A successful athlete and innovator, Kelly, shares her second story about her mentor, Harvey.  

Harvey takes time to understand Kelly’s values — a sense of belonging coming from a shared military background — and finds meaningful ways to provide networking and career opportunities. 

“I wrote about my dad in the previous post, as one of my earliest and strongest male allies. In 2012, my dad introduced me to Harvey Floyd II. At the time, Harvey was working for the Center for Creative Leadership and my dad encouraged me to attend one of their sessions. We immediately connected over a shared history of our respective childhoods in military families.

Harvey became my sounding board as I was navigating my next move. At Misericordia, my graduate assistant stint was coming to a close and I was grappling with what was next for me. I received a job offer in January that I had declined, in order to finish my degree. I received another to be an academic advisor, and declined for no specific reason other than uncertainty about it as the next best move. What seemed to be the logical next step, was to take charge of my own collegiate program; but that didn’t feel right either. Harvey’s wisdom helped me come to my own conclusion that leaving higher education was the right choice and embracing the challenge of a new city and new industry was what would likely make me jump out of bed every morning.

When I came to Under Armour, I was working in the office of our brand’s Founder and CEO; Kevin Plank. I learned a lot, very quickly and demonstrated that I was unflappable, loyal and an asset to the team. In that office I met President Clinton, opened mail from Jay-Z and sent a swag bag to Bill Gates. I was responsible for accomplishing tasks for which I had no prior experience, with little to no room for error and I crushed it.

I was swiftly promoted to the Innovation team, tasked to create and execute a brand for Open Innovation. Our site Idea House receives thousands of submissions and resulted in some great innovations for athletes. For Kevin Plank’s 2017 Cupid’s Cup the charge was to take the program national and get top talent. I was heavily involved in all aspects of that program, and at the time it was my passion project. I hand-selected and successfully recruited four of the five finalists; two of which were later named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, including our winner.

Harvey knows that I have a passion for learning and will send me a text to check out a podcast (HBR Women at Work) or a new book (How Women Rise); but the most meaningful thing Harvey has done for me, is introduce me to other like-minded, ambitious young women. He knows how important the sense of belonging is to me (military childhood) and he has helped me find professional ‘teammates.’ These women have great energy, big dreams and are wicked smart; and I’ve been so grateful for each and every introduction Harvey has made, because they always reinvigorate me!

Through these professional experiences and with monthly conversations with Harvey, I learned that I have a passion for the entrepreneurial spirit and am bolstering it however I can.

One of the things that Harvey has said to me that helps center me, is that I am ‘poised for change.’  He’s right. I am always ready for the next challenge.”

– Kelly Becker, Innovation Partnerships, Under Armour
Baltimore, MD