Panelists

David Holland

Senior Vice President and General Manager, Cisco Sports Business

David Holland serves as Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Cisco. In this role, he is responsible for:

 

Treasury: Manage all funding, risk, and capital market activities related to the firm’s $50 billion balance sheet.

Tax: Oversee global customs, tax planning, and compliance in the United States and all foreign jurisdictions

where Cisco operates.

Real Estate & Facilities Management: Manage a real estate portfolio with over 400 locations in 80 countries.

Procure and provide all site services and amenities.

Risk Management: Enterprise risk assessment and management, including insurance and other risk mitigation programs. Manage physical safety and security, emergency response, and corporate crisis management programs worldwide.

 

In addition to his functional duties, Holland is involved in many cross-functional committees and Cisco Councils.  He is the Executive Sponsor and a Board Member for the Sports and Entertainment Practice, a Cisco group whose aim it is to transform fan experiences in stadiums around the world through Cisco network technology. He also serves on the Leadership Development Council and is the Finance Lead for Cisco’s Enterprise Business Council. He also serves on the Disclosure Committee, the Cisco Diversity Council, and the Green Board.

 

Holland serves on a variety of external boards, including the Cisco Learning Institute, a public charity promoting online learning models for K-12 education. 

 

Holland joined Cisco in 1998. Before joining Cisco, he worked for Paribas Capital Markets, heading a group that advised and transacted with multinational corporations, central banks, and hedge funds. Prior to that, he worked for Apple Computer, Inc., where during a 10-year tenure he served in manufacturing finance, corporate finance, and treasury divisions.

 

Holland is a graduate of Brigham Young University and holds a master’s in business administration from San

Jose State University.

Peter Moore

President, EA Sports

Peter Moore was appointed President of EA SPORTS in September 2007, taking over strategic leadership of one of the most recognized brands in sports and entertainment.

In his role as EA SPORTS President, Mr. Moore is responsible for product development, global product management, marketing, and planning for all packaged goods and online offerings within the EA SPORTS brand, which includes blockbuster videogame franchises such as Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, NBA LIVE, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®, NASCAR® and more. Mr. Moore's global operation of EA SPORTS, which includes the EA SPORTS Freestyle brand and development of more than 15 videogame franchises, is anchored by studios in Vancouver, B.C. (EA Canada) and in Orlando, Fla. (EA Tiburon).

Mr. Moore has more than 25 years of leadership experience in entertainment and consumer products. Prior to joining EA, Mr. Moore was Corporate Vice President of the Interactive Entertainment Business of Microsoft Corp., where he was responsible for leading both the Xbox® and Games for Windows® businesses, driving games development at Microsoft® Game Studios, as well as cultivating relationships with third-party game publishers and developers around the world. Before joining Microsoft, Mr. Moore was president and COO of SEGA of America, where he was responsible for overseeing SEGA's videogame business in North America. Moore played a pivotal role in the company's decision to change its business strategy to become a platform-agnostic software publisher. At SEGA, Moore also served as senior vice president, a position in which he was responsible for all marketing initiatives, including the launch of SEGA Dreamcast.

Prior to his role at SEGA, Moore was senior vice president of marketing at Reebok International Ltd., where he oversaw a staff of 450, in addition to the global budget. Earlier in his career, Moore was president of Patrick USA, the U.S. subsidiary of the popular French sportswear company, managing all the company's operations: marketing, sales, finance and distribution.

Moore holds a bachelor's degree from Keele University, United Kingdom, and a Master's Degree from California State University, Long Beach.

Tim Romani

CEO, ICON Venue Group

Tim Romani has been a leader in the sports facility development industry for over 20 years and is directly responsible for guiding and completing landmark stadium and arena projects for NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and MLS teams totaling more than $3 billion.

 

Mr. Romani is currently overseeing his staff for stadium, arena, and development projects in Los Angeles, Italy, Berlin, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. He recently served as Vice Chancellor of Planning and Development for the University of Colorado in addition to his responsibilities with ICON. In that capacity, he was responsible for planning and constructing the new Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado, which involved three hospitals, a world-renowned medical research complex, and the entire University of Colorado Health Sciences Center campus totaling approximately $2 billion and 4 million square feet.

 

Mr. Romani’s innovative and sophisticated approach to project management, particularly in the focus areas of Preconstruction and Project Controls has revolutionized the way sports projects are delivered.  Establishing, communicating and managing cost and schedule mandates is the hallmark of how ICON Venue Group operates on behalf of its clients and sets ICON apart from all other firms.  Having served as Executive Director of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority and the Denver Metropolitan Football District, Tim is a proven public sector executive skilled in guiding large, high profile projects through complex political landscapes. Comiskey Park and INVESCO Field are recognized as two of the most successful public and public / private ventures in modern era sports development.

 

David Samson

President, Florida Marlins

David Samson enters his 10th season in Major League Baseball and eighth as President of the Florida Marlins. He is one of only eight current Presidents in Major League Baseball who has presided over a World Series champion.

As Club President, Samson oversees all aspects of the team’s day-to-day business operations, including sales, marketing, operations and personnel matters. Under his leadership in 2008, the Marlins continued to outperform expectations on the field, finishing with the third best record in franchise history, while continuing to oversee a complete financial turnaround off the field. With the overall economy experiencing a downturn, the Marlins were still able to grow overall revenue for a 7th straight year.

Samson works closely with Owner and CEO, Jeffrey Loria, on all baseball matters and general corporate strategy. Samson is also the President of the Florida Marlins Community Foundation, which focuses its efforts on baseball, arts and educational needs of the South Florida community. The Foundation distributed well over $1 million to worthy charities in South Florida in 2008.

Among his accomplishments, Samson was named one of Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” for two years running, 2003-04. Other highlights, in addition to the 2003 World Series Championship, included the Florida Marlins being named South Florida’s No. 1 Film and Entertainment Company of the Year and Baseball America’s Organization of the Year.

Samson, 41, was born in Milwaukee, WI, and was raised in New York City. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor’s in Economics in 1990. He received a Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City in 1993. He is a member of the New York State Bar. Following law school, Samson became President and Founder of News Travels Fast, the first company to deliver the New York Times to Europe on a same-day basis. In 1996, Samson joined Morgan Stanley, an investment bank in New York City, a position he resigned in 1999 when he joined the Montreal Expos as Executive Vice President.

On October 21, 2006, Samson became the first active team President to complete the Ford Ironman World Championship Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii. In addition to swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running a full marathon, all in 15 hours, 36 minutes, Samson personally raised over $250,000 for the Florida Marlins Community Foundation, the Challenged Athletes Foundation (“CAF”) and other local Hawaiian charities.

Samson concentrates his charitable efforts on helping underprivileged and sick children experience summer camp and improved education and health care. In addition, he is a member of CAF‘s Board of Directors. His vision is to help increase its visibility, thus enabling more physically challenged athletes to compete in triathlons as well as other sports. Samson also manifests his love of movies through a local radio film review segment and by being a Platinum Member of the Miami Film Society. Samson annually delivers over 100 speeches in and around South Florida and the United States on subjects varying from the business of baseball to general motivation.

 He and his wife, Cindi, a former school director, have been married for 18 years and have two daughters, Hannah and Kyra, and a son, Caleb.

Alec Scheiner

Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Dallas Cowboys

Alec Scheiner is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Dallas Cowboys Football Club and its affiliated entities (including the merchandising, real estate, oil & gas and other holdings of the Jones family).  He has been with the club since August of 2004. 

 

In his role, Scheiner oversees all legal aspects of the Dallas Cowboys organization including the 2009 stadium project in Arlington, Texas.  In addition, he is directly involved in business planning, strategy and analytics for the entire organization. He negotiated and developed the contractual underpinnings of the design, construction, financing, marketing and city/NFL approvals for the stadium.  Scheiner drafts and negotiates all sponsorship, merchandising, event, seat/suite and broadcast agreements for the team, oversees any litigation or disputes, and provides general legal and business guidance and advice to the Cowboys and the Jones family.

 

A 1997 graduate of Georgetown Law Center, Scheiner practiced at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale) from 1997 until joining the Cowboys in 2004.  During that time he served as outside counsel for the Dallas Cowboys (on a variety of matters, including the Cowboys’ opt-out from the NFL’s merchandising program, the Cowboys’ draw-down on the NFL’s line of credit and the Cowboys’ largest sponsorship agreements (e.g., Ford, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Miller, Bank of America and AT&T).  While at the law firm, he also advised on the sale of the Baltimore Ravens, the relocation of the Charlotte Hornets to New Orleans, the sale of various ownership interests in the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, the sale of ownership interests in the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Rose Bowl’s attempts to secure an NFL team in Pasadena.

Moderator

Shira Springer

Boston Globe

Shira Springer is a special projects reporter for the Boston Globe’s sports section. Before that, she served as Celtics beat writer. Her coverage of the Celtics, the NBA, as well as the larger sports world has earned awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for investigative and explanatory journalism and the Women’s Sports Foundation for feature writing.

 

Since joining the Globe in 1997, Springer has covered all of Boston’s major professional sports teams as well as the Boston Marathon, Olympics and local and national college athletics. She has appeared on numerous ESPN programs, MSNBC, CNN and NPR, providing commentary on a wide-range of sports-related topics. And she regularly contributes to the Globe’s Sunday magazine and Travel sections.

 

Springer graduated from Harvard in 1997 with a degree in Social Studies (Political and Social Theory and Philosophy). She was a distance runner on the cross-country and track teams and continues her interest in the sport by running marathons. She also speaks fluent German.