“5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association,” With Colie Edison

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing Colie Edison, the first female CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association, the major league of the sport of bowling. She also serves as the Chief Customer Officer for Bowlero Corp, the world’s largest owner and operator of bowling centers. In Edison’s roles, her focus is on reinvigorating bowling — both as an entertainment experience for the 28 million plus guests at Bowlero Corp centers each year and the thousands of PBA members globally.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Bowling has always played a part in my life. Growing up we all went to bowling birthday parties and that’s where I, like many people, first experienced the sport. When I moved to New York City after college, I discovered this unique opportunity to work on the branding for a boutique bowling company that had taken the city by storm. That company was Bowlmor Lanes which would go on to acquire AMF and Brunswick’s bowling center business, become Bowlero Corp, and, most recently, acquire the PBA.

Can you share one of the major challenges you encountered when first leading the company? What lesson did you learn from that?