Kalen Thornton is a global business and brand leader who believes in using the power of sport and innovation to unlock human potential. He was named chief marketing officer at Gatorade in 2021, after 10 years leading transformational brand initiatives at Nike and Jordan Brand. At Gatorade, Kalen leads brand strategy, integrated marketing, portfolio management, creative storytelling and the expansion of consumer engagement across digital channels. Before joining Gatorade, Kalen worked with iconic athletes and creative collaborators on significant initiatives across Nike’s brand portfolio. Kalen is a passionate believer in the power of sport and is a lifelong athlete. He played collegiate football at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration, and he spent time playing professionally with the Dallas Cowboys. 

Kristen is currently Vice President of Marketing, Digital Products at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kristen’s role includes all direct to consumer lead generation for global Pay-Per-View, broadcast tune-in, and management of UFC licensees that produce and distribute digital products. Prior to joining UFC, Banks held senior roles in Consumer Brand Marketing and Global Promotions at NBCUniversal/Comcast, Universal Orlando Resort, and Landers and Partners Inc. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication and Media Studies from Florida Southern College and a Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Communication with a concentration in Marketing Analytics from the University of Denver.

Ethan Burris is the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also served as a professor of management and the Chevron Centennial Fellow. He teaches and consults on topics relating to leadership, managing power and politics, leading groups and teams, and negotiations.

Jade S. DeKinder is the Associate Dean for the Master of Science Programs and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. Dr. DeKinder received her Bachelor’s degree in Economics with highest honors from Emory University and her PhD in Marketing from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Dr. DeKinder has taught courses in the Business Honors, BBA, MBA and PhD programs, receiving several prestigious teaching awards including the Provost’s Teaching Fellowship. Dr. DeKinder is also an accomplished researcher; her research focused on market signaling, econometric modeling, and information asymmetry has appeared in top journals including the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

Rebecca Feferman is Founder of The FefCo, where she offers high-level producing and strategy in content, business development, and brand management across the intersection of sports, entertainment, and culture for clients like Spurs Sports & Entertainment, Katie Nolan, and Dave & Busters among others. Rebecca is a Lecturer for UT's McCombs School of Business, currently teaching Entrepreneurship Practicum: Passion Industries, as well as serves on the Advisory Council for the UT Center for Sports Communications & Media at the Moody College, where she spent two years as a Lecturer for the Business of Sports Media course. Running with Beto, the first feature film Rebecca produced, won the Audience Award at SXSW and premiered on HBO in 2019. Prior to starting her company in 2016, Rebecca spent eight years at SXSW, where she navigated multiple roles, creating and running sports-focused track SXsports, and serving as Head of Convergence Programming. Feferman’s tenure at SXSW began in 2008 as Head of Film Media Relations, where she also worked as a Programmer until 2014. Before moving to Austin, Rebecca was a publicist at ID Public Relations in Los Angeles, representing actors John Krasinski, Minka Kelly, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Paul Giamatti, among others.

Kirk Goldsberry is the NYT best-selling author of Sprawlball, an NBA analyst at ESPN and a professor at the University of Texas. He has previously served as the Vice President of Strategic Research for the San Antonio Spurs, the Senior Analyst for Team USA Basketball, and as a staff writer at Grantland.

Ben Howell is a senior Sport Management student at UT who works for the Texas Baseball team as an Analytics Intern. He has spent the past two summers interning with the San Diego Padres as a Baseball Research & Development Intern and pursues research in women’s hockey.

Minesh currently leads growth and media at the NBA focused on Direct to Consumer initiatives. Prior to joining the NBA, Minesh led growth marketing at Twitch, Twitter, and Zynga where he was responsible for global user growth initiatives, including branded media, user acquisition, lifecycle channels, and consumer platforms. Prior to Zynga, Minesh was at Microsoft, as part of global marketing efforts launching new products and services including Microsoft Office.

In her role, Michelle creates, operationalizes, and manages an insights-driven, holistic sport strategy and drives a cross-functional offense across Nike’s Product, Brand, Marketplace and Experience teams. Prior to becoming VP Global Kids Football (Soccer), Michelle has held numerous roles in her 9-year tenure at Nike including Sr. Director of Change Management, General Manager North America Soccer and various Strategic Planning roles across the business. Prior to Nike, she worked at Accenture doing Management Consulting.

Chris Ogbonnaya is a senior consultant in Global Sponsorships at Dell Technologies. He leads the corporate founding partnership at the Moody Center ATX to ensure that the partnership delivers on business and brand objectives for Dell Technologies. Additionally, he manages partnerships with University of Texas athletic program, where Dell serves as the Official Technology Sponsor, and also NFL partnerships with the New York Giants/Jets. Prior to joining Dell Technologies, Chris played 7 years in the National Football League. Chris holds a BA, BS, and MBA from the University of Texas and was a member of the 2005 National Championship Team.

Kylan Perry is a current senior at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Sport Management with a minor in Sports Media. Kylan aspires to be a marketing agent. She currently works in Texas Athletics Marketing to improve the fan experience and discover new ways to keep fans engaged. Kylan has worked in digital marketing with the YMCA of Austin and SponsorUnited in the past. She recently finished an internship with the Miami Dolphins in brand strategy marketing.

Rhodes is currently the Vice President of Business Development at Overtime with over 65 million social media followers and 2 billion video views per month. At Overtime, Rhodes became the second business hire where he proved Overtime’s first revenue model and brokered deals with Gatorade, Nike and McDonald’s. He also helped acquire strategic investors such as former NBA-All Stars, Baron Davis and Carmelo Anthony. After building up brand partnerships and events capabilities, Rhodes transitioned to become the first business development lead tasked with creating new revenue streams across Overtime and Overtime Elite.

Katherine Rowe is a Sports Product Marketing Manager at Salesforce, where she works across Salesforce's sports partnerships, including Formula 1, LA28, and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Clark University, a Master of Business Administration, with a focus on strategy, analytics, and global management, from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master of Legal Studies, with a concentration in sports law, from Arizona State University. Applying the leadership and problem-solving skills she honed as an officer in the U.S. Army, Katherine Rowe has led projects for a diverse portfolio of clients in major U.S. sports leagues and college athletics, helping them to become more data-driven to engage fans, grow the bottom line, and improve performance. She also co-founded Veterans in Sports in 2020 to assist military veterans in finding career paths in sports.

Katherine Schmitt is a second year MBA at the University of Texas, McCombs School of Business. This past summer she worked in Strategy and Operations at adidas in Portland where she was able to combine her consulting skillsets with her love for sports and fitness. Prior to business school, she spent six years in Human Capital Consulting at EY in New York City where she specialized in Change and Project Management. She received her B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in 2015. She is an avid swimmer and golfer, and has recently taken up pickleball, the fastest growing sport in the United States.