Tag: Q&A

Leven, President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands, poses for a portrait during the 2010 Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in New York
Michael Leven, President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands, poses for a portrait during the 2010 Reuters Travel and Leisure Summit in New York February 24, 2010. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS TRAVEL) - RTR2ATO4
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Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano has always had a following ever since her days appearing on the sitcom “Who’s the Boss?” from 1984–1992. But as she continued her acting career, including on the hit series “Melrose Place” and “Charmed,” Milano was working on another venture that has proven perhaps just as lucrative. In 2006, she created Touch by Alyssa Milano, a line of high-end women’s fan apparel that began with an exclusive licensing deal with Major League Baseball. The first line was so successful that other leagues began calling. Today, Touch holds the licensing for the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, NASCAR, MLS and a growing number of collegiate teams In this interview with SportsTravel’s…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
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Gary Bettman

Gary Bettman was named commissioner of the National Hockey League in 1993, making him the longest-serving leader of the major North American sports leagues. In that time, the league has expanded to 30 teams and will add a new franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, next season. In the meantime, the NHL has created a popular outdoor series of events and in September launched a revamped World Cup of Hockey with eight international squads. That move came as the league was deciding whether to send players to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, as it has for every Games since 1998. In April, Bettman announced the league…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
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Nick Horbaczewski

Nick Horbaczewski learned a number of things about growing a sport and building a loyal fan base at Tough Mudder from 2013–2015, serving in roles that included chief revenue officer and senior vice-president of revenue and business development. But in 2015, he took those skills and turned his attention to drones, founding the Drone Racing League. The league features pilots controlling drones at 80 mph on courses that wind their way through checkpoints in some considerably nontraditional venues. And quickly, the league and the sport have taken off. The first season of five races aired on ESPN in 2016 and the next season begins in June…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
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Mary Wittenberg

For 17 years, Mary Wittenberg was involved in every aspect of the New York City Marathon during her time at New York Road Runners. From 2005–2015, she was president and CEO, overseeing a period of enormous growth for the race. But now she has the opportunity to launch a new series of events from scratch. In May 2015, she was hired as global CEO—Chief Exercise Officer—for Virgin Sport, created as part of Richard Branson’s empire with a goal of motivating people to get fit through sports. The first series of events were recently announced with three planned in London and one in San Francisco in 2017. Virgin’s plan is to organize mass participatory events that will include running…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
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Benita Fitzgerald Mosley

At the 1984 Olympic Summer Games, Benita Fitzgerald Mosley became the first African-American woman and second American ever to win a gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles. But she never stopped succeeding. After working for Special Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics organizing committee, she spent eight years as president and CEO of Women in Cable Telecommunications. From there, she became chief of sport performance for USA Track & Field, helping the team to win 29 medals at the 2012 Games, and served as chief of organizational excellence for the U.S. Olympic Committee. In 2016, she was named CEO of Laureus USA, a foundation that is part of a global…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
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Joe Buck
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Joe Buck

Joe Buck had the good fortune of watching his father, Jack Buck, broadcast countless games as the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals. But when the time came to step up to the booth, the younger Buck made the most of his opportunity. Now he is the lead Major League Baseball and National Football League announcer for Fox Sports, having just completed his 19th World Series and preparing to call his fifth Super Bowl. In his recent memoir, “Lucky Bastard,” Buck recounts his rise, one that almost came crashing down in 2011 when complications from anesthesia during a hair-plug procedure cost him his voice for nearly a year—an absence he previously attributed to “a virus.” He has since recovered to cement his status as a leading voice in sports broadcasting…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
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Tom Penn
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Tom Penn

Tom Penn has the chance to do what few get to do in professional sports: build a team from the ground up. But it’s not just the launch of LAFC, the new Major League Soccer team in Los Angeles, that he’s overseeing. Penn is also helping develop a new downtown stadium set to debut in 2018 when the team begins play. Penn previously spent four seasons as vice-president of basketball operations and assistant general manager of the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers and seven years as assistant general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies in addition to serving as an NBA analyst for ESPN. But in building LAFC, he has had to engage a range of sports and entertainment luminaries as co-owners while convincing new fans to jump on the team’s bandwagon. In this interview, Penn…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
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Katrina Adams

Katrina Adams

Katrina Adams has accomplished many firsts at the U.S. Tennis Association, including being the first African-American, first former player and youngest person to be chairman, president and CEO. She also recently became the first person to be reappointed to a second consecutive term. Adams had a 12-year pro career that saw her ranked as high as No. 67 in singles and No. 8 in doubles. She then served on the WTA board and WTA’s Players Association before joining the USTA board in 2005. During her time at the helm, she has overseen $500 million in improvements to the U.S. Open and construction of a new tennis center with 100 courts set to open in Orlando. In this interview with SportsTravel’s Jason Gewirtz, conducted live on stage at the TEAMS ’16 Conference & Expo, Adams discusses her start in the sport…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
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John De Sena
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Joe De Sena

Joe De Sena

Joe De Sena has been an entrepreneur almost from the beginning, selling fireworks at age 8, building a pool-cleaning business and later founding a Wall Street trading firm. But his true passion was in health and fitness, and adventure racing specifically. After competing in dozens of long-distance races, he founded Spartan Race in 2010. The obstacle race series separated itself from the pack by timing participants and treating the experience as a legitimate sport, one with a potential future at the Olympic Games. Today, the Reebok Spartan Race offers 3-, 8- and 12-mile events that together attract more than 1 million participants annually across 170 events in 28 countries, including races in Europe and Asia.In this interview with SportsTravel’s Jason Gewirtz…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz
Chuck-Wielgus
Chuck Wielgus
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Chuck Wielgus

Chuck Wielgus

In the world of national governing bodies, it’s rare to see an executive director whose tenure can be measured in decades. But Chuck Wielgus has found a winning formula at USA Swimming since taking over in 1997. In fact, he just received a contract extension through 2020. Among other accomplishments, he led the efforts to take the Olympic swimming trials from a natatorium to an arena, developed new corporate and television partnerships, and created the USA Swimming Foundation. His athletes have fared exceedingly well at the Olympic Summer Games, winning an average of 31 medals at each of the last three Games. He has also weathered significant controversy involving sexual abuse by coaches, which led to the Safe Sport program. In this interview with SportsTravel’s Jason Gewirtz, Wielgus discusses the upcoming Rio Games, progress…

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Posted On : By : Jason Gewirtz

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