Pete Olsen
Contact information availablePete Reports
After high school I was one of several Willbillies, including Michele Hampton, Steve Goldstein, John Horn, and Paul Besstak, who hit the road for Akron University.
Freshman dorm room at AU- Paul Besstak, Pete Olsen and friend
After a couple years there John and I moved into a house off campus with four other ex-dormies. We accessorized with black lights, posters, strobes, sunlamps, and a steady beer supply. Memories are a little hazy here, but life was good; communal, uncomplicated, and frankly ‘bitchin.’ If those walls could talk! In the summer of ’68, after loading trucks in the Dunlop warehouse for a couple months, I flew to California with John and Joe Gautille to tap into the surf culture first hand. After doing the LA beaches (Hey Joe, remember the Wedge?) we went SF to experience the Haight Ashbury scene.
By late ’69 things changed abruptly because of my extremely precarious draft lottery status and deepening relationship with Cathie, now my wife of 34 years. In a blinding flash of the obvious, it dawned on me that working for a living was inevitable and perhaps school should be taken seriously. We married and I taught junior high for a few years while working on a master’s in school psychology. Riding the inertia, I continued on to Case Western Reserve for a PhD in psychology.
In ’82 I went into organizational consulting, or said simply, became a corporate shrink. It was an amazing experience working with companies from entrepreneurial start-ups to Fortune 50 internationals. In ’99, after accumulating nearly half a million frequent flyer miles, a consulting gig with Cablevision in New York turned into a permanent position and we moved from Cleveland to Long Island.
Long story short, most of the last four years have been spent at Madison Square Garden where challenges are never in short supply. Lately my time has been taken up facilitating culture changes in MSG Networks and Radio City Entertainment in support of their respective business strategies. I’ve learned that there is much to love about this city.
Knicks pregame two years ago. On my right is my youngest son Ian with friend from Ohio on left
So if you are ever around midtown and available for coffee or lunch, plz let me know (212 465 4179 or pete.olsen@thegarden.com).
40 years already? Sounds frighteningly close to half a century. Guess the best thing to do is keep looking forward, never stop growing, and give something back each day. I'd like to simplify things a little too, and take more time for family, old friends and fun. Say...anyone know of John Horn’s whereabouts?
