Investing in people that change the game.

Rob is the Managing Partner at Ryan Sports Ventures and a member of the Investment Committee. Rob is also the Executive Chairman of Interactive Metronome and Co-Founder of BrainBeat. At Interactive Metronome, Rob introduced the company's training and assessment tool to schools, the United States Navy, and professional and college athletic teams.

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Before Interactive Metronome, Rob worked in business development at eChalk, a provider of web-based communication tools for the K-12 market. Previously, Rob taught high school English at Providence-St. Mel, an internationally acclaimed school on Chicago’s West Side, and co-founded the Alain Locke Charter School.

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Rob graduated from Dartmouth College with his BA in English, where he also played varsity football. He holds his JD from the Northwestern University School of Law and his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Rob lives in New York City with his wife Jennifer.

Paul is a Partner at Ryan Sports Ventures. Prior to joining Ryan Sports, Paul served as CEO of Global Rugby Ventures (GRV), an entity that held interests in several professional rugby teams while also helping secure funding for teams and leagues across the rugby ecosystem.

Prior to GRV, Paul led the marketing efforts for the Coca-Cola Company's national sports marketing platforms overseeing soccer, motorsports, and golf marketing. During his time at Coca-Cola, Paul negotiated rights fees and activation commitments for the majority of the Company’s largest sponsorship deals including PGA Tour, US Soccer/MLS/USMNT, and the first ever joint NASCAR/ISC sponsorship. Prior to joining the Coca-Cola Company, Paul was co-founder of an NFLPA licensed digital media platform for professional athletes that he launched along with Chris Cooley of the Washington Commanders.

A native of the U.K., Paul moved to the U.S. in 1991 and graduated from Washington and Lee University, where he played varsity soccer. He also received a JD/MBA from Emory University. Paul lives in Los Angeles with his wife Hannah and their two children.

Brian is a Partner at Ryan Sports Ventures and the Founder of Stretch 4 Advisory. Through Stretch 4 Advisory, Brian provides strategic business services to sports technology and data companies including Riddell Sports, Wilson Sporting Goods, Peak Performance Project (P3), and FastModel Sports.

Brian was previously Partner and Group CEO of Phoenix Sports Partners, a sports investment and operating company. Before his role at Phoenix, Brian served as President of North America for Catapult Sports, a global provider of sports analytics and performance products. Prior to Catapult, Brian served as Senior Vice President of Sports Solutions for STATS LLC. At STATS, Brian was responsible for the revolutionary SportVU player tracking technology as well as building innovative analytics solutions for NBA, NFL and NCAA teams. Prior to his career in sports business, Brian worked in investment banking and private equity before transitioning into corporate strategy and M&A roles.

Brian received his BA in Economics from Wabash College, where he played varsity basketball. He also received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Brian resides in the Chicago area with his wife Rita and their five children.

A widely respected entrepreneur and global insurance leader, Patrick G. Ryan formed Ryan Specialty in 2010. Ryan Specialty is an international holding company specializing in wholesale brokerage, insurance underwriting managers and other specialty services to brokers, agents and insurers. The company has a number of offices in the North America, the UK and Europe. Prior to launching Ryan Specialty, Mr. Ryan founded Aon Corporation and served as its Chairman and CEO for 41 years. At Mr. Ryan’s retirement, Aon had more than 500 offices in 120 countries, generating revenues then in excess of $7 billion.

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Mr. Ryan has received a number of accolades throughout his career. In 1987, Mr. Ryan received the esteemed Horatio Alger Award which honors those who are dedicated to the principles of integrity, hard work, perseverance and compassion for others. In 2008 Mr. Ryan was inducted in to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and independent research centers, founded in 1780. Also in 2008, he was elected to the International Insurance Society Hall of Fame and received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. He was named by Brigham Young University International Executive of the Year for Corporate Integrity. Other career tributes include Insurance Leader of the Year, College of Insurance, and the Insurance Federation of New York’s Free Enterprise Award. Most recently in July 2019, Mr. Ryan was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame for his contribution to the Finance and Insurance Specialists sector of the automotive industry.

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Mr. Ryan has been a member of the Northwestern University’s Board of Trustees for 42 years, 14 years of which he served as Chairman. In 2009, Northwestern awarded Mr. Ryan a Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Also that year, Mr. Ryan was inducted that year into the Northwestern Athletic Hall of Fame. Four years later in 2013, Mr. Ryan received the Northwestern Alumni Association Medal of Honor. This award is the highest award granted by the Northwestern Alumni Association to an alumnus/a who combines superior professional distinction and/or exemplary volunteer service to society, with an outstanding record of service to Northwestern.

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Mr. Ryan has received numerous Insurance and Community awards and also served as Chairman of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Committee.

Digital Entrepreneur:

Pat is also the Founder and CEO of INCISENT Labs Group, a startup studio incubating technologies that spin out into high growth technology companies. To date, two high-growth SaaS companies founded by Pat have ranked as the one of the fastest growing software companies in the U.S. in Inc Magazines' Inc 500 rankings: FirstLook #4: 2008; MAX Digital #3: 2014. As cofounder of Chicago Ventures, Pat served as chairman of its investment committee until moving full time to lead CoPilot, a new consumer startup that spun out of INCISENT Labs Group.

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Social Entrepreneur:

Pat began his career as a teacher on Chicago's West Side. He has founded three urban education initiatives: The Inner-City Teaching Corps---an initiative that has trained over 5,000 teachers from urban schools in Chicago---the Alain Locke Charter School and Accelerate Institute. Alain Locke Charter School is renowned for achieving the greatest academic gains ever amongst Chicago public schools. Accelerate Institute focuses on “transformational school leadership” and empowering educational leaders to create high achieving schools across the nation.

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Pat’s academic achievements include:

Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University, MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, and a Juris Doctor cum laude from Northwestern School of Law. Currently, Pat is a Trustee of Northwestern University and a Director of Penske Corporation, a $30 billion diversified global transportation company. Pat is also a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.