Lunch and A Panel Discussion on The Economics of Sports: Lessons from Cleveland on the Court at Tennis in the Land, Nautica Entertainment Complex, West Bank of The Flats
Panel will be held on the tennis court and all attendees will receive lunch and two tickets to attend the Friday’s tennis matches ($100 Value). Tennis matches start at 3pm Friday afternoon. Attendees can stay and watch or come back later Friday night
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More information on Tennis in the Land
Sponsorships Opportunities Available: email Cindy cfa@cleveland.cfasociety.org
Moderator: Hallie Olson, Vice President, Global Partnerships at Cleveland Cavaliers
Panelists:
Phil Ciano, Managing Partner and General Counsel of Bright Path Sports Partners LLC
Jonathan Ernest, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Weatherhead School of Management
Nolan Gallagher, Co-Founder & President Cleveland Soccer Group
Michael Murphy, Co-Founder & CEO @ Cleveland Professional Soccer
Hallie Olson, Vice President, Global Partnerships at Cleveland Cavaliers
Phil Ciano, Managing Partner and General Counsel of Bright Path Sports Partners LLC
Phil Ciano is the Managing Partner and General Counsel of Bright Path, and a founding partner of Ciano & Goldwasser, LLP -- a national sports law/deal boutique representing private and public companies, global talent agencies and diversified investment funds. Clients include public and closely held companies and international sports agencies/certified agents in each of the Big Four US sports league. Over a 25+ year legal career, Phil has represented and/or co-led multiple investor groups seeking minority and control acquisitions in NFL, MLB and NBA franchises. Phil currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Ipswich Town Football Club, Miami University Parent's Council and the American Cancer Society. Phil is a first-generation Italian American, retains strong family and business ties to Europe (in Italy and elsewhere), and is conversational in Italian.
Jonathan Ernest, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Weatherhead School of Management
Jonathan Ernest serves as Assistant Professor of Economics in the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. In addition to teaching courses ranging from introductory micro and macroeconomics, business strategies, and the economics of sports, Ernest serves as advisor to the Weatherhead Economic Society. His fields of study include sports economics, the economics of regulation, industrial organization, and applied microeconomics. Professor Ernest greatly enjoys working with students, with several teaching and mentoring awards to his name. He loves sharing his knowledge of economics, and has contributed to dozens of articles for local, national, and international news outlets including QUARTZ, FORTUNE, The Hill, CNN, and CNBC.
Jonathan is an avid college football fan, having earned his PhD from Clemson University. Prior to his graduate studies, he worked as a competitive intelligence analyst at Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) in the Washington D.C. area.
Nolan Gallagher, Co-Founder & President Cleveland Soccer Group
Nolan Gallagher was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Nolan is Co-Founder and President of the Cleveland Soccer Group, which is building an MLS NEXT Pro men's soccer team that will kick off soon.
Prior to Cleveland Pro Soccer, Nolan founded Gravitas Ventures in Los Angeles in 2006. Over 17 years of Nolan’s leadership as CEO, Gravitas became a global all rights theatrical distribution company that released more than 3,000 films and documentaries on Video on Demand (VOD). On account of the hundreds of relationships forged by Gravitas, a filmmaker’s work could be seen in over 100 million North American and over 1 billion worldwide homes.
While at Gravitas, Nolan was named a Hollywood New Leader by Variety and spoke on numerous industry panels including at the Toronto International Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival. Previously, Nolan worked in corporate marketing roles at leading public media companies Comcast, Warner Bros. and General Cinema Theaters.
Nolan graduated from St. Ignatius High School and earned his undergraduate business degree from Boston College. He received his MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, whose Lloyd Grief Center of Entrepreneurial Studies named him its 2020 Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year.
Nolan is a Board Member for the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Council, a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2024, and a member of the Cleveland Chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). He and his wife, Catherine, are on the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Leadership Council.
Michael Murphy
Co-Founder & CEO @ Cleveland Professional Soccer
Michael Murphy is the Co-founder and CEO of Cleveland Soccer Group, LLC. Previously he served as President of Gravitas Ventures, where he was instrumental in growing the company’s distribution footprint. There he managed the Gravitas’ library of more than 3,000 titles of movies and TV to over 100 transactional, subscription and ad- sponsored VOD operators on a worldwide basis.
Michael also oversaw the company’s Free Ad- Supported Television (FAST) Channel strategy. Prior to joining Gravitas Ventures in 2007, Michael was Captain in the US Army where he served on active duty as a Judge Advocate. In 2005, he deployed with the 3rd Infantry Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
Michael is a member of the Cleveland Chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Council, on the board of Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeast Ohio and on the advisory council for the Northeast Ohio Women’s Sports Alliance.
He coaches track, basketball and soccer at St. Dominic School in Cleveland, Ohio. Michael holds a JD from the University of Akron School of Law where he graduated cum laude, and a AB from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA where he studied Classics and Political Science.
Hallie Olson, Vice President, Global Partnerships at Cleveland Cavaliers
Hallie Olson serves as the Vice President of Global Partnerships for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Olson is in her fourth season with the Cavaliers. In her role, she oversees the Development team which cultivates new relationships to create impactful marketing partnerships with brands designed around the Cavaliers among other properties within the Rock Entertainment Group. During her time with the Cavaliers, Olson has utilized the Championship-winning brand and rich tradition to help brands uniquely tell their story while delivering epic fan experiences and giving back to the community.
Before joining the Cavaliers, Olson served at Notre Dame Global Partnerships and the Chicago Bulls working in business development. She also worked at Team One Advertising on the Lexus brand overseeing their experiential marketing for the Central Region. Olson is a graduate of Ohio University and holds her Master of Sports Administration and Master of Business Administration from Ohio University. Hallie resides in Avon Lake, Ohio with her husband Ethan and 3-year-old twins Kira and Gunnar