Dean Bonham has been a pioneer in the development and implementation of comprehensive sports marketing solutions for major national and international corporations and properties.  With experience as president of an NBA franchise, and with a reputation as one of the leading negotiators in the business of sports, he is widely regarded as one of the authorities in the sports and entertainment marketing industry.  Dean has personally negotiated more than a billion dollars worth of sponsorship contracts with or for companies such as IBM, Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Pacific Life, Ford Motor Company, Ericsson, Budweiser and AT&T.  He has also worked on behalf of property clients such as the NHL, DIRECTV, Universal Studios, Sporting News Radio, the Denver Nuggets, Caesars World, the University of North Carolina and the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Additionally, Bonham has negotiated an extensive integrated and interactive naming rights sponsorship package for O2, the British mobile phone company, for the former Millennium Dome in London; acted as lead negotiator in the naming rights negotiations for Qwest Field in Seattle, Toyota Center in Houston, U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, San Diego’s PETCO Park, Ford Field in Detroit, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and Ameriquest Field in Arlington.

John Cordova has been a part of the sports business industry for over twenty years – beginning in the early 1980’s when sports marketing burst onto the scene as the newest trend in breakthrough brand marketing strategy. John began his sports business career as a member of the Executive Development Program at the Major League Baseball Commissioners Office (New York) in 1983-84 and was given opportunities ranging from public relations, player records, minor league operations, licensing and sponsorship and television production. In 1984 John joined the Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee, WI as Coordinator, Sports Marketing. John was later promoted to Manager, Pro Sports Marketing where he directed all of Miller’s pro sports marketing efforts against the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, PBA Tour and Olympics. In 1988, John joined the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club with a vision to “redesign” the club’s marketing efforts in preparation for new Miller Park and became Vice President, Marketing. For the past twelve years John has been an integral part of The Coca-Cola Company’s domestic pro sports marketing efforts. Serving in various roles ranging from Director, Sports Marketing to his current role as Director, Sports Transaction Management, John has been a key player in the reinvention of Coca-Cola’s strategic approach to sports business partnerships.

Michel Desbordes

Professor,
University of Strasbourg (France)

Michel Desbordes is a Professor at the University of Strasbourg, France. He is also associate professor at the ISC business school (Paris, France). He is a specialist in sport marketing; his research focuses on the management of sport events, sports sponsorship and marketing applied to football. He has published 14 books (Elsevier, UK; Economica & les Editions d'Organisation & PUS, France; Paidotribo, INDE; Spain) and numerous academic articles in this field. He also a consultant in sport marketing and associate director of the company MX.

Greg Feasel

Senior Vice President, Business Operations, Colorado Rockies

Greg Feasel enters his 11th year with the Rockies and fifth as Senior Vice President, being promoted to his position on November 13, 2001. He oversees ticketing operations and sales, corporate sales, publications, broadcasting, community affairs, merchandising, promotions, special events, suites, information systems and all operations at Coors Field.

Feasel joined the Rockies before the 1996 season after serving as a division director of sales and marketing for Coca-Cola Enterprises from 1988-95.

A 1981 graduate of Abilene Christian University, Feasel was inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Also last year, Greg and his brother Grant were named to the school’s All-Century Team.  He played three seasons for the USFL's Denver Gold and also played for the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers. In the off-seasons throughout his football career, he worked in the real estate and automotive industries and as an educator.

Paula Hanson

Senior Vice President,
Team Business Development,
WNBA

Paul Hanson was named Senior Vice President, WNBA Team Business Development, in 2003 and is located in Denver.

In her role, she is a consultant to WNBA teams on all areas of their business operations. Prior to her current position in Team Marketing & Business Operations, Ms. Hanson served as the WNBA's Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the WNBA’s day-to-day business operations.

A 31-year veteran of professional basketball, Ms. Hanson joined the NBA in 1985 as Vice President of Team Services. In 1996 she was promoted to Senior Vice President, Team Operations, where she was responsible for directing the marketing, sales and community relations strategies of the NBA and WNBA teams. Under Ms. Hanson's direction, Team Operations established a number of public service initiatives, including the TeamUp Program to encourage youth volunteerism. At the 1984 All-Star Game in Denver, Ms. Hanson assisted with the first NBA All-Star Weekend, where both the Gatorade Slam-Dunk Contest and Schick Legends Classic were established as part of the first All-Star Saturday. She was instrumental in the planning and execution of the All-Star Weekend, the NBA Mid-Year Marketing Meetings and the annual league meetings as well as other team-related NBA events and programs.

Before joining the NBA, Ms. Hanson was an executive for the Denver Nuggets for 11 seasons. Her first position in 1974 was as the Promotions Director while the Nuggets were still members of the American Basketball Association (ABA). She was promoted

to Vice President and Assistant General Manager for Business Operations, a position that she held from 1979-85. During Denver’s inaugural NBA season in 1976-77, Ms. Hanson led a season-ticket campaign that resulted in the sales of nearly 12,000 season tickets, which helped the Nuggets lead the league in attendance that season.

Shawn Hunter

President & Chief Marketing Officer,
AEG Sports

With nearly 20 years of experience directing the activities of several professional sports organizations, Shawn holds the dual positions of President, AEG Sports and Chief Marketing Officer for the organization considered to be the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. Known as one of the most experienced and innovative marketing minds in professional sports, Shawn’s responsibilities includestrategic planning and overseeing of business operations for all of AEG’s sports franchises, sports properties, events and tournaments among other initiatives operated by the organization. Additionally his duties include management of the several of the company’s business units, including marketing, advertising, public relations, ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandising, creative services and client services for all AEG owned or operated venues and entities worldwide.

Dan Mason

General Manager,
Rochester Red Wings

The 2006 marked Dan’s 17th season with the Red Wings and his 12th season as the club’s GM. He’s been named International Executive of the Year twice, in 1996 and 1997. During his tenure with the club, the Red Wings have qualified for the playoffs five times and have won two league championship titles, and collected several Minor League-wide awards for promotional excellence. In 2004, the Red Wings received The John H. Johnson Award, Minor League Baseball’s most prestigious award.

Steve Saunders

Director of Event Marketing,
Coors Brewing Company

Steve Saunders is the Director of Event Marketing for the Coors Brewing Company. He’s been with Coors for 30 years and has held his current position for the last 10 years, along with other sales and marketing positions throughout his career. Steve graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. Coors Event Marketing programs that Steve has worked on include the NFL, PRCA Rodeo, NASCAR, multiple music programs and significant properties in Colorado including the Broncos, Rockies/Coors Field, Avalanche and Vail Resorts.

Eric Nemeth

Director of Public Relations,
Comcast-Spectator

Eric started with Comcast-Spectacor as a Public Relations Intern in 2000 while attending the University of Massachusetts Sport Management Department and was hired full-time as Public Relations Coordinator for the Wachovia Complex in 2002. As Director of Public Relations for Comcast-Spectacor, Eric oversees the publicity, PR, and media relations for the Wachovia Center, the Wachovia Spectrum, and its events. He also assists with the PR for the six teams that call the complex home (Flyers of the NHL, Sixers of the NBA, Phantoms of the AHL, Wings of the NLL, Soul of the AFL, and Kixx of the MISL). Comcast-Spectacor is the Philadelphia based sports and entertainment firm which owns the Philadelphia Flyers, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Wachovia Center and Wachovia Spectrum, Flyers Skate Zone community ice skating and ice hockey rinks and Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. Comcast-Spectacor is also the principal owner of Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly management field with more than 45 facilities throughout the United States and Canada; Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage service provider; New Era Tickets, a full-service ticketing and marketing company for public assembly facilities; and Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company.

Dr. William A. Sutton

Professor, DeVos Sport Management Graduate Program, University of Central Florida

Principle, Bill Sutton & Associates

Dr. William A. Sutton currently holds an appointment serves as a Professor and Associate Department Head on the faculty of the DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program at the University of Central Florida. In this role Dr. Sutton teaches courses in sport marketing and sales and promotional management in sport and serves as the Internship Coordinator for the program. In addition to his duties at UCF, Dr. Sutton is the founder and principal of Bill Sutton & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in strategic marketing and revenue enhancement. Prior to assuming his current positions, Sutton served as Vice President, Team Marketing and Business Operations for the National Basketball Association. In this capacity, Dr. Sutton assisted NBA teams with marketing related functions such as sales, promotional activities, market research, advertising, customer service, strategic planning and staffing. Dr. Sutton is a co-author of 2 texts: Sport Marketing (3rd Ed 2007) and Sport Promotion and Sales Management (2nd Ed 2007) published by Human Kinetics. Dr. Sutton has also authored more than 100 articles (refereed and non-refereed), and has made more than 100 national and international presentations. Dr. Sutton is a past president of NASSM, a founding member of the Sport Marketing Association (SMA) and the Sport Marketing Quarterly– a publication where he has also served as the co-editor. Dr. Sutton is a featured author for Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal (SBJ).