Havens got Mets fever in third grade when his family moved from Texas to Chatham, N.J. He loved watching his childhood hero, phenom outfielder Darryl Strawberry. “I would never and have never wavered in my support since then,” he said.
Before going to bat for the Mets’ $500 million business, Havens was CEO of Bloomberg Media and held top spots at Time Inc. and Condé Nast. His hiring late last year surprised some, but Havens sees it as a natural fit.
The team, according to him, wanted a leader who thought differently from traditional baseball executives. “It’s not a big stretch,” the economics major said. “I’ve successfully launched and built new digital and social media businesses. I understand the video and streaming world, and streaming rights are a big, big deal for us.”
“If you know yourself and know you’re not perfect, that you have your weaknesses, that leads to humility. That leads to being selfless and more of a team player. If you can channel that, more people are going to want you on their team.”
Unlike at other clubs, Havens has no involvement in the day-to-day game. He only manages financial, legal, and human resources issues. However, team owner David Stearns and Havens do discuss what happens on the field. “I provide my point of view as a well-informed fan, but David has been doing this his whole career, and he’s got a long-term plan on how to rebuild this team,” Havens said.
And well-informed he is. Havens saw about 90 percent of this year’s games in person. The need to win in baseball keeps him hyper-focused. “In other businesses it’s not necessarily about winning but about growing above the market. Here the acute focus on winning creates a different cultural feel,” he said. “I have to figure out how to rally people if we’re in a slump.”
The secret to success on and off the field, according to Havens, is humility — not intelligence or even long hours. “If you know yourself and know you’re not perfect, that you have your weaknesses, that leads to humility. That leads to being selfless and more of a team player. If you can channel that, more people are going to want you on their team.”
Did he think the Mets would rally and advance to the National League Championship Series this year? “Absolutely,” Havens said. “If you catch ‘it’ at the right time, anything, truly anything, can happen.”
