Mike Katz, T-Mobile's lead marketer, has spent his entire career preparing for this role

One year before the start of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Mike Katz had doubts.

"I went there in November of 2022 for a groundbreaking ceremony," Katz, T-Mobile's president of marketing, strategy, and products, said. The telecom company had just announced it was the exclusive wireless provider for the desert city's inaugural grand prix.

"They bring out this big case that shows what the paddock building will look like — and there's literally nothing there," Katz said. "I was like, there's no way this thing is actually going to happen."