Speaker Profile

Saj Cherian serves as Head of Fanatics Ventures, where he leads the company’s efforts to harness emerging technologies — most notably AI and robotics — to reimagine the entire licensed sports value chain. His work focuses on transforming how Fanatics designs, manufactures, and brings products to market, unlocking innovation at scale.

Previously, Saj served as Chief of Staff, working closely with CEO Michael Rubin over 14 years to raise the capital required to scale the business, recruit more than 50 C-level executives and board members, complete dozens of strategic acquisitions and partnerships — including agreements with every major U.S. professional sports league. He also helped drive the company’s transition to mobile commerce and supported the creation of two major national social impact initiatives: the REFORM Alliance, focused on criminal justice reform, and the ALL IN Challenge, addressing food insecurity during COVID-19.

Michael originally enlisted Saj as Employee No. 2 at Kynetic, the internet holding company behind Fanatics, Rue Gilt Groupe, and ShopRunner, immediately following eBay’s $2.4 billion acquisition of GSI Commerce in 2011. At Kynetic, Saj spearheaded the company’s aggressive push into mobile commerce, drawing on more than a decade of experience in mobile technology as a venture capital investor at Valhalla Partners, head of wireless strategy and business development at NBCUniversal, operating executive at Virgin Mobile USA, and management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Earlier in his career, he helped build one of the first carrier-led mobile advertising businesses at Virgin Mobile, contributing to the company’s successful IPO in 2007.

A Marshall Scholar, Saj holds an M.Phil. in European Politics from the University of Oxford and an A.B. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. A recognized thought leader on sports investing, he is a frequent speaker at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Comoto, the nation’s largest powersports aftermarket retailer, and on the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia Art Museum. Saj is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he chairs the Committee on Term Membership and previously served on the Committee on Corporate Affairs. He was a founding co-chair of Greenlight Fund Philadelphia, supporting social entrepreneurs addressing poverty in the city’s underserved communities.