Craig Kessler
Relational leadership
Women’s sports have never been bigger. Oft-maligned and long relegated for all the wrong reasons, female athletes are finally getting some of the spotlight they deserve. Amid this surge, professional leagues have come to recognize the importance of visionary leaders who understand what makes their sport tick. For the LPGA, this has meant turning to Craig Kessler.
A Harvard MBA graduate and veteran executive, Kessler started in July as the newest commissioner at the helm of perhaps the foremost association in women’s sports. Through organizational change and external outreach, he is seeking to capitalize on market growth and transform the LPGA into a powerhouse, two factors among many GGP Futures considered in naming Kessler its Rising Executive of the Year.
Kessler brings extensive golf leadership experience to the role. After starting his career in private equity, he was hired as the COO of Topgolf in September 2016. The organization’s number of associates quadrupled under his watch, jumping from 5,000 to 20,000 by the time he stepped away in 2021.
After a brief stint as CEO of the boutique Buff City Soap, Kessler returned to golf in May 2023 when he joined the PGA of America, serving as COO of the association representing 30,000 golf professionals for two-plus years until the LPGA came calling. He was announced as the tour’s 10th commissioner in May.
Focusing on what Kessler has done over the course of his career misses the forest for the trees somewhat. It’s who Kessler is that sets him apart in the executive space.
Perhaps item No. 1 on that list – Kessler is a devoted father.
When he initially became a parent, Kessler was confronted with a dilemma all too prevalent for first-time dads: he was flying blind. With every challenge that fatherhood threw at him, Kessler had no resources to lean on for answers. The support system for young male parents was virtually nonexistent.
Seeking to fill the void, Kessler began penning letters to connections that spanned the spectrum of his life experience. Athletes and politicians, investors and entrepreneurs, lawyers and executives – he sought out words of wisdom from every corner of his career.
As responses trickled back and his perspective on parenting broadened, Kessler noticed a consistent motif in his correspondents’ replies. Nearly every dad he contacted wanted to know what the others had said. This curiosity expressed across the board proved to be Kessler’s light-bulb moment.
“I realized pretty quickly that if these guys are interested in the advice, maybe the world might be interested too,” he said.
While the intent to create a book may not have existed at the start, by now Kessler’s vision was crystal clear. He rolled forward with this notion, scooping up more and more letters from fathers of all stripes. PGA Tour players Davis Love III and Notah Begay III wrote in. Former CIA Director George Tenet penned the foreword.
“The Dad Advice Project” was published in June 2021, featuring more than 40 contributing dads of different ages, industries, and perspectives. Each submitted a personal reflection on fatherhood, exploring how he has worked to tackle one of life’s greatest opportunities.
Despite the title, Kessler maintains the text offers wisdom to more than just parents. The tales of life, loss, and love within its pages can prove pertinent to all demographics.
“This is a book for anyone who cares about relationships,” he said. “There is a lesson to be learned about how to treat yourself and how to treat others in each one of the passages.”
“I can't think of another sport that is set up to facilitate relationships, camaraderie, and meaningful conversations better than golf. In its purest form, you're literally walking shoulder to shoulder for hours.”
craig kessler
While the book is far from a golf-centric publication, the game leaves a heavy imprint upon the text. A sizable chunk of the contributors come from the sport, either players or leaders. Kessler attributes golf’s synchronicity with fatherhood to the game’s unmatched properties as a social medium. For many, it is one of the quintessential parent-child bonding activities.
“I can't think of another sport that is set up to facilitate relationships, camaraderie, and meaningful conversations better than golf,” Kessler explained. “In its purest form, you're literally walking shoulder to shoulder for hours.”
For Kessler, working to be a better father is a sort of interpersonal “double-dip.” As a longtime executive both inside and outside of golf, he’s come to realize that the Venn diagram between parenting and business leadership is wider than many understand. The two realms, often starkly separated in life, draw on the same pool of personal qualities, communication skills, and social understanding. By improving one, he betters the other.
“To do both well you need an incredible amount of empathy,” said Kessler. “Whether you're talking about work or home, people need to feel psychologically safe in order to be the best version of themselves.”
This human-centric approach to leadership has been evident since Kessler’s initial hiring at the LPGA. During his very first press conference, he identified building trust as a core pillar of the LPGA’s future direction.
“Everything is rooted in trust,” Kessler said.
Even more than four years after its release, “The Dad Advice Project” still pushes Kessler’s life in a positive direction. In some sense, the book has changed the way he approaches his own interpersonal connections.
“It reminded me about the importance of my own relationships, not just with my kids,” Kessler said. “I’ve tried to be more intentional about staying in touch, reaching out, and continuing to learn.”
Having sought out and internalized so many philosophies on fatherhood over the years, Kessler’s distilled advice for new dads is very simple – be there.
“You may only get to do this once,” emphasized Kessler. “Do your best to be present.”
Daniel Polce
Photos courtesy LPGA
