HBS Behind the Scenes with Kings President & Owner

Kings vs. Hornets

Don’t miss a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to meet the leadership of the Sacramento Kings! Learn behind the scenes about the new Golden 1 Center, a new-state-of-the-art venue featuring technological innovations.

On Saturday, February 25th, the Sacramento Kings are hosting HBS, Harvard, and Kellogg alumni in the Bay Area and their guests for a special private event. Prior to the game, Sacramento Kings President, CHRIS GRANGER will be personally greeting our group and joining us for an “insider talk" and you'll also meet co-owner LARRY KELLEY, a fellow HBS grad. The talk will be followed by a viewing of the Kings vs. Hornets game in lower level seats at Golden 1 Center.

Event Details
  • Saturday, February 25, 2017
  • 11:30am talk with Chris Granger
  • 2:00pm Game in lower level seats
    • Address:
      Golden 1 Center
      500 David J. Stern Walk
      Sacramento, CA 95834
  • Cost:
    • $145 for HCSF members. Members may bring one additional adult guest ($145 each)
    • $175 for non-members
    • $125 children (2 children tickets per member)
    • No refunds
    • Tickets will be held at "Will Call" under your last name.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

 

CHRIS GRANGER
President

Now in his 18th NBA season, Chris Granger is currently serving his fourth season as President of the Sacramento Kings and Sacramento Basketball Holdings, LLC. Granger is responsible for overseeing and executing all Kings business operations and spearheading the development of the acclaimed downtown arena, the Golden1 Center, as well as the highly-anticipated $500m, 1.5m square-foot downtown mixed-use development project, Downtown Commons. Golden 1 Center is already widely known as the most connected, most technologically-advanced, and most sustainable arena in the world.

Along with Sacramento Kings Chairman, Vivek Ranadivé, Granger has led the Kings in implementing “NBA 3.0,” a forward-thinking business philosophy driven by technology, globalization, and basketball as a positive agent of change. The entire Kings organization is committed to utilizing NBA 3.0 – both on and off the court – to make the Kings the premier sports franchise of the 21st century and a model for community connection.

Prior to joining the Kings, Granger worked in various capacities for the NBA from 1999-2013. He most recently served as the executive vice president of the NBA’s renowned Team Marketing and Business Operations (TMBO) function, where he advised NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League teams on all aspects of business operations including ticket and sponsorship sales, marketing, community relations, communications, and digital media. Under Granger’s leadership at TMBO, teams across all three leagues set numerous and consistent records for game attendance, gate receipts, and sponsorship revenue.

Prior to joining the NBA, Granger held leadership positions with the Walt Disney World Company, working primarily on the resort side of the business.

Granger received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and his M.B.A. from Yale. As an undergraduate, he also studied abroad at the prestigious London School of Economics & Political Science. An Indiana native, Chris now lives in the Wilhaggin area of Sacramento with his wife Jennifer and daughters, Zoe and Megan. They are all #SacramentoProud.

LARRY KELLEY
Co-Owner

Now in his 18th NBA season, Chris Granger is currently serving his fourth season as President of the Sacramento Kings and Sacramento Basketball Holdings, LLC. Granger is responsible for overseeing and executing all Kings business operations and spearheading the development of the acclaimed downtown arena, the Golden1 Center, as well as the highly-anticipated $500m, 1.5m square-foot downtown mixed-use development project, Downtown Commons. Golden 1 Center is already widely known as the most connected, most technologically-advanced, and most sustainable arena in the world.

Larry has been involved in Real Estate for more than 40 years. Larry Kelley is an active real estate developer and investor, with properties in Northern California and Texas. He is President and a Managing Member of McClellan Park, LLC, the development group responsible for converting McClellan Air Force Base into a 3,000-acre business park. Investments and operating companies focus on opportunistic real estate opportunities in land, industrial, and office buildings, and apartments. His entities control over 8,900,000 square feet of buildings and 800 acres of developable land.

Mr. Kelley is also President and Managing Member of Stanford Ranch I, LLC, a 4,000-acre master planned community in Rocklin, CA featuring 8,000 homes and approximately over 500 acres of land dedicated to retail, office and industrial use.

Bringing a vast array of experience in large-scale development, Mr. Kelley oversaw the entitlement and development of Stanford Ranch, which included developing and implementing a long-term phasing plan flexible enough to meet the needs of a changing economic environment over several economic cycles. In addition, Mr. Kelley and his team worked with the County of Sacramento to develop the vision for McClellan Park. When most business and political leaders in the region felt the base closure spelled certain economic collapse for northern Sacramento County, Mr. Kelley saw the opportunity to convert the base into a first class multi-faceted business park. This was accomplished by a combination of adaptive reuse of selected existing facilities and developing new buildings as needs required. As the vision for the project has been implemented, it has surpassed the number of jobs housed at the time of closure and will be a major economic engine for the County of Sacramento well into the future.

In addition to Mr. Kelley’s role in Stanford Ranch and McClellan Business Park, his forty years of experience include more than 20 master planned communities in Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona and California.
 

About Our Events

About our events from the organizer, Sean Jacobsohn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanjacobsohn)

For the past several years we have hosted exclusive events with the Kings, Warriors, Giants, Earthquakes, A's, Sharks, and Raiders. I am a venture capitalist at Norwest Venture Partners focusing on business software, but started my career in the sports industry. While at HBS, I worked for the NFL and Major League Baseball and then also began organizing events for both sports beginners and old sports fans. It was during this time that I realized the power of the sports industry from a business standpoint, but from a social perspective as well. My events have included dyed-in-the wool sports fans, but also those who are interested in visionary leadership, crowd-watching or simply spending time with a dynamic group of people and making lasting friendships here in the Bay Area. Today, we host about six events each year. Our group of HBS alumni and their friends and family from across the world, have made a positive impression on the teams. Each season, we are welcomed back and get to enjoy a collegial friendship that would not be available to us otherwise. Many consider our group a highlight of the being an HBS alumnus here in the Bay Area. If you haven't attended our events in the past, we hope you do this sometime soon. Feel free to email me at sjacobsohn@gmail.com and I'll add you to our email list to give you early access to sign-up for upcoming sports events prior to promotion.

Quotes from past attendees:

"These are my favorite HBS alumni events. Meeting sports team execs is like an active HBS case study, and I get to have a great time with alumni in a casual setting. For example, I learned the true story about the Oakland A's effort to build a new stadium. Then, there was witnessing Warriors as they were building a championship team and business machine. It's fun doing this while bringing a family member, friend or business contact." (Rajiv Parikh)

"A truly memorable experience for several reasons - not only was I able to connect with HBS alumni from several decades at a networking event that felt like anything but that - it also gave me an opportunity to bring friends who share my love of sports and business." (Dileepan Siva)

"Sports-related events organized by HBSANC are unique, can't miss experiences which bring you up close and personal with the executives who run local sports franchises and provide the full luxury box treatment." (Dan Rosen)

"We had a wonderful time at the HBS event at the Giants game at AT&T park. It was great to catch up with HBS friends, make some new ones, and get some "behind the scenes scoop" from the Giants' GM and management team. All around, it was a great evening." (Chris Bates)

"I find the quality of the HBS sports events to be top notch. They are always well-run, valuable and fun. It is great to have the networking and the insider perspective from a speaker while watching one of our beloved Bay Area teams play." (Steffan Haithcox)

"The HBSNC Sports Events prove why the HBS MBA is so valuable. They offer an incredible opportunity that isn't available elsewhere to hear directly from the management of the teams. The HBSNC Sports Events are a highlight of my year. Attendees receive unparalleled access to the management of the teams while also getting to catch up with lifelong friends." (Eric Newhouse)

Sean Jacobsohn HBS 1998, John Tortora COO of San Jose Sharks and Harvard Law graduate, Kristen Badgley HBS 1998 (HBSA/NC Chair).  At the Sharks game on January 23, 2016.

Sean Jacobsohn HBS 1998, AJ Gandhi HBS 1998, Dave Dykeman, Izabella Zhu Harvard MPA).  At the Kings game against the Warriors on January 9, 2016.

Jeff David (Chief Revenue Officer of Sacramento Kings), Chris Granger (President and COO of Sacramento Kings), Sean Jacobsohn HBS 1998, Larry Kelley (owner of Sacramento Kings and HBS 1971).  At the Kings game against the Warriors on January 9, 2016.


Brandon Farwell '14, Jim Leahey '93, Sean Jacobsohn '98, HBSA/NC Member, Rajiv Parikh '97


Robert Mittendorff '03, Larry Baer MBA '85, CEO of the Giants, Sean Jacobsohn '98


Anthony Soohoo ’99, Sean Jacobsohn '98, Jeffrey Leonard, former Giants' All-Star, Robert Mittendorff ‘03


Sean Jacobsohn '98, Sunish Oturkar '13