Making Magic

Growing up in Philadelphia, a town of close-knit neighborhoods where family roots run deep, Tom Murphy (MSM ’99) never expected to leave. All that changed when he had an opportunity to move next door to Mickey Mouse.

“My youngest daughter was about six weeks old when I received a cold call from a recruiter,” says Murphy, who was happily employed with KPMG Peat Marwick at the time. “Our other daughters were 2 and 4 years old, and we watched a ton of Disney movies at the time. I had joked with my wife that if I ever left the accounting firm, Disney would be a good company to work for.”

Soon, Murphy transplanted his young family to Orlando, where he was balancing financial statements while sprinkling a little pixie dust around.

“When you’re a cast member, even if you’re working on Excel sheets, you do find that you’re compelled to pick the trash up or to help a little child who’s crying,” he says. “You do think of it as your place.What I have always found most satisfying about any company I’ve worked for is believing in the product that I put out.”

That same spirit applies to Murphy’s current job as senior vice president of Affiliate, International, and Digital Media Finance for ESPN. “The product that we create, the content on TV or on the Web or a cell phone, is something I really believe in,” says Murphy, who since joining the company in 2000 has watched the Phillies play in the World Series and enjoyed football games in Brazil and Argentina.

Traveling around the world for Disney and ESPN, Murphy has seen how vastly different experiences create similar magical moments. Arriving at Tokyo Disney as the gates opened, Murphy witnessed guests crowding the souvenir shops, not the roller-coaster lines, because gift giving is so integral to daily life there. And in Argentina, Murphy discovered that instead of leaving the musical entertainment in the hands of the halftime act, fans will sing, dance, chant, and wave flags throughout the game.

“The passion that people have for sports is really the same around the world,whether it’s football in South America or cricket in India,” says Murphy. “I compare what we deliver at ESPN to the attractions business delivers — by the sports we cover, the exciting moments we cover, we try to create the same emotional attachment that people hang onto for a lifetime.”

— Angie Roberts