Voorhees Native Namita Nandakumar Helping Seattle Kraken Start From Scratch
VOORHEES, N.J. (CBS) -- There has been, and still is, a lot of talk about analytics in sports. A Voorhees, New Jersey woman is helping the NHL expansion team Seattle Kraken start from scratch.
"It can hard to go to bed at times because I'm just running through like 50 different things in my head," Namita Nandakumar said.
Voorhees native Namita Nandakumar is excited. As the senior quantitative analyst of the Kraken, Nandakumar is preparing nonstop for what lies ahead.
"I got my undergrad degree at Wharton, but I realized I loved stats," Nandakumar said. "One of the things I knew after going to business school was I didn't want to work on Wall Street."
A passion for Philly sports is what drove her to a career in analytics, making projections for players. This led to a job with the Philadelphia Eagles during their Super Bowl run.
"Growing up in the Philly area, it's hard to avoid being a sports fan," Nandakumar said. "Everyone is just so into it. It's a great way to connect with people. And I just really dove headfirst into that."
How cool is it for her to be a woman in what has been a male dominate space for such a long time? Does she look at this as breaking open some doors?
"90% of the time, I'm perfectly happy with sitting in front of my computer and coding all day," Nandakumar said, "but if getting my story does inspire anyone who looks like me, who didn't previously think they would be able to do this type of job, then absolutely."
Could she see herself running a franchise one day?
"I'm not just in it to be a GM someday, like my job right now motivates me quite a bit," Nandakumar said. "I love all the nerd parts of it too."
Seattle vs. Philly, who wins?
"It's funny you mention that, though, because my little sister, she's 17. She has made it quite clear to me that she will root for my team when they are not playing the Flyers," Nandakumar said.