Speaker Profile

Michael Rubin, noted internet entrepreneur, philanthropist, and social justice advocate, has built several multibillion-dollar, direct-to-consumer companies. Driven by a deep passion for business and a life-long love of sports, Michael is Founder and CEO of Fanatics, a global digital sports platform that is reimagining the fan experience across many different businesses, including licensed merchandise, physical and digital trading cards and collectibles, sports betting, and gaming. Michael is the Executive Chairman of Rue Gilt Groupe, the premiere off-price, e-commerce destination. He also founded GSI Commerce, which was sold to eBay in 2011 for $2.4B.

In addition to his entrepreneurial success, Michael is an advocate for criminal justice reform; he is the co-founder and co-chair of REFORM Alliance, an organization that includes some of the biggest names in sports, business, and culture. REFORM Alliance was created for the purpose of advancing criminal justice reform and eradicating antiquated probation laws that perpetuate injustice in the United States. Michael is also the creator of the ALL IN Challenge, one of the largest digital fundraisers ever that raised $60M to feed those most in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fundraiser was made possible by the participation of hundreds of the biggest celebrities, athletes, entertainers, sports leagues, teams, and corporations, enlisted to donate incredible prizes or create once-in-a-lifetime experiences that were available as online auctions or sweepstakes.

Named annually as one of the most prominent people in sports business, in 2025, Billboard named Michael on its Sports and Music Power Players list. The year prior, Sports Illustrated featured him as one of the 50 Most Influential Figures in Sports. Michael was named Sports Business Journal’s “Executive of the Year” in 2022 and has also been named to the Bleacher Report “POWER 50” list of most influential people in sports. Through his vision of innovating the licensed sports industry, Fanatics has several times been named one of the “50 Most Innovative Companies in the World” by Fast Company, “Sports Business of the Year” by Yahoo! Finance, and was awarded the “Business Model of the Decade” (2010-2019) by Sports Business Journal. Michael spent more than a decade as a partner of the Philadelphia 76ers before selling his ownership stake in the team in June 2022 to focus his efforts on Fanatics’ expansion across the broader sports ecosystem.