Panelists

Michael Forde

Director of Football Operations, Chelsea Football Club

Mike is one of the leading Sports Executive in the English Premier League for the past 10 years. The 34 year old is widely recognized as a leading figure in the EPL and European Soccer for driving Innovation and Cutting Edge methods to create a sustained business model for Elite Player Performance.  Since August 2007 he has been employed as Performance Director & Executive Club Director for Chelsea Football Club in the EPL dealing with all areas of Performance and Team Operations relating to the 1^st team, including Player Recruitment; Medical; Sport Science; Psychology and Performance Analysis.

Between November 1999 and July 2007 he was Performance Director for Bolton Wanderers Football Club, also in the EPL. He has a BSc Sport Science from Liverpool John Moores University and an MSc Psychology & Sport from San Diego State University / Leeds Met University.

Paraag Marathe

Executive Vice President of Football & Business Operations, San Francisco 49ers

Paraag Marathe enters his tenth season with the 49ers and first as Executive Vice President of Football & Business Operations. Prior to his promotion, he spent two seasons as the Vice President of Football Operations. Marathe originally joined the organization as the team’s Special Projects Manager, a role he served for three seasons before going on to spend one year as the Assistant to the General Manager.

In his current role, Marathe plays a key role in the success of the 49ers both on and off the field.
He is the club’s chief contract negotiator and manages its compliance with the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement. Marathe works hand-in-hand with General Manager Scot McCloughan on all football operations and player personnel matters.  He is also responsible for the management of the club’s salary cap as well as multi-year forecasting at both the individual club and league level. Marathe serves as the liaison with the club’s business office and CFO with regards to player compensation. He also works closely with other members of the executive team on stadium project initiatives and various business efforts including ticket sales, marketing strategy and corporate partnerships.

In his time with the 49ers, Marathe has developed new systems within football operations to better understand and predict market trends on player contracts and their salary cap ramifications. He has also developed new methods and systems for evaluating and acquiring players for the college draft and at the pro level. He also manages the club’s research and development efforts and assists the coaching staff with various strategic projects throughout the regular season and off-season.

Marathe frequently conducts special assignments for Owners John and Jed York, Head Coach Mike Singletary and General Manager Scot McCloughan. Marathe also serves as an advisor and consultant on projects throughout the business and football sides of the organization.

Prior to joining the 49ers, Marathe worked at management consulting firm Bain & Company from 1999-01 as a Senior Associate Consultant, where he advised clients in a variety of industries including private equity, venture capital, software, retail, sports footwear and health clubs. Before that, Marathe worked in the corporate consulting group at the International Management Group (IMG) from 1997-99, where he concentrated primarily on stadium naming rights deals and corporate sponsorships.

Born in Sunnyvale, CA, Marathe received his bachelor’s degree with high honors from the Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley and received his masters in business administration (MBA) from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.
Marathe and his wife Naya, a patent attorney, reside in Sunnyvale, CA.

Aaron Schatz

Editor in Chief, Football Outsiders

Aaron Schatz is the creator and editor-in-chief of FootballOutsiders.com and the lead writer of the Football Outsiders Almanac book series. His innovative statistical methods and analysis of NFL play-by-play led the New York Times Magazine to call him "the Bill James of football." He is a regular contributor to NFL coverage on ESPN.com as well as in ESPN the Magazine, and has written in the past for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The New Republic Online, and Slate.com. He has also done custom research for a number of NFL teams.

Before creating FootballOutsiders.com, Schatz was a radio disc jockey and spent three years tracking search trends online as the writer and producer of the Internet column "The Lycos 50." He has a BA in Economics from Brown University and lives in Framingham, Massachusetts with his wife Kathryn and daughter Mirinae.

Simon Wilson

Head of Performance Analysis, Manchester City Football Club

Now in his 8^th season in professional football, Simon is one of the most experienced performance analysts currently working in the English Premier League.  In this period Simon has held senior Performance Analysis positions at 3 clubs working with managers such as David Moyes, Gordon Strachan, Harry Redknapp, Sven Goran Eriksson and most recently Mark Hughes. Over the last 2 years, Simon has led and developed one of the most comprehensive performance analysis teams in UK football and has contributed to a number of industry journals and forums, specifically on the evolution of analysis in professional football. Simon is 31 years old and lives with his wife in Manchester, England.

Moderator

Kate Fagan

Reporter, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Kate Fagan is currently an NBA beat writer covering the Philadelphia 76ers for the Philadelphia Inquirer. As newspapers attempt to reinvent themselves in a shifting media culture, Fagan has expanded her coverage outside the print edition to include real-time blogging, live chats, photos, and video. Fagan's writing has won numerous awards in the features, columns, and projects categorories from places including the New York State Press Association, Suburban Newspapers of America, and the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE). Fagan attended the University of Colorado on a basketball scholarship. During her time at CU, the Buffaloes advanced to four straight NCAA Tournaments and the Elite Eight.