As part of the Rams' celebration of Women's History Month this month, the organization wants to inspire Angelenos through stories of female staff impacted by sports and now changing the game.
We conclude the series with Vice President of Brand Strategy Lexi Vonderlieth.
Lexi Vonderlieth is motivated by doing things differently, and along with that, being bold enough to execute on it and have a point of view out there as a brand.
"It is what defines and pushes the sports industry forward," she said.
It is also what drives as her the Rams' Vice President of Brand Strategy.
Vonderlieth has been with the organization for two and a half years, starting out first in partnerships before transitioning over to brand marketing. In both roles, she works cross-functionally to bring the Rams' brand to life in a strategic way, with or without partners. In her current role, she ensures the Rams are connected to culture sports and community and globally driving relevance and energy.
Being empowered to taking a different approach to allow the Rams to do that comes from a couple different areas: Her experience as an athlete and also her time with the organization.
Besides the natural competitiveness and desire to win, playing a sport at an elite level helps one mentally understand how far they can push themselves, that it's OK to lose, experiencing the value of hard work and being comfortable in high-pressure moments.
It also helps that women's voices have been a prominent part of the conversation during her time with the Rams.
"In so many decisions, it's about how high is up, and you only get that when that diversity of thought is represented to get on alignment," Vonderlieth said. "Creativity needs it more than anything, so in my position, I get excited with the series of thinkers, makers and doers that all bring something powerful and unique."
That environment aligns with the best part of her job, according to Vonderlieth: The people who push her each day and having leadership who want to continue to push the Rams' brand into places no other teams think about.
"The Rams are in a position where creativity and culture have a platform and it's my job to be sure we capitalize on it," Vonderlieth said. "There's this desire to do something that hasn't been done before and I get excited about using that to fuel a space, change a perspective, inspire others and along the way grow our brand."
The same mentality that drives Vonderlieth and the Rams is the same one that should also be used to celebrate Women's History Month this month.
"This month is so important because it allows us to reflect on the past, but then celebrate the women who have helped push for change over the years," Vonderlieth said. "The women who made real impact in society and never gave up. It really goes back to everything I said above as well of how each of us can push to change a perspective, have diversity of thought in decision making and push ourselves to do things differently."
