From U of R to key post with World Series team
Anita Sehgal has defied Astronomical odds.
Her career path — from Regina to the Houston Astros, with three stops in between — is not one that is routinely navigated. But there she is at the 2017 World Series, in her capacity as the American League champions’ senior vicepresident of marketing and communications.
“If someone had told me when I was in high school at Thom Collegiate or at the University of Regina that I was going to be running marketing for a World Series baseball team, I would have thought they were joking,” Sehgal, who has a bachelor of business administration degree from the U of R, remarked during a telephone interview from Dodger Stadium.
“I’m very, very lucky that I get to do what I do, and that I get to share what I do with so many wonderful people in my life.”
Nine members of her family, for example, are to be in attendance Friday when the Astros play their World Series home opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sehgal can hardly wait to welcome her father (Gur), brothers (Arun and Pankaj), sisters-in-law (Noreen and Harpreet), nephews (Zain, Armaan and Zeeshan) and niece (Mira) to Minute Maid Park.
“What a family reunion!” she said. “It’s going to be amazing.” Much like her career path. Born in Big River, Sehgal was a youngster when her family moved to Regina. She moved away from the Queen City a couple of years after graduating from the U of R, pursuing a business career that took her to Vancouver, Calgary, back to Vancouver and then to Houston.
For her first 5 1/2 years in Texas, she worked in marketing for the second-largest sporting goods retailer in the United States — a company that had a partnership with the Astros.
“When I left (the retailer), the Astros were a client of mine for a brief period of time,” Sehgal explained. “Then I joined the Astros (in 2015) as their head of marketing and communications, so I’m pretty lucky.
“I had some great experiences that made me qualified for the job and had some great mentors along the way who taught me some good business skills. I’ve always been incredibly passionate about sports, I’m pretty lucky that I get to blend my passion for sports with my passion for business. There’s only 30 Major League Baseball clubs and I get to work with one of them.”
Sehgal’s passion for sports is such that she has attended 23 Grey Cups — including the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ home field victory in 2013 — along with a Super Bowl, NBA final, Stanley Cup final and one previous World Series.
“I think my dad and my brothers deserve credit for (the love of sports),” said Sehgal, 45. “I was the only girl in a family of all boys. My brothers and I are very close in age. I thought, ‘If my brothers can do this, why can’t I?’
“We joke about it. Arun has three sons and I get to be the cool aunt and I get to spoil them with all kinds of fun stuff. One time, my brother looked at me and said, ‘I think it’s awesome that you’re the coolest aunt, but when you become cooler than their dad, that’s not cool.’ ”
The weather in Los Angeles was hardly cool — the temperature for Tuesday’s Game 1 soared past 100 F (37 C) — but Sehgal marvelled at the experience.
“I can’t describe appropriately how special this is,” she said while Dodger Stadium’s organ played in the background as the first pitch of the Series loomed.
“Sports has the ability to bring people together like no other job, no other type of thing you can do. When I think of all of the memories that I have and the memories that I’ve been able to make for other people as a result of being a part of the Houston Astros, ‘magical’ and ‘remarkable’ and all these amazing words start rolling through my brain. It’s pretty extraordinary.”
The same can be said of how the people of Houston have responded since hurricane Harvey ravaged the region in August.
“It’s really unbelievable,” Sehgal said. “Houston Strong has become a mantra.
“Our manager (A.J. Hinch) said in an interview that you don’t actually realize how much you miss home until you can’t go home. Our ability to use baseball as a way to help heal and to help lift spirits and to help energize people was unbelievable.
“We had never played a doubleheader in Minute Maid Park. The fact that we could bring people back home, give them a day of service in the community in Houston, and then play a doubleheader for the first time ever in front of a hometown crowd was a life moment for me. It makes me very, very proud to be part of this organization.”
Since hurricane Harvey, all the Astros’ players have worn a Houston Strong patch that was designed by Sehgal’s team.
Sehgal doesn’t forget about the hometown teams, either. She has personally donated school uniforms and sports equipment to Mother Teresa Middle School in addition to assisting with fundraising by providing unique Astros experiences.
“It’s part of my way to give back to the city of Regina,” she said.
During the World Series, Sehgal and her team will do a “little bit of everything.”
“The show outside of the game of baseball is all under my area,” she added.
At one point, Sehgal figured that her sporting interests would more likely lead to a career in the football industry.
“I thought if I was ever going to work in sports, I’d end up working for the CFL,” she said. “Up until working for the Houston Astros, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were my all-time favourite professional sports team of any kind. They beat out hockey, MLB, NBA, NFL.
“I’ve been in Texas for almost nine years and I had always been a fan of the Riders more than any other sports franchise anywhere in the world — and they are now my second-favourite, because I’ve had an opportunity to be a part of the Astros organization for the last three seasons.”
The significance of that opportunity is something she appreciates.
“It’s very rare to find female executives in professional sports anywhere,” Sehgal noted. “The fact that I get to work in sports as a chief marketing officer for a professional sports team and be a diverse woman from Saskatchewan is almost as unique as just being from Saskatchewan.
“To say I’m a Saskatchewanian and that I’m a Houston Astro are badges of honour that I think are pretty awesome.”