Insider view with the Oakland A's Executive Team in the new Owner's Suite
SOLD OUT!
The Oakland Athletics and Harvard Club of San Francisco cordially invites you and a guest to an exciting night at the ballpark with the A’s. The event includes a pre-game field visit to watch batting practice at the O.co Coliseum, a reception in the Owner’s Suite, and food and drink while you watch the A’s take on the Minnesota Twins from the newly upgraded Owner’s Suite overlooking first base.
We are pleased to have members of the A’s broadcast and executive team who are Harvard alumni join the event for an informal discussion/Q&A in the owner’s suite before the game. The event will feature A’s broadcaster Ken Korach speaking about the business of broadcasting and life in baseball. A’s President Michael Crowley, A’s Assistant General Manager David Forst, Harvard University class of 1998, and A’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing Jim Leahey, HBS class of 1993 will join the reception. This exclusive event is being held for Harvard Business School Alumni of Northern California, and will include a premium food and drink package in the suite.
The A’s are looking to defend their back-to-back American League West Division championships.
Friday, August 8, 2014
5 pm
7000 Coliseum Way
Oakland, CA 94621
ONLY 30 tickets available! No refunds!
SOLD OUT!
Cost: HCSF members and their one guest only $165 each ($330 for two tickets)
Event Organizer: Sean Jacobsohn '98
Ken Korach
Radio Play-by-Play
The 2014 season marks Ken Korach’s 23rd year in the American League, his 19th season with the A’s, and his ninth as the team’s lead radio announcer.
In the long history of the A’s in Oakland, only the legendary Bill King has spent more years doing radio play-by-play for the team. In what he described as a labor of love, Korach authored his first book last year about his former booth mate. Entitled “Holy Toledo – Lessons from Bill King: Renaissance Man of the Mic,” he interviewed dozens of King’s closest friends and professional peers in a 267-page book that was the No. 1 best selling baseball book on Amazon for more than a month and a best seller at many Bay Area bookstores.
Korach, who was named 2013 California Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, began his baseball career in 1981 when he worked the first of two seasons with the Redwood Pioneers of the California League. He also spent five full seasons broadcasting in the Pacific Coast League, in 1986-87 for Phoenix and 1989-1991 for Las Vegas.
Korach was hired by the Chicago White Sox in 1992 and he spent four years with the Sox, working mostly weekend games.
Korach began his broadcasting career at KTOB Radio in Petaluma in 1980, and he was hired as a sports anchor and voice of San Jose State football by KCBS Radio in San Francisco in 1985. He spent 22 seasons broadcasting college basketball and 14 seasons of college football for Sonoma State University, San Jose State and UNLV, where he spent 12 seasons as the voice of the Runnin’ Rebels on radio and television.
Korach was inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2003, was the 2001 Nevada Sportscaster of the Year, and his 1986 KCBS broadcast of the San Jose State-Fresno State football game was voted the top play-by-play performance that year for California and Nevada by the Associated Press Radio and Television Association.
Korach’s national work includes broadcasting selected major league games for ESPN Radio in 2009 and several bowl games, including the Peach, Las Vegas and Senior Bowls.
Korach’s charitable work includes the establishment of Ken Korach’s A’s Winning for the Community, which raised over $50,000 for the high school baseball programs in Oakland, including Ken’s personal donation of $15,000. Korach was honored with a proclamation by the Oakland School Board in 2009, and he currently serves on the advisory board for the Oakland Tech High School Field of Dreams.
Ken is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and lives in Henderson, Nev. in the off-season with his daughter, Emilee, and wife Denise.
Michael Crowley
President
Michael Crowley, one of the rising executives in professional sports today, enters his 17th year with the Athletics’ organization and his 16th as team president. He was named to his current position Sept. 28, 1998 and his tenure as president is the longest in Oakland history.
A limited partner in the Athletics ownership group, Crowley is responsible for the overall day-to-day functioning of the Athletics’ organization both on the business and baseball sides of the operation, working directly with owner and managing partner Lew Wolff.
In a dual role, Crowley also serves as managing director of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes. He oversaw the Earthquakes’ first-year launch in 2008, and he continues to be involved in the team’s efforts in building a new state-of-the-art, soccer-only stadium in San Jose that will open next year.
After spending three years in the San Jose office of Price Waterhouse and nine years with I.C.I./Fuller O’Brien Paints, Crowley joined the Athletics organization in July 1997 as vice president and chief financial officer. Considered a key figure in the A’s resurgence as one of baseball’s elite franchises, Crowley has been committed to fielding a championship caliber team with homegrown talent. He works closely with General Manager Billy Beane on key player decisions and issues relating to the baseball operations’ overall objectives and philosophies.
Crowley developed a business model with goals and objectives designed to provide an affordable entertainment product on the field, as well as delivering the absolute highest levels of customer service to fans attending games at the O.co Coliseum. While Crowley stays involved with all aspects of the organization’s business affairs, including finance, sales, marketing, public relations and community affairs, he has been at the forefront of building an outstanding team that continues to deliver premium value.
Crowley also serves on Major League Baseball’s International Committee.
Crowley’s leadership skills and business acumen have also served the A’s well in their ongoing efforts to build a new ballpark in the near future.
The A’s president also perpetuates the Athletics’ tradition of commitment to the greater community. Under his leadership, the A’s organization continues to be active in the Oakland community and surrounding areas. The Oakland A’s Community Fund supports charitable organizations in their efforts to improve educational programs, aid the underprivileged, assist in crime prevention, and service children, seniors and those who work to improve the quality of life throughout the Bay Area.
In 1999, Crowley and his wife, Kathy, played a key role in implementing Breast Cancer Awareness Day, which has raised $1.3 million for the American Cancer Society over the last 14 years. Crowley has also served on the Bay Area’s Board of Trustees of KIPP schools, which aims to create a respected, influential and nationwide family of schools that are successful in helping educationally underserved students develop the knowledge, skills and character to succeed in college and the competitive world beyond. He also served on the board of top business executives and community leaders which attempted to land the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in the Bay Area. Recently, Crowley has been named to the advisory board for the Institute of Sports Law and Ethics as well as the President’s Intercollegiate Athletics Commission at Santa Clara University.
A native Californian, the 49-year-old Crowley graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1985 with a degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting. He earned his MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business in 1992. In November of 2002, Crowley was named one of Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal’s “40 Under 40,” honoring the nation’s top sport executives under the age of 40.
Michael resides in Los Gatos, Calif. with his wife, Kathy, and their three children.
David Forst
Assistant General Manager
David Forst begins his 15th season with the Athletics and his 11th as assistant general manager. He was appointed to his current position in February of 2004 after serving as an assistant to the general manager and coordinator of professional scouting. His primary duties include assisting Billy Beane in all player acquisitions, contract negotiations and player evaluations.
The 37-year-old Forst graduated Cum Laude from Harvard University in 1998 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. He played baseball for the Crimson for four seasons and earned third team All-America honors as a senior in 1998. He also played for the Springfield (Ill.) Capitals of the Frontier League in 1998 and 1999.
A native of Encino, Calif., Forst resides in Berkeley, Calif. with his wife, Rebe, son, Judah, and daugther, Sasha.
Jim Leahey
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Jim Leahey enters his eighth season with the Oakland Athletics as vice president, sales and marketing. He leads the team’s sales and marketing efforts, including corporate partnerships, tickets, advertising, and promotions. Under his direction, the Athletics have won multiple awards for their advertising campaigns. The most recent campaign, “Green Collar Baseball,” won a 2014 National Sports Forum’s ADchievement Overall Award of Excellence and first place in the television category. Leahey is spearheading the organization’s efforts to deliver exceptional value through an outstanding fan experience.
Prior to joining the A’s, Leahey spent 14 years with Sony Corporation, working in product development, marketing and general management roles. Spending time in Sony’s US and global operations, he worked in Latin America as general manager and country manager of Sony Peru, and in the United States as general manager and vice president of the Peripherals and Enhancements (accessories) Group. Leahey joined the A’s in December of 2006.
A native of Rhode Island, Leahey earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown University in 1988 and his master’s in business administration from the Harvard Business School. Jim resides in Danville, Calif. with his wife, Kira, and their three children.