Leading With Strengths Allison Boersma: President and CEO of Riddell and BRG Sports
Sep 16, 2025
Allison Boersma, President and CEO of Riddell and BRG Sports, is a seasoned leader with a focus on innovation in player safety. She discusses Riddell's mission to advance football safety through R&D and the use of 20 years of helmet sensor data to inform design and tackle techniques. Boersma emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive culture, aligning teams, and the strategic investment of $400M in smart helmets. Additionally, she reveals how her finance background enhances her leadership style and her passion for connecting people.
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Data-Driven Protection Advantage
- Riddell leverages decades of field data from helmet sensors to drive design and rule changes.
- This long-term impact dataset creates a competitive advantage in player protection and innovation.
Coach Fixes Technique With Helmet Data
- A coach used Insight Analytics to identify repeated high impacts and corrected a player's technique.
- The next week the data showed the player had no such impacts after the coaching adjustment.
Prioritize Strategy And Adoption
- Focus CEO time on strategy, organizational changes, and adoption of core tech like smart helmets.
- Ensure customers not only have the tools but also know how to use the insights to change behavior.
