Women's History Month Q&A: Morgan Stanley Head of Global Sports and Entertainment, Sandra L. Richards

Richards is a trailblazer in the world of finance and a leading figure in the sport and entertainment sector.

You've worked in finance, through various roles, for your entire career. What does your work mean to you? 

I've always seen money management as a tool for creating your own future, which is something that was really drilled into me during my time at theJackie Robinson Foundation. I think that that's where I really saw the importance of what an investment into athletes and other students who needed scholarships to go to college could produce. I'm also a recipient and a product of people investing in me, from a scholarship standpoint.

There's always been a deep and personal meaning behind my work in money management. It's about the importance of what proper money management allows you to do.

I understood how having that support played into furthering someone's education.

Tell me more about your specific interest in sports and entertainment. 

I've been around sports basically my whole life. I love basketball. That was my sport growing up. I played in high school and then I have brothers, sisters, and my god-brother that went into the NBA and overseas. My role as Head of Global Sports and Entertainment is a one that I took on in 2018, but 

And then again, when I saw from the Jackie Robinson Foundation how athletes and entertainers were very supportive of that and having some insight in owners and executives, just having a glimpse of an insight from there, I saw the importance of how financial education, financial literacy played in the sports and entertainment space.

How do you see your work as empowering women in sports to create their own futures?

I see myself and the team that I work with to be sources of information. I think that many of times, some of it just starts with equipping our clients with basic knowledge. In the sports and entertainment space, our starting-out clients might not have been exposed to money management education prior to reaching this level of influence. Being able to be a highway and along the highway to be able to be something where we can offer knowledge and expertise to people is really important in this space.

QUESTION

And again, somebody that came from a space where I was on the other side of scene where people, when you got education, when you got... And not just education, but people invested in you, invested in what you're doing and invested in the sport. And again, I played basketball in high school and junior high school, and my coach was one of the foremost important people for me in terms of talking about education, making sure that we understood life lessons, not just playing on the court.

So to me, all of my experiences growing up and professional experiences led me to understand, look, I knew it intuitively, but it's just seeing what is happening in women's sports, why it's important to be in this space to help provide and open doors for education and opportunities.

In addition to her work at Morgan Stanley, Sandra L. Richards is a published children's book author. Her award-winning book, Rice and Rocks, celebrates culture and diversity through the lens of food around the world.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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