TCNJ

34 FALL 2016 COURTESY SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS don't just talk the talk," Mulholland says. "They've had life experiences that have been difficult. You understand and respect and you listen to him more. Because he's not just some guy talking. He really wants you to do better." A quarterback and defensive back in high school, Guido was switched to wide receiver at TCNJ, but he never cracked the starting lineup. In 2002, his senior season, he played in five games and caught two passes, including one for a touchdown in a 55–14 romp over Kean University. "I would not say I was a massive contributor to the football team," he concedes. "At least not on game day." Yet Guido earned a reputation as a ferocious practice player. "I don't know if fearless is quite the right word," Hamilton says, "but he wasn't scared to make the tough catch, that's for sure." AL GUIDO WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO be copied on the email. It was 2007, and Guido was the senior director of ticket sales for the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League. He'd just returned from interviewing for a job as sales manager with the Dallas Cowboys, one of the most gilded franchises in American sport. But Guido left the meeting disappointed. "I didn't attack the interview the way I think an interview should be attacked," he says. So he was taken aback the following morning when he saw the email from Chad Estis, then the Cowboys' vice president of sales and marketing. Estis had sent the note to Jerry Jones, the Cowboys' owner, and to other members of the team's front office. Guido knew immediately it was not intended for his eyes. According to Guido, Estis wrote something like this: "Obviously Al's a very polished guy and he could do the job at a very high level. But I'm not sure he's passionate enough to want to do the job." Guido stewed for about 30 minutes. He knew at this point he was not getting the job. So he sat down and crafted a response to Estis, cc'ing everyone who had received the original note. "If you don't hire me," Guido concluded, "it will be the worst mistake the Cowboys ever made." When he got to his office later that day, he took a call from Steven Jones, the Cowboys' chief operating officer. "Son," Jones said, "that took a lot of balls, which I appreciate. Do you want to do this?" "I absolutely want to do this," Guido told Jones. "I meant what I said. I'm in if you want me." In Dallas, Guido directed the premium seat department at the newly opened Cowboys Stadium (now AT&T Stadium). The team broke industry records for the sale of personal seat licenses. Three years later Guido went to work for Legends, a new sales and marketing firm aimed at college and professional teams and founded jointly by the Cowboys, the New York Yankees, and Goldman Sachs. Guido was hired as the senior vice president of global sales. His first client was the San Francisco 49ers, who were hoping to build a new stadium of their own. He worked hand in hand with Jed York, the 49ers CEO, and helped advocate for the stadium, which voters in Santa Clara, California, approved in June 2010. Guido then led a sales campaign for 49ers personal seat licenses and private suites, generating nearly $1 billion and nearly covering the $1.3 billion construction cost. In January 2014, as Levi's Stadium neared completion, York asked Guido to join the 49ers as chief operating officer. The stadium opened that summer, ahead of schedule and under budget. It's regarded as the techiest stadium in the NFL, containing 400 miles of fiber and copper cable and 1,200 wi-fi access points. The stadium's mobile app enables fans to buy tickets, watch instant replays, even order food and drinks from their seats. Last year Sports Business Journal named Levi's Stadium the Sports Facility of the Year, and earlier this year it was the site of Super Bowl 50. A week after the Super Bowl, Guido was named president of the 49ers, charged with overseeing the business side of a franchise that Forbes has valued at $2.7 billion. It's a demanding job—Guido typically works 70- to 80-hour weeks—but it comes with some perks. Like the fourth game of the 2014 season, when the 49ers were playing the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles in the second home GUIDO LED A SALES CAMPAIGN FOR 49ERS PERSONAL SEAT LICENSES AND PRIVATE SUITES, GENERATING NEARLY $1 BILLION AND NEARLY COVERING THE STADIUM'S $1.3 BILLION CONSTRUCTION COST. FPO Go to the tape In five seconds, the 49ers' app can display replays from multiple angles. It can also locate the nearest bathroom with the shortest line.

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