Dinner Guests

On January 3, 2019 the Winning Edge and the San Francisco 49ers will host a Dinner of Influence to provide insight to the next generation of leaders in sports business. Listed below are the bios of all dinner guests to ensure attendees are prepared and confident when engaging in conversation.

View photos from dinner

Meg Williams

Team Photographer
San Francisco 49ers

Meg Williams is entering her fourth season with the San Francisco 49ers. As the 49ers team photographer, she is responsible for covering 49ers and Levi’s Stadium events and organizing the team’s vast archival database. Meg loves that her job allows her to photograph a broad variety of topics, everything from 49ers games and practices, community events, food and product photography, concerts like Taylor Swift and Coldplay, the Super Bowl, WrestleMania, numerous soccer matches and anything else 49ers or Levi’s Stadium related. Meg loves that her job is to document moments of history for future generations to experience. She attended the Academy of Art University where she graduated with a BFA in Photography and played volleyball for the DII Urban Knights. While at AAU she decided to put her two biggest passions together, sports and photography and pursue a career in documenting athletic feats.

Meghan Ryan

Director Digital & Social Marketing
San Francisco 49ers

As Director of Digital and Social Marketing for the 49ers, Meghan is responsible for all digital strategy for the team as well as all Levi’s® Stadium non-NFL events and ancillary businesses, including supporting the College Football Playoff National Championship. She oversees content creation and communication channels including email marketing, social, web and mobile app strategy and works hand in hand with the Business Strategy team to deliver relevant and personalized communication. Her team looks to drive revenue and increase digital engagement while improving the fan experience every step of the way. 

I love this role because I get the tremendous responsibility and honor to represent such a historic franchise and to connect with our fans around the world. No two days are the same and I love that challenge.

Jarrod Barnes

Founder & CEO
Prime U

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Jarrod Barnes has always looked to challenge the status quo. Following his collegiate athletic and coaching career at Ohio State University, Jarrod stepped away from the game to pursue his Ph.D. in Sports Management and find answers to the root of problems that exist regarding the student-athlete experience. Shortly afterward, Jarrod and his team launched Prime U, a performance improvement and leadership training company that works with collegiate and professional athletes along with millennials in the workplace to develop more self-aware, effective, purposeful leaders. Jarrod is also a contributing writer for Front Office Sports and on the Board of Directors for the Sports Business and Leadership Association. Jarrod currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Hannah Gordon

CAO
San Francisco 49ers

In her role, Gordon oversees Legal, Public Affairs, Strategic Communications, Risk Management, Community Relations, the 49ers Foundation, 49ers EDU, 49ers PREP, Fan Engagement, and the 49ers Museum. Gordon advises on all legal issues involving both the football team and Levi’s® Stadium, including events such as Super Bowl 50, Wrestlemania 31, Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour, the Copa America Centenario, and the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. In 2017, the 49ers were named the ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year and NFL Pop Warner Little Scholars Team of the Year and have been honored by local organizations such as Family and Children Services of Silicon Valley and CityTeam for their work in the community.

Lindsey Arnold

Senior Manager Partnership Activation
San Francisco 49ers

With over 12 years of partnership marketing experience working across brands, properties and agencies, Lindsey brings a wealth of knowledge and unique perspective to the sports industry. Currently as Senior Partnership Activation Manager at the San Francisco 49ers, Lindsey builds and maintains client relationships while executing on brand objectives through proactive partnership collaboration and innovation. Working in the heart of Silicon Valley, Lindsey enjoys being a catalyst for emerging technologies that help enhance and evolve the world of sports.

Jaye Loyd

assistant volleyball coach
uc san diego

I coach college volleyball because I am passionate about competition and mentoring young adults.

Reva Labbe

Social Media Producer
ESPN

I run social media accounts at ESPN including ESPN, SportsCenter, ESPNCFB and College GameDay.

Cicely Nash

event manager
san francisco 49ers

Cicely Nash has entered her fourth season as Event Manager for the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's® Stadium. In her current role she is responsible for full planning and execution of special events within college sports properties and catered events. Events range from small groups to stadium wide guest’s attendance including corporate, 49ers executive internal departments, social, and non-profit fundraisers. Notable events: City Year Gala, 49ers Crucial Catch fashion show, Anquan Boldin fundraiser, Bluetooth WORLD tradeshow, Amazon Holiday party. Serve as lead event manager for Foster Farms and Redbox bowl games and selected 2019 College Football Playoff Championship Bay Area events.

Cicely’s current 10+ year career has nurtured her expertise in sports facility management, catering and event management, budgeting and revenue forecasting, along with non-profit foundation development. She has worked in the sports arena for organizations including the Miami Dolphins, AT&T Stadium - Home of the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, and ESPN collegiate basketball tournamentsh

Paul Lockhart-Korris

Business Strategy & Analytics Manager
san francisco 49ers

My career specialty has been analyzing data to improve companies' financial or operational performance, most recently for sports organizations. Currently I'm on the Business Strategy and Analytics team with the San Francisco 49ers. I oversee our licensed merchandise program and our relationship with Fanatics, as well as other projects to increase revenue from the team's investments and non-NFL events. Prior to joining the 49ers in December, I spent four years in a similar role at Rice University in charge of ticket pricing and sales, licensed merchandise, and our customer surveys. Sports and numbers have always been two of my biggest passions, and I'm fortunate to work closely with both every day!

Moon Javaid

Vice President, Strategy & Analytics
san francisco 49ers

Moon Javaid just finished is his sixth season with the 49ers and currently serves as the vice president of strategy & analytics. In his role, Javaid oversees business intelligence, CRM and fan feedback; manages retail, mobile app, and concessionaire relationships; works on bids for large scale non-NFL events; supports the drive for local revenue; and aids other the business aspects of the organization with strategic and analytical support.Under Javaid’s guidance, the 49ers built a data warehouse that processes over 3 million records per day, collaborated with ticket operations to break NFL records for highest revenue in a regular season game, secured bids for WrestleMania 31 and the Gold Cup Final, acquired Cal-Hi Sports, the Emmy award-winning high school program, launched a sports medicine facility and started the first conference in sports dedicated to business strategy, the 49ers Innovation and Business Strategy Conference. 

Previously, Javaid worked at Linden LLC, a healthcare-focused private equity fund and L.E.K. Consulting, a global management consulting firm.A Cleveland native, Javaid graduated from Northwestern University with degrees in Psychology and Economics and later earned his MBA from University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

Moon resides with his wife, Marnie, in Campbell, CA.

Bobby Thompson

Interim Director
Cal Athletics | Student-Athlete Development

As a professional educator and advocate for athletes, I am committed to supporting the holistic development of athletes of all levels by creating and facilitating educational, empowering, and transformational programs and resources focusing on career preparation, character development, and community engagement. As a USF Sport Management Master's Program alumnus, I am passionate about learning about the ever-evolving sport industry, led by diverse professionals in varying sub-industries, and I look forward to adding value to the room of professionals and students by representing myself, my profession, and all of my organization affiliations (employer, grad school, undergrad school, etc.) for the benefit of each participant. I plan to bring several Cal Student-Athletes to this event, and look forward to supporting their professional development and networking journey.

Josh Williams

Southeast Area Scout
san francisco 49ers

Josh Williams has spent 8 seasons with the 49ers front office in a number of player personnel roles and is currently a college scout covering the southeast region. A former wide receiver for the Columbia University Lions, Williams worked in the financial industry in New York City before joining the 49ers front office in 2011.

Steve Morrison

Talent Producer
ESPN

Accomplished and results-driven professional with over 10 combined years of extensive hands-on experience in the Sport, Entertainment and Telecom industry where I collaborate and support senior level management in completing special projects, launching programs and closing deals with external talent (athletes, entertainers & public figures) to develop compelling sports content and unique partnerships

Jeff Fong

Vice President, Finance
San Francisco 49ers

Jeff Fong is in his fifth season with the 49ers and currently serves as the vice president of finance. In his role, he manages the financial operations and long term financial planning for the team and stadium-related entities, reporting to the chief financial officer. Fong started as the first financial planning and analysis hire in 2014, and has since built out the finance team, developed the budgeting and forecasting framework, and upgraded the financial planning and reporting systems the organization uses. Fong came to the 49ers from Juniper Networks, where he was the finance business partner to the chief marketing officer. He has also held various finance roles at Agilent Technologies and began his career in Ernst & Young LLP’s audit practice in San Jose where he became a CPA. He holds a B.S. in business administration and a M.B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

Neda Tabatabaie

VP, Business Intelligence
San Jose Sharks

I'm responsible for devising, developing, implementing and guiding the overall business strategy initiatives for the organization through the use of data and analytics. I've been working in the sports industry since 2005. Prior to joining the Sharks, I served as Vice President, Best Practices at KORE Software where I was responsible for their Consulting Services program, supporting KORE Software customers with their ticketing, sponsorship, premium seating, fan engagement and marketing initiatives. 

Prior to KORE, I was Director, Business Intelligence and Digital at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) overseeing customer relationship management (CRM), email marketing, research, analytics and digital for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Marlies and Toronto FC as well as other MLSE properties. 
I also serves on the boards of Sharks Foundation, Women in Sports Technology (WiST) and San Jose Downtown Association.

I'm passionate about my work and furthering the use of data in the sports industry. we have come a long way since 2005, but we have a lot more work to do to catch up. In addition, I'm passionate about changing how sports teams and organizations recruit, who applies for our jobs and bring in more diversity. I think this is a great opportunity to talk about some the not-so-well-known jobs in the business side of sports.

Andrea Young

Activation Manager
College Football Hall of Fame

I plan, manage, and execute large and small scale brand activations to bring awareness to the College Football Hall of Fame. Large scale events include our annual Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Football Fest, Cotton Bowl, CFP, Peach Bowl, NFL Draft and Super Bowl. Data analytics and social media are integrated into each event strategy to further understand our demographics. I am a creative and analytical professional who loves bringing people to together--connecting the dots through their interests and networking while "growing where I am planted".

Jory Zemanek

Associate Member, The CORE. Masters Candidate
Oakland Athletics. University of San Francisco

Recently graduated from the University of Alabama with a Major is business management and double minor in sports marketing & professional sales. Currently work full time for the A’s in our innovative new inside sales program, 70% spent selling a full menu of ticketing inventory: A’s Access, suites & groups; 30% hand on projects with other departments to become more well rounded sports business leaders of tomorrow. Strong focus on selling premium seats and campaign for the new stadium. Also currently getting my masters degree from USF #8 ranked sport management program in the country. Passionate about the intersection of tech-sports specifically AR & VR.

Ronika Stone

student, Volleyball player
University of oregon

I’m a student athlete at the University of Oregon where I study Journalism & Communications. Currently, I am a junior on the volleyball team and hope to play professionally when my collegiate career comes to an end. After, I want to use my degree to further my passion for athletics and join the field of sports broadcasting.

RJ Stone

student, Football player
Washington State

I am a student athlete at Washington State University. I am a communications major because I am a very social person and enjoy talking to people. I come from a very athletic family and play outside linebacker.

Adam Saleh

student, Mid-distance sprinter
University of california, berkley

I'm a full time student studying Cognitive Science and Sustainable Design whilst also being a middle distance sprinter for Berkeley's track and field team. I spend my time learning about the confluence of humanities and design and how it might reflect into my life and the life of others. Bio-inspired design is much so a vastly growing part of the sports industry and i'm always interested in the avenues that this field takes. The drive to make things, hardware and software, has always driven my educational paths, and thats why I do what I do.

Damon Wiley

student, Rugby player
University of california, berkley

I am currently a 3rd year at the University of California Berkeley, studying Business. I am also a 3 year starter on the Cal men’s varsity Rugby team as well as a member of multiple organizations including BSAC, The Collegiate 100, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. I am interested in Technology Sales and sustainable energy companies. I will also start my own non-profit in the next few years called Bridging the Gap, where I take wealthy CEO’s and link them with inner city youth to open up there eyes to how much opportunity they truly have.

Alexa Cacao

student, Diver
University of california, berkley

I am a competitive springboard diver who started off as a Business Administration student at the University of Southern California and transferred to the University of California, Berkeley to continue my diving career. Currently, I am a Senior pursuing a degree in American Studies. Specifically, my emphasis is on Human Interaction with Consumerism. I am interested in the Marketing and Business aspects that pertain to human relationships with products and other consumer behaviors. As a student-athlete, I have realized that I have a strong passion for sports in its entirety and would love to apply this passion to my future career. I aim to explore my interests and passions through professional opportunities in the Sports and Entertainment industry.

Joshua Holman

student, HURDLER
University of california, berkley

I am a student-athlete at UC Berkeley, deeply involved in student advocacy and activism, in order to ensure that students do not suffer from the same issues with insecurities that I have faced in my college experience. In my third year, I am currently studying African Studies and minoring in History and Race and Law. Following my undergraduate career at Cal, I intend to pursue Law school and a career in Track and Field - as a sprinter and hurdler. even further, being an athlete within the sickle cell community has pushed me to engage in roles as an advocate for Sickle Cell. Everything I do is rooted in the struggle for equity and against anti-Blackness and oppressive systems that make events like this necessary.

Mahmoud Adams

student, Sprinter
University of california, berkley

I am Track & Field student-athlete at Cal who is involved in multiple black organizations on campus. I am an intended American Studies major who seeks to become a nurse in the foreseeable future. As someone with a low income background, I assist fellow students and athletes at Berkeley in seeking resources that help soothe their stress.