Panelists

Jonathan Kraft

President and COO, The Kraft Group

Jonathan A. Kraft is President and Chief Operating Officer of The Kraft Group.  The Kraft Group is a private holding company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.  The Group is comprised of companies in the paper and packaging industries, sports and entertainment, real estate, and private equity investing.

In paper and packaging the Group’s holdings include the Rand-Whitney Group, a manufacturer of corrugated containers, and International Forest Products Corporation (IFP) a trader of paper commodities as principal doing business in 80 countries.  The Kraft Group also owns Rand-Whitney Containerboard a manufacturer of 100% high performance recycled linerboard.

In sports and entertainment the Group’s holdings include the National Football League’s, 2001, 2003, & 2004 World Champion New England Patriots, the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place. The privately funded Gillette Stadium opened in the spring of 2002 and represents an investment of over $350 million by The Kraft Group.  This investment is the largest private investment in a sports facility in the United States.  In 2002 Kraft was named to the Sports Business Journal’s “40 Under 40 Most Powerful People in Sports” and named the Sports Business Daily’s “Sports Industrialist of the Year”.

The Kraft Group also holds numerous private equity investments and is involved in a number of real estate developments.

As a graduate of Williams College (1986), Kraft received his MBA from Harvard Business School (1990).  He is on the board of directors for several organizations including the Children’s Hospital Trust and Carmel Container Systems Ltd. (Israel’s largest packaging company, of which The Kraft Group is its largest shareholder). Kraft currently serves as a member of the Overseers’ Committee to Visit Harvard Business School, as well as, being a member of the Board of Trustees for Williams College and the Belmont Hill School.

Jonathan and his wife Patti have two sons and a daughter.

Rich Gotham

President, Boston Celtics

Rich Gotham currently serves as President of the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics professional basketball team. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of the Celtics business operations including sales, marketing, customer service, communications, corporate partnerships, business development, community and public relations, game entertainment, broadcast partnerships and arena relations. In addition, he works with Celtics Ownership, Basketball Staff, and the NBA on player transactions, as well as team and league related initiatives. He succeeds Arnold “Red” Auerbach as Celtics Team President.

Rich joined the Celtics as the Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Corporate Development in April 2003 and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in June of 2006, prior to be named team President in 2007.

Since joining the Celtics, Rich has been recognized for leading the team to new heights off the court. Under his leadership the team has established new records for ticket sales, television ratings, and sponsorship revenue. In addition, he successfully led negotiations to extend the Celtics lease to play in the TD Banknorth Garden, and was responsible for moving the Celtics radio broadcasts to WEEI, the nations top rated sports radio station. During his tenure with the Celtics, the team has grown revenue by over 50% . 

Rich joined the Celtics after five years with the global internet media company, Lycos, where he served as Vice President of Sales and Business Development and was responsible for generating revenues in excess of $300 million annually. He played an integral role in helping to grow the Lycos Network into the most visited site on the Internet in 2001. While at Lycos, Gotham was part of a senior management team that exceeded Wall Street analyst expectations for revenue and profitability growth for nineteen (19) consecutive quarters. In addition, he sat on the Board of Directors for the Internet Advertising Bureau participating in the creation of multiple internet new media advertising standards.

In addition to his duties with the Celtics, Gotham has served on the Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s Committee for Physical Fitness and Sport and currently serves as a board member for Providence College Varsity Athletics, The Sports Museum of New England, Junior Achievement of MA and the National Sports Marketing Network. He is active in multiple charitable fundraising activities on behalf of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, and sits on the Board of Visitors for New England Baptist Hospital.

A graduate of Providence College (1986), Rich currently resides in Medfield, MA along with his wife and three children.

Tim McDermott

SVP and CMO, Washington Capitals

Tim McDermott is in his third season with the Washington Capitals as their senior vice president and chief marketing officer, leading the club’s marketing and communications efforts. McDermott’s tenure at the Caps has been highlighted by the development of the team’s new brand identity as well as dramatic increases in attendance (paid admissions are up 33% this season), television ratings (123%), merchandise sales (40%), and web site traffic (50%). The Capitals have successfully built a brand that has energized the DC fan base while being recognized as one of the NHL’s elite in marketing, game presentation, amateur hockey relations, media relations, community relations and online presence. 

McDermott came to Washington after serving as senior director of marketing with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles since March 2004, where he was responsible for the development, communication, and implementation of the team’s marketing strategy. With the Eagles, McDermott directed the team’s branding efforts, which garnered 13 Philadelphia ADDY Awards and generated unprecedented campaign-specific merchandise sales. As part of the branding initiatives, McDermott also managed the Eagles’ Tackling Breast Cancer campaign, which received national publicity and in one month generated sales of 32,000 pink Eagles hats to benefit the cause. In two seasons, the campaign generated over $400,000 in donations. During his time in Philadelphia, the Eagles brand strength increased 40%, according to ESPN Sports Poll, and was recognized by Forbes as the fastest growing brand in sports. 

McDermott spent the three previous years as a director in New Media Development for the Comcast Corporation, where he conceptualized new business services and ventures utilizing new media technologies. He has also served as assistant director of sales and marketing for the San Diego Chargers and started his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars serving in both Corporate Sponsorship and Football Operations.

McDermott earned his master’s in business administration from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell, where he was a three-year letter winner, a two-time GTE Academic All-America and an Academic All-Ivy League selection on the Big Red football team.

Lou DePaoli

EVP and CMO, Pittsburgh Pirates

Lou DePaoli joined the Pirates as their Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer on 9/26/08.  In his position, he oversees the club’s marketing, ticket sales, corporate sponsorship, and communications efforts for the Pirates. 

DePaoli previously worked for the Atlanta Spirit organization, where he held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association, Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League, and Phillips Arena.  In this position he was responsible for all marketing, ticket sales, corporate sponsorship sales, communications, and community development efforts for the organization.

Prior to joining the Atlanta Spirit in May of 2005, DePaoli was the National Basketball Association’s Vice President of Team Marketing and Business Development in the NBA’s Team Marketing and Business Operations department.  There, Lou worked with the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association and National Basketball Development League senior management on all business initiatives, including ticket sales, sponsor sales and service, marketing, advertising and promotions. DePaoli, who started in the NBA League Office in December of 2000, worked closely with the NBA clubs to improve their business operations and to implement the industry’s best practices.

DePaoli also worked for the Florida Marlins from 1996 to 2000, serving first as the Director of Ticket Sales and then as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the club.  With the Marlins, DePaoli’s duties included overseeing ticket sales, sponsorship sales, marketing and customer service.  During tenure with the Marlins, the club won a World Series title in 1997.  While with the Marlins, DePaoli was also the subject of the Sports Illustrated article "Fishing For Marlins Fans” written by acclaimed columnist Rick Reilly in the March 9, 1998 issue.

Prior to joining the Marlins in 1996, DePaoli was Vice President of Sales for the Worcester IceCats Hockey Club of the American Hockey League (AHL) from the inaugural 1994-95 season through the beginning of the 1996-97 season.

Lou is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts where he earned his BA in Management of Professional Sports Organizations.

Kathy Goodman

Co-Owner, Los Angeles Sparks

A season seat holder since the team’s inception in 1997, Kathy Goodman acquired the Los Angeles Sparks after ten seasons as a loyal and dedicated fan. A regular at Sparks games and WNBA events, Goodman and co-owner Carla Christofferson created a vision of community and family for her favorite professional sports team and since purchasing the team, has seen that vision through. Currently, Goodman teaches high school English and Social Studies at HighTechHigh-LA, an LAUSD-dependent charter school in the San Fernando Valley, recently named a California Distinguished School.

For five years, Goodman served as President of West Coast Operations for Intermedia Films, an independent motion picture production and finance company which she helped found in 1996. During her tenure at Intermedia, the company produced and financed more than 25 feature films, including “Sliding Doors,” “Hilary and Jackie” and “The Wedding Planner,” and went public on the German Niue Market in 2000.

Prior to her experience at Intermedia, Goodman was a partner at the law firm of Katten Muchin Zavis and Weitzman, where she specialized in representing entertainment financiers and distributors.

Goodman is a member of the Board of Directors of Women’s Care Cottage, an organization that helps move women and children off the streets permanently and succeed independently in their homes, schools, communities and workplaces.

Goodman is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

Moderator

Dr. Roger Brinner

Partner and Chief Economist, The Parthenon Group

Dr. Brinner is the Chief Economist of The Parthenon Group. He is well known as an expert economist and articulate analyst of the U.S. and international economies.  Roger has many long-term relationships with corporate clients on issues relating to their strategies, market growth, pricing and equity valuation. Dr. Brinner's experience includes senior positions at respected business, academic, and government institutions. Dr. Brinner has been an economics professor at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and for more than 20 years, led the preeminent economic research group Standard & Poors / Data Resources. Dr. Brinner received a B.A. in Economics from Kalamazoo College and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.