Co-Chairs

Jessica Gelman

Director of New Business Development and Operational Initiatives, The Kraft Sports Group

Jessica Gelman is The Kraft Sports Group's Director of New Business Development and Operational Initiatives.  She leads the Business Development Department, which she created and has nurtured during her 8 years with the organization.  In this capacity she serves as a key strategic and operational advisor to the Executive Management Team of the New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium, and Patriot Place. 

Her responsibilities encompass four primary areas: identifying, evaluating and creating new businesses; creating strategic analysis to leverage the Patriots’ assets, locally and internationally; overseeing direct marketing efforts and market research; and working closely with existing business units to further develop business strategy and operations.  Most notable of the new businesses Gelman created is Extra Points, the first sports loyalty rewards credit card program, which is now rolled out across the NFL.

To further identify areas of growth, potential new businesses and operational improvements, Gelman initiated an analytic approach combining market research, direct marketing analysis and operational metrics. This has been critical in prioritizing strategy and business development efforts across the organization.

Prior to the Patriots, Gelman worked as a strategy consultant at the Mitchell Madison Group. Her primary areas of focus were the entertainment and financial services industries.

Gelman earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA, cum laude in psychology, from Harvard College. She was honored as Harvard Female Athlete of the Year after leading Harvard to consecutive Ivy League Basketball Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Subsequently, she played professionally in Europe.  Gelman has been inducted into both the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and The Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She is the co-chair of the Harvard Basketball Friends Group. 

Gelman co-founded and continues to chair the annual MIT Sloan Sports Business conference, the first and largest analytically focused sports business conference.

Jessica can be reached at jgelman@sloansportsconference.com

 

 

 

Daryl Morey

General Manager and Managing Director of Basketball Operations, Houston Rockets

Daryl Morey enters his fourth season with the Houston Rockets and his third as the team’s head of all basketball operations. Morey, who officially assumed his current position on May 10, 2007, previously served as the team’s Assistant General Manager after joining the organization on Apr. 3, 2006. He was re-signed as the team’s General Manager and Managing Director of Basketball Operations on Sept. 25, 2009.

Morey has built a Rockets team that has gone a combined 108-56 (.659) and has set a number of team records over his two seasons as General Manager. His ability to manage and bolster the roster earned him YAHOO.com Executive of the Year accolades in 2008-09. In addition to earning votes for 2008-09 NBA Executive of the Year, Morey was named “Top 50 Most Influential in Basketball” in 2009 by HOOPSWORLD. Morey was also recognized in 2009 as one of “The 10 Most Creative People in Sports” by Fast Company magazine.

Houston actually registered a 53-29 mark in 2008-09 to give the team a third consecutive 50-win season for the first time in team annals (52-30 in 2006-07 and 55-27 in 2007-08). The Rockets also advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 1997, taking the L.A. Lakers to a Game Seven despite playing without Tracy McGrady and losing the services of Yao Ming for the final four contests of that series. In 2007-08, the Rockets won a remarkable 22 straight games, which stands as the second-longest winning streak in professional sports history.

Despite entering the 2009 NBA Draft without a pick, Morey was able to secure the draft rights to Central Florida guard Jermaine Taylor (32nd overall selection) and Arizona forward Chase Budinger (44th overall selection). Morey then signed free agent Trevor Ariza from the L.A. Lakers and acquired the rights to Australian center David Andersen from the Atlanta Hawks.

He also made a number of transactions during the 2008 NBA Draft that helped bring in Memphis forward Joey Dorsey and Syracuse forward Donté Greene, who became a significant component in the acquisition of Ron Artest from the Sacramento Kings. During the 2008-09 season, Morey acquired guard Kyle Lowry from the Memphis Grizzlies and forward Brian Cook from the Orlando Magic as part of a three-team trade.

After taking over as General Manager, Morey worked with Owner Leslie Alexander to secure Rick Adelman as the 11th head coach in club history. In the 2007 NBA Draft, Morey selected Aaron Brooks in the first round (26th overall selection) and traded for the draft rights to Carl Landry (31st overall selection). Morey then traded Vassilis Spanoulis to acquire Argentine forward Luis Scola from the San Antonio Spurs. He also re-signed free agent Chuck Hayes. Scola (First Team) and Landry (Second Team) each went on to earn T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Team honors in 2007-08.

Morey came to Houston after serving three years as SVP Operations for the Boston Celtics. With the Celtics, his responsibilities included the development of analytical methods and technology to enhance basketball decisions, such as the draft, trades and free agency.

Prior to his time with the Celtics, Morey worked as a Principal consultant with an emphasis on sports at The Parthenon Group, a leading strategy consulting firm. While at Parthenon, he led the Joe O’Donnell/Steve Karp Boston Red Sox acquisition team and the current Celtics ownership group acquisition team. Morey was also a statistical consultant with STATS, Inc., the industry pioneer in the use of sports statistics highlighted in the Michael Lewis book Moneyball.

Morey holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science with an emphasis on statistics from Northwestern University, as well as an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Morey also served as the professor for the MIT Sloan class, “Analytical Sports Management.” He continues to be the chairperson for the annual MIT Sloan Sports Conference, the largest annual sports conference hosted by a business school.

Morey grew up in a small town near Medina, Ohio. Married for 13 years, he and his wife have two children, ages nine and seven years old.

Daryl can be reached at dmorey@sloansportsconference.com

Student Organizers

Greg Korbas

MBA Co-Lead and Co-President, MIT Sloan Entertainment, Media, & Sports Club

Greg Korbas is a second year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where he serves as President of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. He served as Managing Vice President of Logistics and lead of the "Basketball Analytics" and "Globalization of Sports" panels for the 2009 Sports Analytics Conference.

This past summer, Greg worked for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (NBA Development League), where he evaluated players and statistics for (former) Head Coach Clay Moser. Prior to business school, Greg was a Software Systems Engineer for The MITRE Corporation, where he worked in the Battlespace Awareness Technologies department. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University.

Greg can be reached at greg@sloansportsconference.com.

John Batalis

MBA Co-Lead and Co-President, MIT Sloan Entertainment, Media, & Sports Club

John is a second year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where he serves as President of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. He served as Managing Vice President of Logistics and lead of the "Sports in a Recession" panel for the 2009 Sports Analytics Conference.

This past summer, John worked at Staples, where he worked in the Corporate Strategy group. Prior to business school, John worked at The Parthenon Group, a boutique management consulting firm based in Boston and then in sales and operations management roles at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company, a large textbook publisher. He graduated from Middlebury College with a double major in Economics and Psychology.

John can be reached at john@sloansportsconference.com.

Ben Schlesinger

Managing Director of Communication and Marketing

Ben Schlesinger is a second year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where he serves as Vice President of Sports for the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. He served as Managing Vice President of Marketing and lead of the "Baseball Analytics" panel for the 2009 Sports Analytics Conference.

Ben spent the 2009 summer working in Corporate Marketing for Verizon. He was responsible for viewing Verizon's product strategy and evaluating the link between the product pipeline and the company's long-term strategy. Prior to Sloan, Ben worked for McKinsey's Global Telecom, Information, Media, and Entertainment team. Ben has a BA in politics from Brandeis University.

Ben can be reached at ben@sloansportsconference.com.

Deirdre Hatfield

Managing Director of Special Events

Deirdre Hatfield is a second year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where she serves as Vice President of Special Projects for the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. She served as lead of the "Careers in Sports" and "Talent Identification" panels for the 2009 Sports Analytics Conference.

Deirdre spent the 2009 summer working in Strategic Planning for Converse and as a consultant for Titleist in their sponsorship division, where she evaluated players, statistics, and extensive data in order to build a predicition model. Prior to business school, Deirdre worked at Fidelity Investments. Deirdre played Division I golf, first in the Big XII Conference at Texas Tech University and later at Boston University, where she was captain. Under her leadership, Boston University won their first and second ever team conference championships and Deirdre became the first player at Boston University to take individual medalist honors. She holds a BA in Mathematics from Boston University.

Deirdre can be reached at deirdre@sloansportsconference.com.

Mike Connolly

Director of Public Relations

Mike is a first year MBA student at the MIT Sloan School of Management. In addition to the Sports Analytics Conference, he is enrolled in the Entrepreneurship & Innovation track and is an active member of the Venture Capital/Private Equity club. 

Prior to enrolling at MIT Sloan, Mike was an IT Product Manager for Credit Suisse based in New York.  He holds a B.S. in Integrated Business and Engineering and an M.S. in Computer Engineering from Lehigh University. Outside of school Mike enjoys skiing, cycling, soccer, basketball, and triathlons.

Rick Gold

Director of Special Projects

Rick is a first year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where he is an active member of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. He also serves as the Lead Organizer for the EMS Club's 2010 Los Angeles/Las Vegas trek. 

Prior to business school, Rick worked at Banc of America Securities, an investment bank based in New York and then as analyst and business manager at Moelis & Company, a boutique investment bank and private equity firm based in Los Angeles. He graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations.

Gerry Hough

Director of Special Projects

Gerry is a first year MBA student at MIT Sloan, and serves on the Special Projects Committee of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club.  She is serving as the lead of the “Battle of the Boston Brands” panel for the 2010 Sports Analytics Conference – a perfect fit for a Boston native.

Prior to Sloan, Gerry worked at Deloitte Consulting in the Strategy and Operations group.  At Sloan she is putting her consulting skills to work, working with local athletic retailers to evaluate the impact of product extension strategies on future growth and brand integrity. Outside of Sloan she is likely to be found running along the Charles, training for her next marathon.  Gerry graduated from Boston College with concentrations in finance, accounting, and physics.

Douglas Hwang

Director of Logistics

Douglas Hwang is a first year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where he is an active member of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. He was a director of the 2009 EMS Club New York Trek.  Douglas is also active in the Management Consulting and MediaTech clubs.

Prior to MIT Sloan, Douglas was a jet engine engineer for GE Aviation and a graduate of the Edison Engineering Leadership Development Program. Douglas holds a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University.

Justin Jensen

Director of Social Media

Justin Jensen is a first year MBA student at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where his focus is on entrepreneurship and innovation in early-stage clean technology companies. Justin is the transportation track lead for the MIT Clean Energy Prize and a member of the MIT Electric Vehicle Team. Prior to MIT, Justin worked as a technical architecture consultant for Accenture, where he worked on enterprise software systems and data management solutions. Justin has also developed several automotive websites and has even been involved in drag racing. He led development of a Chevrolet Camaro racecar that climbed to the top of the record books. Justin received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Hana Peljto

Director of Panels

Hana is a first year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where she is a member of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. Prior to Sloan, she worked for OC&C Strategy Consultants in Boston and also completed a summer internship in the strategy group at Converse, building a business plan for Converse’s athletically inspired brand Star Chevron. 

Hana holds a BA degree in Psychology with honors from Harvard University. At Harvard, she was honored with the Harvard Radcliffe Foundation for Women’s Athletics Prize after leading Harvard to consecutive NCAA basketball tournament appearances and finishing as the third leading scorer in Ivy League history. Following Harvard and prior to her business experiences, Hana played professional basketball in Europe.

Joe Scribbins

Director of Web Content

Joe Scribbins is a first year MBA student at MIT Sloan, and is the Director of Web Content for the Sports Analytics Conference.  He was a director of the 2009 EMS Club New York Trek.  Joe is also active in the Private Equity and Finance Clubs.

Prior to Sloan, Joe worked as a Financial Analyst at US Salt Holdings, a private equity firm focused on the chemical and manufacturing industries.  He also spent time in the energy industry at Wood Group Gas Turbine Services.  Joe graduated with honors in Finance from the University of Iowa.

Evan Wasch

Director of Logistics

Evan Wasch is a first year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where he is an active member of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. He also served as a director of the EMS Club's 2009 New York Trek.

Prior to business school, Evan was a consultant with Marakon, a strategy consulting boutique, where he worked in the pharmaceutical, defense, and heavy industrials industries.  Evan also has experience in minor league baseball, in both finance and operations roles.  He has a BS in Industrial Engineering & Management Sciences from Northwestern University.               

Mike Bower

Director of Sponsorship

Mike is a first year MBA student at MIT Sloan, where he is a member of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club. Prior to Sloan, He was a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy for 7 years.

Mike holds a BS degree in Mathematics with honors from The United States Naval Academy. At Navy, Mike played both Tennis and Ice Hockey where he was a two time Academic All American.

Faculty Advisor

Stephen Graves

Abraham J. Siegel Professor of Management Science

Stephen Graves develops and applies operations research models and methods to solve problems in manufacturing and distribution systems and in service operations. Currently, he is focusing on supply chain optimization, strategic inventory positioning in a supply chain, and production and capacity planning for various contexts.

Honorary Executive Board

Sam Kennedy

EVP, Chief Operating Officer, Boston Red Sox and President, Fenway Sports Group

Sam Kennedy was named EVP, Chief Operating Officer of the Red Sox and President of Fenway Sports Group in September 2009. He joined the Red Sox as Vice President/Corporate Partnerships in March 2002 and was named Senior Vice President/Sales and Marketing in 2005.  He was promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, in February 2008.  The Brookline, MA native was among the first executives that Red Sox President/CEO Larry Lucchino brought with him from the San Diego Padres, for whom Kennedy had worked six years. Since joining the Red Sox, Kennedy and his staff have increased sponsorship revenue by more than 500 percent, premium licensing revenue by 600 percent and the season ticket base by 32 percent with a season ticket waiting list of over 7,000. As of June 27th, 2009 the club has sold out 504 consecutive games at Fenway Park (since May 2003), and has set attendance records in each of the past 7 seasons. Beyond the numbers, Kennedy has overseen the club’s revitalized marketing effort; launching the new “Here” advertising campaign and the Red Sox Nation Citizenship Program, developing and executing the annual “Christmas at Fenway” ticket sales event, the “Fenway Park Yard Sale”,  and the “Futures at Fenway” event.  Additionally, the popular giant flag that drapes the Green Monster on special occasions was his idea.

 

Kennedy oversees the club’s revenue streams, including Ticketing (sales, operations and service), Corporate Sponsorship, Broadcasting, and Fenway Enterprises (non-baseball events at Fenway such as concerts, and special events such as the proposed January 2010 NHL “Winter Classic”) He is also responsible for Marketing, Advertising and all Client Services. Since 2002 he has helped conceive and execute the successful sales and marketing plan for the new premium seating areas at Fenway (including the “Legends Suite”, Dugout Seating, the $70mil EMC Club and State Street premium seating areas at Fenway), and new tasteful advertising positions throughout Fenway including signs on and above the Green Monster. In 2004 Kennedy secured a long term partnership with Anheuser-Busch that was instrumental in the creation of the new Right Field Roof seats at Fenway.  Kennedy also secured long term naming rights deals for the EMC Club, the State Street Pavilion, the Jordan’s Furniture 3^rd Base Deck, the Absolut Clubhouse & the Best Buy Player’s Club at Fenway Park.

 

Kennedy sits on the Red Sox (six-person) Budget committee, charged with oversight of the club’s financial operations.  He also serves as Chairman of the Boston Red Sox Diversity Committee and the club’s marketing liaison to Major League Baseball and Major League Baseball Advanced Media.  Kennedy works in concert with Larry Lucchino to ensure the fan experience at Fenway is among the best in professional sports.  He is also the club’s primary liaison between New England Sports Network and Entercomm (the club’s broadcast outlets) for all business matters. 

 

In an effort to diversify the Red Sox’ parent company’s (New England Sports Ventures) business interests, Kennedy helped create Fenway Sports Group in March 2004 with his longtime colleague, Mike Dee (who was recently named CEO of the Miami Dolphins). Dee and Kennedy built FSG into a well respected national sports marketing agency. Kennedy has recruited and hired all senior FSG executives as well as taken on responsibility for all sales related to FSG’s properties (including Boston College Athletics, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, the Deutsche Bank Championship and consulting services). Additionally he oversees all day-to-day business operations, including budgeting and the long term strategic plan for the company. In 2007 FSG acquired 50% of NASCAR’s largest team: Roush Fenway Racing.

 

Kennedy has received several accolades over the past several years. In October 2007, Sam was named as one of the Boston Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Award recipients, which recognizes 40 of Boston’s best and brightest young professionals. In January 2008, Kennedy was selected as one of Sports Business Journal’s Forty under 40 Award recipients. This national honor placed him in the company of the most influential and creative young professionals in the business of sports.  In 2004 Kennedy was sworn in as a board member on the Massachusetts Governor’s Committee for Physical Fitness and Sports.  In 2007 he joined the board of Boston’s Emerald Necklace Conservancy and in 2008 he was elected to the board of the Association of Volleyball Professionals.

 

Prior to joining the Red Sox, Kennedy was the San Diego Padres’ Executive Director/Corporate Partnerships and Broadcasting. Originally hired as an account executive in 1996, he tripled sponsorship revenues from 1996-2001. Kennedy oversaw the sale of signage at Qualcomm Stadium (home of the Padres, Chargers, Super Bowl XXXII and other events), virtual advertising, promotional programs, broadcast media and print advertising. He also played an integral role in securing financing and developing the sales and marketing strategy for the Padres’ new downtown ballpark, Petco Park. Before joining the Padres, he sold radio advertising for WFAN 660AM and WABC 770AM in New York.

 

Sam attended Trinity College in Hartford, CT, where he played baseball and earned a degree in American Studies in 1995. At Brookline High, he was a classmate and baseball teammate of colleague Theo Epstein.   In his spare time Sam enjoys playing and coaching ice hockey.  Sam and his wife of eleven years, Amanda, reside in Wellesley, MA with their six-year-old son, Jimmy and five-year-old daughter, Ally.  

Brian Burke

President & General Manager, Toronto Maple Leafs

Brian Burke was named the President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 29, 2008. The 53-year-old Burke became the 13th General Manager in Maple Leafs history and brings over 20 years of National Hockey League experience in various roles to the franchise. Most recently, Burke served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Anaheim Ducks from 2005 to 2008. In just over three seasons in Anaheim, Burke guided the Ducks to their first Stanley Cup (2007), first Pacific Division title (2007), and first-two 100+ point seasons (2006-07 & 2007-08). The Ducks also qualified for post-season contention in all three seasons, winning six-of-eight playoff series over that span.

Burke received two outstanding honours in the summer of 2008. On June 6, he was chosen by USA Hockey as General Manager of the 2010 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, and was named a recipient of the 2008 Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States on August 7.

Burke was ranked No. 1 by The Hockey News in the magazine’s Annual GM Rankings in March of 2008, and was a finalist for The Hockey News Executive of the Year in 2006. He was named the Sporting News Executive of the Year in 2001, and was a runner-up for the same award following the 2005-06 season.

Burke joined the Ducks after a six-year stint (1998-2004) as President and General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks where he revitalized the team and the community en route to consecutive 100+ point seasons and the 2004 Northwest Division title. Under Burke’s leadership, the Canucks improved their point total in four consecutive years from 1999-2003.

Since the 2000-01 season, Burke’s teams have qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs all seven times, playing in 13 total postseason series. In addition, all seven of those clubs recorded at least 90+ points, including four 100-point seasons.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island and raised in Edina, Minnesota, Burke was named the Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations by the Vancouver Canucks in June of 1987. Burke left Vancouver to serve as General Manager of the Hartford Whalers for one season in 1992, before joining the NHL front office as Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations in September of 1993. Some of his duties with the NHL included acting as chief disciplinarian by ruling on violations for on-ice player conduct, and working closely with Commissioner Gary Bettman on league direction and collective bargaining matters.

After earning his Bachelor of Arts in History from Providence College in 1977, Burke signed with the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the 1977-78 season and won a Calder Cup Championship with the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate the Maine Mariners. He then returned to school and graduated from Harvard Law in 1981. Burke practiced law in Boston for the next six years, representing professional hockey players until joining the Canucks in 1987. Brian resides with his wife Jennifer and has six children: Katie, Patrick, Brendan, Molly, Mairin and Gracie.

Bill Polian

President, Indianapolis Colts

Bill Polian is in his 12th season as President of the Indianapolis Colts. Polian oversees all football and administrative aspects of the Colts. His football blueprint has established one of the best periods of achievement in Colts history, and it has placed Indianapolis among the NFL’s elite teams.

Since Polian’s 1998 arrival, no NFL team has had more overall playoff appearances than the Colts. Since 1999, the club has amassed a 114-46 (.713) mark to stand as the NFL’s winningest regular-season team by a margin of four games over its nearest competitor. The Colts are the only team to make the playoffs nine times in the last 10 seasons, advancing to the divisional, conference or league title round in five of the past six years. The club leads the NFL with seven consecutive playoff appearances and is the only NFL team to have double-digit victory totals and playoff berths annually since the 2002 NFL Realignment. The Colts have won six division championships (1999, 2003-07) during Polian’s tenure. The Colts (three times) join Chicago, San Francisco and New England (all twice) as the only franchises to amass 50+ regular-season victories in a four-year span, while the club’s 63 victories from 2003-07 and 2004-08 tie the second-highest five-year total in the NFL’s 89 seasons.

The 2008 Colts finished with a 12-4 record to become the only NFL team with 12+ victories in six consecutive seasons. Indianapolis produced eleven-plus victories for the sixth consecutive year, joining Dallas as the only teams to accomplish that feat, and last season was the club’s seventh consecutive with 10+ victories, a streak that ties the second-longest in NFL history. Additionally, Indianapolis became the only NFL team to win seven or more consecutive regular-season games in five consecutive seasons. From 2003-07, the club won a franchise-record five straight AFC South championships, placing Indianapolis as one of nine teams since the 1970 Merger to win five or more consecutive division crowns. The 2006 Colts culminated years of franchise dedication by winning Super Bowl XLI, 29-17 over Chicago. It was the club’s first title appearance in 36 years. The Super Bowl XLI victory brought the club its fourth World Championship and the first since its move to Indianapolis.

In 2002, Polian oversaw the hiring of Coach Tony Dungy. Together they produced seven consecutive playoff teams, while Dungy became the winningest Colts head coach. Polian led the hiring of Coach Jim Caldwell in 2009. In 1999, the Colts produced a 10-game turnaround from 1998, then the best one-season improvement in NFL history.

Polian and pro football success are synonymous. In 21 seasons as a general manager or president with Indianapolis, Carolina and Buffalo, his teams have made 15 playoff, seven championship game and four Super Bowl appearances, while winning a World Championship. Polian’s Buffalo teams reached the Super Bowl three times and reached the big game again the year after his departure. He built Carolina into the winningest expansion franchise in sports history, taking the club to the NFC Championship game in its second season. He helped build Grey Cup title teams with two CFL franchises (Montreal and Winnipeg).

Polian’s teams have produced a combined regular-season record of 214-137. Discounting the start-up seasons of 1985-86 at Buffalo, 1995 at Carolina and 1998 in Indianapolis, Polian’s mark is 198-89, a .690 winning percentage. Polian has been part of 12 11+-victory seasons and has won a division championship at every stop.

Polian’s record is unique among NFL administrators. He was recognized by The Sporting News in 1999 as Executive of the Year, his fifth time as the award’s winner. Polian and the late George Young are the only executives to win the award five or more times. Polian, Young and the late Jim Finks are the only men to win the award multiple times.

A keen judge of talent, Polian’s expertise has changed the face of the Colts. His first eleven draft classes yielded QB-Peyton Manning, RBs-Edgerrin James and Joseph Addai, WRs-Reggie Wayne and Anthony Gonzalez, LBs-Rob Morris and Cato June, DEs-Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, DBs-Bob Sanders, Antoine Bethea, Marlin Jackson and Kelvin Hayden, OTs-Ryan Diem and Tony Ugoh, OGs-Jake Scott, Mike Pollak, Jamey Richard and TE-Dallas Clark, among others. Polian also found key free agent additions in C-Jeff Saturday, K-Mike Vanderjagt, RB-Dominic Rhodes, LB-Gary Brackett and DB-Melvin Bullitt. Indianapolis ended the 2008 season with 48 of 53 active-roster players having played only for the Colts. Manning, James, Addai, WR-Marvin Harrison, Wayne, Freeney, Mathis, Vanderjagt, OT-Tarik Glenn, Saturday, June, Bethea and Sanders have earned Pro Bowl honors during Polian’s tenure.

Polian entered the league as a pro scout for Kansas City in 1978. He worked five years with the Chiefs before moving to Winnipeg of the CFL as personnel director. He helped build a team that won two CFL Championships. He served as personnel director with the Chicago Blitz of the USFL in 1984. Polian joined Buffalo in 1984 as pro personnel director and was promoted to general manager on December 30, 1985. Under Polian, Buffalo reversed a record of 8-40 from 1984-86 to a 58-22 mark from 1988-92. The Bills reached Super Bowls XXV, XXVI and XXVII during Polian’s tenure, then added a fourth Super Bowl in 1993. Polian presented former Buffalo Head Coach Marv Levy at his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 2001.

Polian served as Vice President of Football Development for the NFL during the 1993 season. He helped formulate and implement the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement. Long active in league affairs, Polian serves as a member of the NFL Competition Committee, Diversity Committee, Management Council Senior Executive Committee and is Chairman of the College Relations Committee.

Alumni Executive Board

Katie Burke

MIT Sloan '09, Chair of MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference Alumni Executive Board

Katie Burke currently serves as the Brand Manager for Core Performance and Athletes' Performance, the industry leader in performance training for elite athletes. In this role, Katie manages strategy and execution for all marketing, public relations, and brand initiatives.

During her time at Sloan, Katie was responsible for creating the "Defending the Title" panel, which brought together sitting leadership from all four defending league champions to talk about what it takes to repeat a championship, as well as last year's Future of the Fan Experience, which brought together leading sports personalities to discuss new innovations in the game of sport.

Mike Beaser

MIT Sloan '09, 2009 Sports Analytics Conference MBA Co-Lead

Mike graduated in 2009 from MIT Sloan, having served as President of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club and the Operations Management Club.  He was heavily involved in planning the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in 2008, and was one of two student co-leads in 2009.

Mike is currently in a leadership rotational program at Fidelity Investments, through which he has spent time in the Fidelity Consulting Group.  The rotational program is designed to accelerate and develop high-potential talent by providing the leadership training and business challenges that will propel them into management roles within the company.  Prior to MIT Sloan, Mike worked at Deloitte Consulting and Towers Perrin as an Actuarial Consultant.  Mike got his undergraduate degree from Tufts University, majoring in Mathematics and minoring in Economics.

Josh Miller

MIT Sloan '09, 2009 Sports Analytics Conference MBA Co-Lead

Josh graduated from MIT Sloan in 2009 and served as Co-President of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports Club and the Venture Capital/Private Equity Club.  He was one of two student co-leads for the 2009 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

Josh is currently Co-founder and Director of Sales and Business Development of 3Play Media, a Boston area startup.  The company provides cost-effective transcription services, specializing in time synchronization, video captioning, and search for digital media.  Prior to MIT Sloan, Josh worked in management consulting at Mercator Partners, a boutique consulting firm focused on the telecom and media industries, and built expertise in strategy development, media convergence, internet and mobile technology, and needs-based market segmentation.

In addition to his MBA from MIT Sloan, Josh holds an AB from Brown University where he double majored in Public and Private Sector Organizations and Business Economics.

Jarrod Boland

MIT Sloan '08, 2008 Sports Analytics Conference MBA Co-Lead

Jarrod served as co-President of the MIT Sloan Entertainment, Media, and Sports (EMS) Club from 2007-2008. During his tenure, he acted as one of the lead organizers of the 2008 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.  He also organized several other events to help to further the presence of MIT Sloan in the entertainment, media, and sports industries. He is currently employed by Susquehanna International Group, LLP, a privately-held trading firm based outside of Philadelphia, PA.

Before attending MIT Sloan, Jarrod received his undergraduate degree in engineering from Dartmouth College and spent several years at BladeLogic, a Massachusetts-based software start-up that went public in 2007 and was acquired by BMC Software in 2008.

Marshall Einhorn

MIT Sloan '07, 2007 Sports Analytics Conference MBA Co-Lead

Marshall graduated from MIT Sloan in 2007 and was one of two student co-leads of the inaugural MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. During his first year, Marshall was an organizer of the first annual Better Golf Though Technology conference. Marshall served as a Vice President of the Entertainment, Media, and Sports club and graduated from the Leaders for Global Operations program with an MBA and a MS in Mechanical Engineering.

Following MIT Sloan, Marshall worked in Marketing Operations at Reebok. He is currently the Head of Business Development and Operations at a winter sports accessory startup that he co-founded with a MIT Sloan classmate. Prior to MIT Sloan, Marshall worked for seven years as a consultant at CGI-AMS. Marshall has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University.

Matt Wexler

MIT Sloan '06, Vice President, CIM Group

Matt Wexler is a Vice President at CIM Group, a leading investor in urban communities throughout North America.  Matt received his MBA in 2006 from the MIT Sloan School of Management.  During his time at MIT Sloan, Matt served as the co-president of the school's Real Estate Club and as teaching assistant for the first "Analytical Sports Management" class.