Sportico, in partnership with Sports Innovation Lab, presents a bi-weekly series of conversations focused on thought leadership, innovation and action - where no topics are off the table and all questions are in bounds.
Co-hosted by Sportico Editor-In-Chief, Scott Soshnick and Sports Innovation Lab’s President and Co-Founder, Josh Walker, the Ask ____ Anything series unites the sports business community through conversations with the impact players and visionaries that lead the industry, while charting the course for the future of leagues, teams and related businesses.
Presenters
Hilary Knight
Olympic Gold Medalist, U.S.A. Womens National Hockey Team
Hilary Knight is an Olympic Gold medalist, two- time Olympic Silver medalist, seven- time World Champion and arguably the best female hockey player in the world. An outspoken advocate for gender equality, she is changing the landscape for women in sport. In 2014, she made history as
the first female skater (non-goalie) to practice with an NHL team after she took the ice with the Anaheim Ducks.
Hilary was extremely successful at the collegiate level. She was a three- time All -American and appeared in the NCAA Final all four of her years as a Badger, leading Wisconsin to the title her sophomore and junior seasons.
As part of Team USA at the 2016 World Championship, Team USA and Hilary went undefeated on the road to their third straight World Championship gold and claimed their seventh IIHF Women’s World Championship title with a 1 -0 overtime victory over Canada.
Hilary is a veteran leader on the US Women’s Hockey Team, and continues to be actively engaged in expanding opportunities for women and girls in hockey, along with working to build a sustainable professional women’s hockey league for generations to come.
Josh Walker
Co-Founder and President of Sports Innovation Lab
Josh Walker is Co-Founder and President of Sports Innovation Lab where he oversees the company's innovative and proprietary market intelligence platform. Through market analysis and unbiased research, he empowers brands to develop and implement game-changing, breakthrough experiences in a new age of sports and entertainment fandom. His work at Sports Innovation Lab represents the convergence of his career as a researcher, advisor, entrepreneur, and sports journalist.
A former Vice President of Research at Forrester, Josh was responsible for launching the company’s Forrester Wave evaluation framework, designed to accelerate innovation by connecting technology buyers with the best vendors.
After Forrester, Josh spent time as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at General Catalyst advising fast-growing companies including Brightcove, Kayak, and Demandware. He soon became a serial entrepreneur himself, using his passion for technology and data to launch and grow several venture-backed companies such as CityVoter, Comlinkdata, and Stattleship.
Josh is a graduate of Middlebury College and resides in Cambridge, Mass., with his wife and two sons.
Jacob Feldman
Sports Business Reporter, Sportico
Jacob Feldman is a sports business reporter with a focus on technology, media and fan experience. He was previously a staff writer at Sports Illustrated, where he wrote multiple cover stories while reporting on the NFL and the media industry. His work has also appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Popular Science. Jacob is a graduate of Harvard University and a co-founder of The Sunday Long Read. He currently lives in Boston.