He’s been to nearly every state in the country and to exotic locales around the world. No matter where his job takes him, his favorite trip will always be the one he took to London several years ago, when he took his father to Wimbledon.
“My dad actually played Wimbledon in 1961,” Nitsche says. “It was just special being there with him several decades later, watching matches and listening to him tell stories about his experience there.”
Nitsche has spent most of his career with Dunlop, a leading manufacturer of sports equipment, particularly tennis. He left for several years, taking a post with a competitor, but he found that the grass court wasn’t greener on the other side. He returned to Dunlop and its offices in Greenville, S.C., and has been in his current position for nearly 12 years.
Nitsche started as a sales rep in Atlanta and has worked in product management, marketing and sales management.
“Having the opportunity to have many different roles within our company gave me the opportunity to work closely with all departments, such as finance, customer service and operations,” Nitsche says. “This gave me a foundation for the role that I have now.”
Nitsche was 6 years old the first time he picked up a tennis racket. He also played soccer until he was 14, when he decided to focus on tennis exclusively. He played for two years at Wofford.
He says his experience at Wofford equipped him for his career with Dunlop. He majored in accounting but didn’t want to become a CPA. An internship with Adidas helped him find his direction.
“That is where I really found my passion for the sporting goods industry,” he says. “I worked in team sales and in finance, and through that internship I was exposed to so much in sports marketing. That internship turned into a part-time job my last two years at Wofford, and that helped me get my first job here at Dunlop.”
Nitsche says sometimes his family says he’s too competitive.
“I don’t like losing, and I am going to try and outwork everyone to win,” he says. “I think my background in sports has been great for me to carry into business.”
According to Nitsche, Dunlop’s business has soared during COVID-19; the company expects sales to be up more than 50% this year.
“Tennis is a great sport during a pandemic because of social distancing,” he says. “A lot of people are either picking it up for the first time or resuming their participation.”
Nitsche says Dunlop is constantly striving to improve its manufacturing process and its product quality. It’s also focused on the environment and has a goal of reducing plastic waste in its packaging by 50% by 2030.
“Every day there are new and different challenges,” Nitsche says. “We take them seriously, but at the end of the day I have to pinch myself because I’m doing what I want to be doing.”
By Robert W. Dalton