Love for tennis, learning from leaders and taking leadership: the journey of Perth Heat CEO Brett Patten.
Brett Patten's journey has taken him from the technology industry into the sports industry where is kicking goals.
IMAGE: Supplied
The journey of working in sports has its share of ups and downs.
More often than not, the satisfaction of helping people through leadership fulfils the reward to make the sporting organisation a better one.
For Brett Patten, his unwavering dedication to sports from grassroots to top-level professional sport has earned him the respect and trust of his peers within the State of WA.
Patten's early beginnings in pursuing sport began in Northern Western Australia.
Born in Geraldton, he is one of three brothers along with Darren (a magnificent tennis player in his own right) and younger brother Shaun, who is in television and film and was part of the Oscar winning-film Blade Runner 2049 as part of the Design and Production team.
Their father Don, who played for South Fremantle under WA football royalty John Todd from 1965 to 1968, encouraged them to participate in as many sports as possible.
Sports included golf, tennis, indoor cricket, football, and basketball. But it was tennis that garnered Brett's interest.
Patten felt a sense of community within, with his uncles and aunts already involved in the sport.
Tennis in Geraldton was exponentially rising during the 1970s and 1980s.
Tennis pennants were important in growing the community, where people of all ages could convene and build friendships.
The biggest tournament, the Geraldton Easter Open was one of the biggest tournaments in the State - which held its 99th event in April.
Patten reflects on the early days of playing tennis with fond memories.
"The environment and the community around the tennis club was a safe, fun and inclusive space, combine that with the fact we started playing tennis at (the age of) five," Patten said.
"As we became pretty good at tennis, we just wanted to play even more. We had a tennis court around the corner at our neighbours' place when we lived in Mount Tarcoola on Highbury Street and we used to go there and play on the old bitumen court.
“But gee, those were care free days. We gravitated towards tennis because one, the old man (Don) encouraged us into it. But we just had a real love for the community around it.”
Becoming an exceptional tennis player didn't happen straight away for Brett.
Unlike Darren, who was constantly a top-two West Australian ranked player, a top 10 player in Australia and was part of The Australian Davis Cup squad. Patten candidly delves into recounting how his growth took longer.
"With me, it was a bit of a slow burn. My body was a bit underdeveloped. A lot of the kids I was playing against were big, strong kids," Patten said.
"My game developed as I got older. When I was 19 years of age, I found myself beating all those kids that I was losing to during my junior days".
"That was really because I took a while to understand, I guess my style of play, understood that my body was going to get bigger and stronger as I grew.
"I think it was understanding the mental aspect of how to play competitively as well."
"At the age of 19, I achieved a breakthrough victory that fueled my tennis aspirations by defeating Bart Wuyts, Belgium's top Davis Cup player and the world number 69, during the City of Fremantle Tennis Championship in 1991."
Belgium used the City of Fremantle Championship as a warm up tournament before they played Australia at Royal Kings Park Tennis Club in the opening round of the 1991 Davis Cup competition.
Patten touches upon the exponent of repetition as the reason for his improvement on the tennis court, bringing up the 10,000 hours concept made famous by author Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success.
Patten’s further advancement into leadership occurred during his tenure in the technology sector, where he held senior leadership roles with Telstra, Vita Group Limited, Winc, and served as Regional General Manager (WA/SA) at Fuji Xerox Australia, and as WA State Manager for 5G Networks Ltd.
The virtue of empathy was his go-to, having a deep understanding and compassion for supporting people.
A trait he refers to frequently.
Having witnessed firsthand the shortcomings of immature leadership in previous organisations, he was able to intuitively define the type of leader he aspired to be. This vision has guided his approach as Tennis West CEO and continues to shape his role as Perth Heat CEO.
"My natural inclination was to coach. To focus on the gaps in staff capabilities and support their professional growth from where they currently are professionally, to where they wanted to be. My focus was always to support staff to get them to the next level of their capability?" Patten said about helping his employees.
"And that is all done through leading with an empathic lens, and it's all done through the power of listening and it's all done through putting yourself in their shoes."
To refine himself as a leader, Patten went back to University from 2007 to 2008, completing a Graduate Diploma of Business Management, then his Masters of Business Administration (MBA).
The course primarily focused on leadership and management, with Patten taking what he had learnt into his professional career.
"Leadership is an undervalued skill set. The more we can teach people about being a leader, (that) leadership isn't about having a job title, not just about being a CEO or general manager or a team leader," Patten said.
"It's about how you manage yourself every day within your team. How do people view you within your team?
"Do they see you as a leader amongst their team? Do they see you as a good person? What do they say about you when you leave the room? That all comes down to your style and your leadership ability.
"So that's something I'm conscious of. And I just get such great joy out of supporting people, giving people opportunities to grow, seeing people thrive professionally and personally.
"Whether in sports, academia, or their professional careers, it brings me great joy to see them thrive and advance, rather than hinder their progress. My goal is to uplift and support them throughout their journey, helping them become the best they can be.”
Before Patten landed both feet in the sports industry, he started in the technology industry, specifically Telstra in 1999, one of Australia's well known companies.
Throughout his time, he was immersed in the training culture, life-long friendships and Telstra's willingness to invest time into their employees.
Speaking thoughtfully about his experience, Patten saw the valuable leadership lessons taught by the top hierarchy, always willing to help people achieve their goals.
Patten mentions how working at Telstra ignited his desire to take on a leadership position and find ways to make an impact on other people.
Valuable leadership skills and advice handed down to Patten came from Karl Sice, whom he describes as one of the "most empathetic and inspiring" leaders. Sice worked closely, mentoring Patten in establishing a compassionate leadership style and treating each of his staff equally.
Patten keeps in close contact with Sice to this day.
He credits Sice for introducing him to the true essence of leadership.
"So I think a big lesson for life is that everyone needs a mentor, whether it be in your personal life, your sporting life or your professional life," Patten said about having leaders who have your best interests.
"Don’t be afraid to ask to be mentored. Don't be afraid to say, " I love your style. Is there a chance that we can sit down every month and I can pick your brain around certain things? Can you provide me with insights into some of the wins and fails you experienced in business or your sporting career?
"So it's really important that people hitch their trailer to someone that they see great potential and great value in as a leader and you learn and adopt your style as you go.
"My leadership style has changed over the years. But at the very core, it has always been an empathic approach, and trying to support people on their journey. So that's a key lesson that I've learned during my professional leadership journey."
Whilst Patten was having a successful career in technology, he was planning his next steps to enamour tennis coverage across Western Australia.
Before entering the Tennis West Board, in 2016 Patten won the State League playing for Cottesloe Tennis Club. And in 2020, with Darren, the brothers won the ITF Australian Doubles Title in Busselton.
However, giving tennis the thorough coverage it deserved was another challenge.
During the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, tennis saturation was prominent through the various written articles of long-time sports West Australian newspaper journalists Russell Reid, Gary Stocks, and current Chief Sports Reporter at The West Australian Glen Quartermain, whom Patten mentions as a "great proponent" for local state tennis.
Other highly regarded sports reporters Arthur Marshall and Andrea Mitchell wrote extensive tennis pieces for The Sunday Times.
Finding a way to re-incorporate tennis coverage into mainstream media and various platforms drove Patten to approach Quartermain about giving local tennis vital exposure.
For six years from October 2011 to January 2018, Patten wrote for The Sunday Times, propelling the sport and providing clubs valuable coverage.
During this time, Patten looked to diversify tennis into the broadcasting sphere.
In February 2011, he and Darren approached the Founder of 91.3 SportFM Colin Minson about getting a tennis program on the airwaves.
For a decade, Court Talk garnered a significant fan following and was the only dedicated tennis radio program in Australia for over a decade.
Their vision was simple: promote local WA tennis, local players, local coaches, and local clubs, and take trips down memory lane with Australian tennis greats.
Patten looks back with pride on the enriching experience.
"Our very first interview was with John Alexander. I look back at those old interviews and I think, gee wiz I was very stiff and very stilted," Patten said.
"And then as you develop, you become a little bit more yourself on air. Darren and I were immensely proud of the program and had a great time broadcasting.
"We interviewed so many great tennis players from Australia, from around the world, and we promoted tennis locally and really put our local players on a pedestal where people recognised who they were.
"And culminating that with The West Australian, getting articles, getting photos into the West. I feel very privileged to have been able to really give tennis some exposure. Unashamedly, I and brother Darren were the only ones promoting local tennis."
This platform allowed Patten to put himself forward to run for the Tennis West Board.
Order of Australia Medallist Warren Harding, vice-president at the time, encouraged him to apply.
At the Tennis West Annual General Meeting on October 25, 2018, Patten along with Jan Truscott (re-elected) were appointed, replacing Karen Jessop, Narelle Finch, and Carl Black.
Then on March 26, 2021, Patten became Tennis West CEO after two years as Vice-President and Director.
Under Patten's tutelage, Tennis West like other sporting organisations was navigating through COVID-19, with numerous lockdowns, halting competitions.
But unlike other states heavily restricted by lockdowns, Western Australia remained relatively COVID-safe under Premier Mark McGowan, despite receiving criticism for his hard border stance.
Keeping in constant communication with the State Government helped get tennis up and running once again.
Using the policies set by the Government, Patten and then-President Jan Truscott navigated their way through a testing period, with Patten describing Truscott as "the most effective president Tennis West has had."
"I think quite broadly we came out of COVID unscathed and we allowed people and club members to get out into the fresh air and play tennis," Patten said.
"To get out, be part of a community again even though there was a lock down policy, and play tennis was critical to the mental and physical wellbeing of the community during Covid. Tennis is a wonderful sport because during those times you are on either end of the tennis court and you don't come into close contact with each other.
"But again what it did do was ignite an opportunity for people to be at one with their community again and get out and get some exercise."
With the worst of COVID over, Patten and his team set goals to make Tennis West one of the successful sporting organisations.
Within 12 months (2021/2022 financial year), tennis had become a growing sport for participation.
Highlighting the success, Tennis West saw participation grow by 5.6% (6338 to 6726). Female participation grew by 3% from 2370 to 2441 with the introduction of new leagues and competitions and connecting coaches to schools and clubhouses.
Tennis Australia coach memberships in WA grew 19%, with a 14% increase in female coaches. Affiliated clubs and associations grew from 183 to 195 through premium service, support, and education.
And financial investment went from $4.4 million to $6.9 million via tennis clubs, local, state and federal governments, and Tennis Australia.
To further promote WA tennis, Patten sought to drive commercial partnerships through various media outlets in broadcast and print, focusing on advertising to supply grassroots tennis the much-needed funds.
One of Patten's biggest supporters is Nick Rynne.
Rynne, a former sports editor at The West Australian, decided to establish Streamer, a live sporting coverage for WA grassroots sports in January 2022.
Patten had already been doing tennis live broadcasting through the production of Scotty's Media.
Patten approached Rynne about the concept of local tennis partnering with Streamer.
From one state league match, the interest expanded significantly to the point where all State League matches were broadcast.
"The aim was to provide a platform to promote local tennis. To promote a product that was exciting, accessible, and entertaining with the aim to entice more commercial partnerships." Patten said.
"You then reinvest back into tennis, that's what my strategy had always been about. People used to ask me, "Why are we putting so much time and effort into the promotion of State league?
"Well, it's not about the State League, it's about the growth of local tennis. State league is the platform we're utilising to capture more commercial partners with the intent to reinvest partner revenue back into the growth of tennis.
"So that was the message that I perpetuated to WA tennis clubs. This is the reason we're doing it. This is the value of State League. And you could see the results of increased partnerships and exposure on the back of that strategy."
Patten's relentless pursuit of elevating WA tennis firmly on the landscape put him in contention for the State's most prestigious Sports Administration Award: the DLGSC (Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries) Sports Administrator of the Year.
In late February last year at Optus Stadium, Patten took home the award ahead of highly respected Sports administrators Troy Kirkham (Australian Rules Football) and Robyn Kuhl (Volleyball).
The award was only in its second year, with former WA Cricket CEO Christina Matthews the maiden recipient.
Patten reflects on the achievement with humility and the countless years of promoting the sport.
"The night was surreal to see a lot of the people who I'd idolised from a sporting standpoint in the room, administrators in the room and all the media from WA in the room," Patten said.
And I was overwhelmed, with the love and support that I received on the back of winning that award. It was truly a tremendous honour for me, and it's something that I cherish. And it just gave me validation that I was focused on the right things.
"Making sure that tennis was being viewed as a top-tier sport in the sporting community here in WA.
"And again supporting the growth of clubs and supporting the pathways for our juniors to go on and become elite talent in the tennis realms."
With the award under his belt, adding to the galore of achievements as Tennis West CEO, further objectives and targets to achieve soon came to a halt.
On August 25, 2023, then-President Rod Van released a statement to the WA tennis community about Patten's departure.
According to Van, there was a vote of "no-confidence" as the reason.
However, those statements and other repeated false statements in the ensuing days about Patten saw local tennis clubs and the community leap to his defence.
Patten promptly filed a wrongful dismissal claim for discrimination with the Federal Court, alleging that his complaints to the Board about Van over several months led to retaliatory action. He sought to prove that Van's actions were a direct response to his grievances.
Internally he was hurting.
In mid-November, he attended Tennis West's Annual General Meeting to voice his opinion.
Former President Rod Van, who axed Patten, was himself dismissed as President with a vote of no confidence by the board and removed as President on December 22.
The preceding week following this interview, Tennis West released a statement stating that Tennis West had reached a confidential financial "settlement" with Patten.
Patten takes time to conservatively select his words, with this period being one of the saddest moments of his career.
However, he looks at his tenure with immense pride.
"The funny thing about sport is, whether you're a coach or a CEO, inevitably someone doesn't agree with what you're doing for several different reasons," Patten said.
"I've never seen too many good news stories of CEOs or coaches when they leave an organisation. They generally don't go under their terms.
"Look, what I can say about that whole situation was that I'm very proud of the work that I did. I'm very proud of what we've been able to achieve during that time.
"The time that I had on the board. The time that I had as CEO. Over five years of just investing my energies into supporting the growth of tennis, I'm very proud of it.
"And everyone in the community has been overwhelmingly supportive of me, whether it be in the political life, the media life, or at tennis land and players.
"So I left the organisation with my head held high."
As Patten turned the leaflet over to begin a new chapter, he took time to think about the enamouring "99.9%" of community support for him during a difficult time.
What Patten came to realise is through compassionate leadership and empathy towards others, people always had his back due to his reputation.
It wouldn't be long before he was back in the top seat.
On October 11, 2023, Patten was appointed Perth Heat CEO after the departure of Steve Nelkovski, after five years in the position.
Nelkovski was influential in bringing the Heat onto the global stage.
The Heat are the most successful Australian baseball club, winners of 15 Claxton Shield titles and an abundance of star players, who have represented or are currently representing the team including Liam Hendricks - three-time All-Star MLB and two-time All-MLB First Team.
Current players Tim Kennelly, Warwick Saupold, Alex Hall, Jess Williams, and Jake Bowey have led the team with distinction.
Patten has seamlessly integrated into baseball with the four owners Rory Vassallo, Christian Galopoulos, Eileen Bond, and Michael Carter understanding what it means to lead a National and International sporting brand and catering to the fans, members, and players.
In getting to know the sport better, Patten has leaned onto a close friend Shane Tonkin.
Tonkin represented the Heat from 1991 to 2004, including representing Australia at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, plus playing overseas in Taiwan for the Taipei Suns in the Taiwan Major League.
As CEO, Patten makes sure the players feel relaxed without stressing over the finite details.
"It's a matter of ensuring that there is a runway and a platform for clear air and clear waters for athletes to perform at the highest level," Patten said.
"From an administrators standpoint, its important to make sure that players and managers walk into the change rooms, with everything in order. They don't need to worry about anything other then performing at their optimal on the day.
"As an administrator we want to make sure that fans, and members, come to the Empire Ballpark and experience a fantastic game day and ball park experience."
To further enhance the Perth Heat brand, Patten and his team decided to run the Heat Your Name campaign, the first in having fan surnames on the playing jerseys for supporters to purchase.
Patten elaborates on the West Coast Eagles being the inspiration behind designing and making fan engagement through jersey sales.
The concept of names on jerseys isn't uncommon with the NBA, EPL, NFL, Cricket, and NHL all comprising this.
In round five, 2014, the AFL trialled player surnames on each of the 18 teams guernsey.
And in 2001 and 2002, Springbok Rugby had player names on jerseys. The Heat campaign is tracking well to acquire 500 names on the jersey.
"They're selling very, very quickly and it's been a great initiative," Patten said.
"So the campaign is still open for a few more weeks. We'll do a few more promotions to drive awareness and to ensure the supporters know that they've only got a few more weeks to register and get their names on the jersey and create history with Perth Heat."
"But again, I think it's been received well."
In the 1980s and 1990s, the three biggest WA sporting organisations: the Perth Wildcats, West Coast Eagles, and the Perth Heat had one thing in common: success.
All Heat Baseball needed was an injection of marketing through media outlets to get the sport on the podium.
Patten, working with prominent Australian marketing company Concept Marketing, approached 6PR and Channel 9 to run ads using the catch cry, "It's more fun at the Baseball" to bring people through the Empire Ballpark turnstiles.
The marketing ploy paid dividends.
The Heat had the equal-highest crowd attendance in 2023/2024 with the Melbourne Aces.
In their semifinal series against the Brisbane Bandits, 4555 fans combined to watch the three matches at the Empire Ballpark.
Game one of the Championship series against the Adelaide Giants saw a season-high 3002 spectators in attendance, following a crowd single attendance high of 3426 the previous season.
Out of the 10 highest-ever crowds at an ABL match, the Heat hold six.
The ongoing success has led to additional exposure with Heat content published in The West Australian, games broadcasted on Streamer, and brand promotion on mainstream television stations Channel 7 and Network 10.
Patten is optimistic that the ongoing success is only the beginning of what the Heat can produce in this upcoming ABL 2024/2025 campaign.
Patten has achieved everything in sports administration.
As for the future, he is happy about supporting people and setting strong values for those to follow.
Going back into the media is something he hasn't delved away from.
For now, he is in a great place in a first-class sporting organisation, aiming for a 16th Claxton Shield.
"If we can get our arms around that (be as good a humans as we can be) and not be driven by ego and self-serving ambition and we're there for the right reasons which is not always the case, and I've seen that through my experiences," Patten said.
"And if we can move that narrative away from that individual focus to supporting our next-door neighbour, our mate, our colleagues, and our family, I think we're going to be in a pretty strong place moving forward."