22-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Huddle up with accountability, hard work
A Pro Football Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl winner's Winnipeg visit elicited advice, an award and — as expected — an audience dotted with San Francisco 49ers jerseys.
Steve Young received the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award (IDEA) on Wednesday. It's an accolade given annually by the Associates of the University of Manitoba's Asper School of Business, a group comprised of more than 365 senior executives.
Young was the guest of honour Wednesday evening at the IDEA reception. First, though, the NFL quarterback-turned-private equity firm co-founder directed his attention towards 475 high school and university students.
Aspiring entrepreneurs watched the businessman intently as he gave a speech and answered questions.
'I'm just sharing, paying … forward, the things that I learned that have created the most long-lasting effect,' Young told reporters after his morning talk.
His key messages: be accountable and work hard.
He learned both on the field. Young played 13 of his 15 NFL seasons with the 49ers, which landed him a bronze bust in Canton, Ohio, after two league MVP and one Super Bowl MVP awards. (He was named to the U.S. College Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.)
In early days, Young said he didn't always take responsibility for interceptions. He'd point out others' errors.
'But, No. 1, the ball was in my hands and now it's in their hands, and I'm responsible,' said Young, 63. 'No matter what truth happened in between, that's the truest truth.'
He began taking accountability, he told the crowd.
'Mitigation' techniques — or avoiding ownership of mistakes — happen both in sport and the corporate world, Young said.
Other lessons he took from football translated to his new career. He co-founded Huntsman Gay Global Capital in 2007.
'When I started private equity, I couldn't believe how poorly people got along,' Young said. '(In football), to be great, you have to lose yourself in the group.'
Business also thrives with teamwork and a common goal, he said. Building connections in the corporate world requires setting values and following through, he later told reporters.
Young also differentiated between transactional business — the way U.S. politics is being played, he said — and 'abundance' business, which aims to make positive change.
'If it's just you getting a paycheque and going home, then it's never going to be the place that you care enough to really make a difference,' Young stated.
He has degrees in law and finance from Brigham Young University. Law was his backup plan if pro football didn't work out.
Young's shift to corporate came after football had worked out, including a then-record rookie contract with the now long-defunct USFL. He decided to tackle something new following his 1999 retirement from the NFL.
'The rest of my life, do I wander around trying to talk about something that I was great at or am I going to try to be good at something else?' he recounted.
So Young shifted into private equity. In between and after, he worked as an ESPN analyst; the job never felt permanent, he said.
During his transition to business, he leaned on people who had the expertise he didn't, Young told reporters.
Huntsman Gay Global Capital now manages more than US$7 billion in assets. Young also began the Forever Young Foundation, which touches a number of initiatives like music therapy for children suffering chronic illness and school builds in Africa.
'These talks are greatly valuable,' Medhavin Kapoor, a third-year Asper student, said after Young's presentation.
Kapoor is majoring in entrepreneurship and accounting. Young recommended students balance a dream and a plan — something Kapoor said he admires and strives to do.
'I would love to have my business set up, work upon it continuously and go for that grind,' Kapoor said.
Saad Hayat, president of Commerce Students' Association, called Young's talk 'powerful.'
'Really happy that he decided to come and make the trip,' Hayat said. 'He's got a busy schedule, so coming here and highlighting an award like this, seeing the effect that Winnipeg business has at an international level is spectacular.'
Mayor Scott Gillingham used the Wednesday event to encourage students to stay and establish themselves in Winnipeg.
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'On this stage, it'll be you … telling your story to the next generation of students,' Gillingham said.
High school students travelled from Arborg, Morris and Portage la Prairie to hear Young speak.
Last year, local businessman Gerry Price received the IDEA award. Four decades' worth of business leaders have earned the accolade.
Paul Soubry, president and chief executive of NFI Group, chairs the Associates' IDEA branch.
Gabrielle PichéReporter
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
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