5 questions with NFL's highest-ranking woman in team management, Catherine Hickman

Catherine Hickman grew up dreaming of working in the National Football League, and the one-time corporate lawyer never lost sight of that goal.

Her passion was so deep that she volunteered for a team for an entire year just to learn the business of football and what it takes to build a team. Now she's the vice president of football operations and assistant general manager for the Cleveland Browns.

"I wanted to be involved in football, specifically. I just didn't know how," Hickman said. "I thought maybe the agent route since a lot of them are former and current attorneys, so I started really trying to learn about the business."

"I was like, all right this is it — like, I want to do this. My Plan A was to be in football, my Plan B was to be a lawyer; I thought it was a pretty solid plan. So it gave me the confidence to take that leap of faith with the first job I took in the Canadian Football League."

Hickman is the highest-ranked female team personnel executive in NFL history. Prior to working for the Browns, she was vice president of football operations for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hickman was born in Montréal, Quebec. She is trilingual, fluent in French, English, and Spanish — and she is learning Italian.

What do you think the major difference is between the Canadian Football League and the NFL?

Both the CFL and the NFL are wonderful in their own ways. They're very similar; it's the same player acquisition methods, so you think of the draft, free agency — all that stuff. Then you think of football operation; it's pretty much the same verticals. It's just a different level of resources, both financial and human capital. The beauty of starting my career in the CFL, I had to do everything. A normal day for me could start with balancing a sheet for salary cap purposes, negotiating contracts, then watching tape, making sure the equipment guys are good, or finish up a corporate partnership dealing with our charter deal. It really allowed me to be well-rounded and learn so much. Love the CFL.

How does it feel to pave the way for more women in this business?

It's always been about having the awareness of the paving the way in. What I mean by that is, if through my journey and my experiences I can help others who also work in a driving environment, facilitate their path as they go through some of the same challenges I'm going through and help as much as I can with the next generation, that's really what fills my cup. It's more about how I can I help the next man up or the next woman up as they navigate their journey.

During your time in undergrad and law school, was the end goal to be in the NFL?

When I started in football, the NFL was always my end goal. That's the ultimate place you want to be in terms of being with the greatest players, coaches, executives, owners. It was always my goal to lead a team at the highest level. But I was very aware and patient to make sure I took the right steps along the way to prepare myself for these jobs, and I think that's what I did working for three different professional leagues across my journey. It was to really make sure that I acquired those experiences as we go to be as prepared as I can be to be a general manager one day.

How does it make you feel when athletes respect and credit your work?

Throughout my career, one of the things that I've learned and realized with players that I've been around is that they are so welcoming and appreciative. What they want is anyone who can help them get better at their craft, whether that's on the field or off the field, or help them work the words in their next contract. Players don't care really, like, what's your background, what you look like, or where you're coming from. As long as you can help them, that's what they value. I've always found great joy in finding ways where I can help them become better versions of themselves. Our job is to serve them and do what's best to win more football games with them. I've always felt that athletes were the most open in the industry.

You speak three languages fluently; why is helpful to know multiple languages in the sports industry?

I needed a break before I started my journey as a lawyer, so I decided to spend four months working in the Caribbean to learn Spanish. I used Spanish quite a bit when I was in the CFL because we were just expanding our efforts for international football initiatives, and we spent two years in a row in Mexico — and that was kind of cool because nobody else could speak Spanish and I could just speak with the players. I'd say here in the NFL, not so much, but we had a receiver when I was at the Eagles, J. J. Arcega-Whiteside, whose primarily language was Spanish. It's another way you can connect with them. With English not being my first language, it's also a good thing because players may ask where I'm from. So it breaks the ice, allowing me to talk more and from my hometown, Montréal. It's to the point of connecting with people, it helps when you can connect in different ways. I now rank them French, English and Spanish — since I don't use Spanish as much — but I love being able to speak all three. Up next is Italian.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Who is Cleveland Browns assistant general manager Catherine Hickman?