Intro   |   Approach to CEO Coaching   |  About Robert Herzog

 

Robert Herzog, Founder and CEO, ZogLife

In Short

  • Brown University - Economics Major
  • Wharton MBA - Entrepreneurial Management Major
  • Management Consulting - 10 years experience - General Management Consultant at Mercer, Arthur D. Little, Towers and in the Internet space – specializing in implementing business and people strategy, new business development and mergers & acquisitions
  • Internet 1.0 - corporate leadership experiences at three Internet 1.0 companies
  • ZogSports and ZogCulture
    • Achieved 18 consecutive years of growth for ZogSports and ZogCulture (impacting the lives of over 1.5 Million people) including several stints on the Inc. 5000 list, Best Places to Work and B-Corp Best for the Community awards lists
    • Created a company where I want to come to work every day but don’t have to, allowing for outside business learning, work/life balance and extended sabbaticals
    • Developed committed and creative leadership team, nurtured and empowered internal talent and attracted amazing people from outside while driving decision making down to the right level

The Story

Ever since I was a kid organizing activities and events for my friends, I’ve believed that life is better when you have real personal connections, feel like you’re part of a caring community and infuse a sense of play into your life.  It’s now my life goal.  ZogLife, the parent company of ZogCulture (corporate events and connection through Play activities) and ZogSports (charity-focused recreational sports leagues for young professionals) has impacted the lives of over 1.5 million people in 18 years.  We’re currently reaching close to 200,000 people per year across six cities.

I conceived ZogSports after my close call on 9/11, when I decided to bring people together through sports and recreation to build on the tremendous charity and social good I witnessed after the attacks.  ZogSports operates in the New York metro area, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose.  ZogSports has made the Crain’s Best Places to Work list multiple times in the past several years.  We also have B Corporation Certification, joining only 1,800 companies worldwide dedicated to using business as of a force of good, and earned the prestigious “Best For the World – Community” award.

ZogSports organizes recreational sports leagues (touch football, soccer, volleyball, kickball, softball, dodgeball, basketball, bowling, etc.) for people in their 20s and 30s.  We also organize hundreds of corporate events and leagues to help company employees have fun and bond with their coworkers.  ZogSports donates a portion of proceeds to charity and helps participants Play For Your CauseTM through charitable donations to winning teams’ charities of choice.  In 18 plus years, ZogSports has over 125,000 people participating in our activities annually and has donated over $3.5M to charity.

ZogCulture grew out of the 2008 financial crisis and to help businesses create playful experiences at work so that employees can connect, be part of a community, and infuse play into the DNA of their company’s culture. We started helping companies 10+ years ago via field days, holiday party activations, in-office team building and play and other employee life cycle and company communications events.  We’ve added a wide array of digital connection activities to help remote workforces stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic through events including virtual social activities, digital team building games (Jeopardy, trivia, scavenger hunts) and virtual wellness sessions.  In 2019, we helped over 200 companies infuse play into their corporate culture, directly impacting about 75,000 people.

Prior to founding ZogSports and ZogCulture, I helped manage operations and a $200 Million budget for a division of Marsh & McLennan, a Fortune 200 insurance brokerage company.  I also have extensive entrepreneurial experience.  Before that, I helped build and manage an online payments company owned by CMGI and grow a publicly traded Internet consulting firm from 35 employees to over 600 employees and $50 Million in revenue.  Everything I do leverages my 10 years of General Management Consulting Experience at Mercer, Arthur D. Little and Towers Perrin where I specialized in operations improvement, strategic planning and acquisition analysis.

And if you’re interested in this sort of stuff, I hold an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from Wharton and a BA in Economics from Brown.  I live and play in NYC with my awesome wife of 18 years and two super active, sporty boys.

Youth Sports Coaching Career

I’ve never been more comfortable in my own skin than when I’m coaching youth sports.  I’ve coached 78 separate teams over the past 10 years, sometimes as many as 6 per season.  We’ve had the best retention of kids league-wide and competed hard every game.  I’ve long thought about why I love it so much and boiled it down to the following:

  1. Bring out the best in others – in this case the kids and their parents.  I have the chance to help them improve throughout every season
  2. Create real connections – I’ve cared about every kid I’ve ever coached.  I worked to make a personal connection to understand what makes them tick so I can customize how I coach them.  It’s been worth the investment
  3. Build caring community – I helped create real teamwork and caring on my teams.  The kids all know the rules of playing on Coach Rob’s teams:  1) Listen to the Coach, 2) Try Your Hardest and 3) Have Fun!

Awards:

  • Crain’s Best Places to Work
  • Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies
  • Entrepreneur’s Organization – Creative Vision
  • Certified B-Corp – Best For the World: Community

 

Get In Touch

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