Speaker Profile

Jessica Gelman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Kraft Analytics Group (KAGR), the sports and entertainment industry's leading analytics, technology, and strategic consulting firm. She has built KAGR into the trusted data and analytics engine behind the NCAA and dozens of professional teams, including the LA Rams, Philadelphia 76ers, and Seattle Storm, while delivering strategic analytics and consulting for major leagues such as the NFL and NASCAR. As AI accelerates change across sports, KAGR gives organizations the unified data infrastructure and strategic expertise to act with confidence and speed.

Before launching KAGR, Jessica led the customer-facing business operations for the New England Patriots, overseeing ticketing, marketing, retail, and sales and driving significant growth across each revenue line through data-driven strategy. Her leadership earned her recognition as a Sports Business Journal "Forty Under 40" and "Game Changers" honoree. The model she created inside one of the world's most successful sports organizations became the foundation for KAGR, now redefining how the sports industry operates.

Jessica is also Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC), the most influential annual gathering in sports business. Since 2006, she has shaped SSAC into a global platform where ideas move from the stage into front offices, boardrooms, and league policies. Each year more than 2,500 attendees convene in Boston, including President Barack Obama, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Nate Silver, and Sue Bird.

Her commitment to expanding who leads in sports is reflected in how she invests her time, platform, and influence. She is a minority partner in Boston Legacy FC and previously invested in the Utah Royals, through which she served as Alternate Governor and chair of the Commercial Committee on the NWSL board. She sits on the USOPC Performance Innovation Advisory Committee and is the elected President of the Harvard Varsity Club, strengthening the Harvard athletic community across generations.

Jessica holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA, cum laude, from Harvard College, where she was named Harvard Female Athlete of the Year. A former professional basketball player in Europe and a championship-winning point guard at Harvard, she brings the same instincts to leadership that defined her on the court: elevating teams, creating clarity, and setting others up to succeed. She is based in the greater Boston area with her wife, Corbin Petro, and their two sons.