From the Field to the Boardroom.
I played the game at a high level, then spent a decade inside the biggest brands in sport learning how the business really works. Now I run Be Complete, a sports business consultancy built on everything the field and the boardroom taught me.
Chapter 01 — The Field
I am from Joliet, Illinois. Basketball took me to Saint Xavier University in Chicago, where I became a two-time NAIA Division I All-American, Conference Player of the Year, a two-year team captain, and led the entire nation in field goal percentage in both my junior and senior years.
After college I played professionally overseas, with stops in Luxembourg, Belgium, and Morocco. My final season was in Fez. That is where everything changed.
In Fez I read Magic Johnson's 32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business. I sat down and wrote a business plan for myself, a personal plan for what I now call my second half. I wrote down three schools and three companies I wanted to work for in the sports industry. Then I went to execute.
I wrote down three schools and three companies. Then I went to execute.
Chapter 02 — The Pivot
I earned my master's degree in Sports Administration from Northwestern University, with a concentration in Marketing and PR, and interned in the athletic department under Jim Phillips (then Northwestern's Athletic Director, now the ACC Commissioner), Ryan Chenault, and Shawn Sullivan. I wanted to understand the business from the inside, the way I had understood the game from the inside.
Chapter 03 — The Boardroom
ESPN came first. As a Promotions Coordinator in Chicago, I connected ESPN and its brand partners with every major team in the city: the Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears, White Sox, Cubs, and Sky. I worked on Sunday Night Baseball and the Scott Van Pelt Radio Show, behind the scenes with Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman, Derrick Rose, Shannon Brown, and more.
Then Nike. In Chicago I ran in-store retail marketing out of Niketown downtown, across the World Cup, the Bears, NBA and WNBA initiatives, and the Chicago Marathon. One of my last events in that role was the World Basketball Festival, bringing teams from DC, New York, and Philadelphia to Chicago around the U.S. men's national team tour stop.
Jordan Brand moved me to Beaverton. I oversaw every NBA All-Star experience for the brand across North America. My first project was the Pearl Pavilion, built directly across from Madison Square Garden to celebrate 30 years of Jordan. In Toronto I partnered with Drake and opened a store.
My last big project at Jordan Brand was one of two leads on the University of Michigan partnership. The launch brought Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Charles Woodson, Ahmad Rashad, William Wesley, and Jim Harbaugh together for one night. It was a landmark moment for the Big Ten, the Michigan community, and the Jordan Brand family.
The Michigan launch taught me what it takes to move something historic. Two people, a tight budget, and the relationships to pull every resource in the building.
Back at Nike, I led Nike Basketball across the middle territory, from Chicago to Cleveland, all of Canada, down to Texas. Grassroots, collegiate, professional. I worked with the Chicago Bulls, the Chicago Sky, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, the University of Illinois, DePaul, and programs across the region, building strategy that turned culture into business results.
As Marketing Director, I oversaw a team of eight, working cross-functionally across Nike and Jordan Brand and with outside partners, driving championship storytelling with the NBA, WNBA, NCAA, and USA Basketball.
Before they were superstars
Kevin Durant, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese — I worked with them on the grassroots circuit, at EYBL and Nike Nationals, long before they became household names. Spotting greatness early, then building around it, is what I do.
Chapter 04 — The Founding
In 2023 I left Nike and started my entrepreneurial journey. Be Complete is a sports business consultancy that takes on in-house projects and builds strategy end to end: strategy, social content, entertainment, and athlete integration.
Our partners include Jordan Brand, Wilson, the YMCA, and the Obama Foundation, and the work keeps growing.
One ecosystem. Three companies.
Be Complete is the commercial engine. Around it I built two more companies. Hoops Club is a basketball culture brand: apparel, combines, Summer League, camps, and brand experiences from city to city and campus to campus. The Second Half is a media and education platform helping athletes plan their pivot when they take the shoes off for the last time, the same pivot I started planning in Fez with Magic Johnson's book in my hands.
One partner can span all three. That is the point.
The Timeline
- 2002–2006 — Saint Xavier University, B.A. Business: two-time All-American, Conference Player of the Year, led nation in FG% twice, two-year captain.
- 2006–2011 — Professional basketball overseas: Luxembourg, Belgium, Morocco. The second-half plan begins in Fez.
- 2011–2013 — Northwestern University, M.A. Sports Administration (Marketing & PR): athletic department internship under Jim Phillips.
- 2011–2013 — ESPN, Promotions Coordinator, Chicago.
- 2013–2014 — Nike, Marketing Specialist, Chicago.
- 2014–2016 — Jordan Brand, North America Retail Brand Specialist, Beaverton: Michigan partnership lead.
- 2016–2018 — Nike, North America Retail Brand Manager, Portland.
- 2018–2020 — Nike, Basketball Brand Marketing Manager, Greater Chicago.
- 2021–2023 — Nike, Marketing Director, Chicago: led a team of eight.
- 2023–Present — Founder, Be Complete. Founder, The Second Half. Founder, Hoops Club.