National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman '74 and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred '80

Celebrating Innovators, Creating Dialogue

The ILR School announces its first annual Cornell ILR Sports Leadership Summit on Sept. 18 at The Westin New York Grand Central in New York City.

The summit is designed to celebrate the innovators and trailblazers who have helped to shape the modern sports industry, as well as to create a dialogue around key issues shaping the future of sports.  

Headlining the event will be Cornell ILR alumni Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred ’80 and National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman ’74.

Also participating will be industry giants such as Tracy Dolgin ’81, former president and
CEO, YES Network; Michael Levine ’93, co-head, CAA Sports; Robert Gulliver ’92, executive vice president and chief HR officer, National Football League; Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University basketball coach; Mark Tatum ’91, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer, National Basketball Association; JoAnn Neale ’91, chief administrative officer, Major League Soccer, and others.

The Cornell ILR School has a rich and storied history of leadership in the sports industry.

“The summit will serve as a new bridge between Cornell and the sports industry and assemble a community of thought leaders and innovators in sport,” said Kevin F. Hallock, ILR’s Kenneth F. Kahn ’69 Dean and Joseph R. Rich ’80 Professor. ILR, a Cornell school focused on the workplace, has been the leading school focused on the study of the employment relationship for more than 70 years.

“These incredible leaders are operating in an increasingly complex global landscape. The summit is a place for them to come together with the Cornell community and share ideas that will shape the future of sports.”
Ethics, law, leadership, pay, economics, negotiations and labor relations – ILR School expertise areas – are themes of panels focused on:

  • The future of labor in sports
  • Media rights negotiations
  • Athlete wellness, ethics and law    
  • Compensation of college athletes
  • Athletes, agents and brands
  • Deal making

Summit panelists and moderators include:

  • Will Ahmed, founder and CEO, WHOOP
  • Joseph Baumgarten ’80, co-chair, Labor and Employment Law Department, partner, Employment Litigation and Arbitration Department, Proskauer Rose LLP
  • Gary Bettman ’74, commissioner, National Hockey League
  • Jim Boeheim, head coach, Syracuse University Men’s Basketball
  • Kevin Boothe ’05, two-time Super Bowl champion
  • Tracy Dolgin ’81, former president and CEO, YES Network
  • Jack Ford, broadcast journalist
  • Jon Frankel, correspondent, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
  • Frank Golding, chief of strategy, Eleven Sports HQ
  • Robert Gulliver ’92, executive vice president and chief HR officer, National Football League
  • Tom Heiden JD ’71, partner, Latham & Watkins LLP
  • Matthew Hiltzik ’94, founder, Hiltzik Strategies
  • Michael Huyghue ’84, president, Michael Huyghue & Associates
  • Jeff Jackson ’83, deputy commissioner, Big South Conference
  • Rachel Jacobson ’96, senior vice president, business development, National Basketball Association
  • Lawrence Kahn, Braunstein Family Professor of Economics, Cornell University ILR School
  • Sen. Marlon Kimpson, senator, South Carolina State Senate District 42
  • Rob Landau ’91, JD ’94, senior vice president, NBC Universal Sports Group
  • Michael Levine ’93, co-head, CAA Sports
  • Adam Lupion ’98, partner, Labor and Employment Law Department, Proskauer Rose LLP
  • Abe Madkour, executive editor, Sports Business Journal/Daily
  • Rob Manfred ’80, commissioner, Major League Baseball
  • JoAnn Neale ’91, chief administrative officer, Major League Soccer
  • Mike Ozanian, executive editor, Forbes Media
  • Jennifer Phelps, general counsel, USA Football
  • Jimmy Pitaro ’91, chief administrative officer, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media
  • Jeremy Schaap ’91, journalist, ESPN
  • Susan Schroeder ’86, founder, Jump Shift Marketing
  • Mark Tatum ’91, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer, National Basketball Association.

More information about the summit is available at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/sports-leadership. Follow the event at #ILRCornellSports.

 

Weekly Inbox Updates