director at the organization, so it’s been great to see the growth. And I think Dave and Nicole Tepper have done such a great job of cultivating that type of environment and culture here. So it’s been exciting to see it continue to grow, and I know we’re just getting started.
Z: I was told you help lead a group called “Thrive.” Can you describe what that is? As well as what you do as a co-chair of the group? (The other co-chair is Kendall Leatherman.)
H: Thrive is our female employee resource group. It started in 2018. Kristi Coleman was actually one of the founding leaders of the organization. In her role as director of finance, she really stepped up and helped create this platform. Because like I mentioned, at the time, we didn’t have as large of a number of female employees here.
And so I joined the committee in 2019 and took over as a co-chair in 2021. And so our goals are to ensure that we’re creating development for our female employees. That we’re creating mentorships. … Those of us who have been here longer, how are we helping all of them grow? And giving them resources outside of their department, or maybe outside of their team? Maybe there’s someone at Charlotte FC who doesn’t know someone over at the Panthers, and really ensuring that we’re creating that for them. And then, just creating community in general.
So it’s been really exciting to see how we’ve grown the group. And we have Kristi’s support, all of the (leadership team’s) support, and Nicole’s as well. So this past spring, we hosted our first International Women’s Day event here for Tepper Sports and Entertainment, hosted by Kristi and Nicole, and we invited all the women of TSE, but then also our corporate partners, as well as our community partners. And we hosted them here in The Vault for a brunch and then had a panel and lunch together. And it really gave our staff the opportunity to network with women from all across the community and sports industry.
Any career advice?
Z: For people who want to work in sports, and specifically young women who might want to work for an NFL team one day, is there any career advice you would give them?
H: I think the biggest thing is: The hardest part is getting your foot in the door. So to just have faith in yourself, and continue to push the envelope trying to find as many opportunities as you can. And then once you do get your foot in the door, work as hard as you can. Work harder than anyone in the room. And that will carry you through.
And then on top of that, just being kind and treating people well. That’s so important. That seems so silly to say, but those two things are really what carry a lot of people very far, and I feel like they’re the two things that have helped me get to where I am.
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
