Boardroom, the sports media and entertainment brand co-founded by NBA star Kevin Durant and his longtime manager Rich Kleiman, is betting that there is room for a premium membership opportunity in the sports space.
The company is planning to launch what it is calling Boardroom Members Club, which will combine in-person experiences, unique opportunities and gifts, and a digital platform, to create a compelling value proposition for what Kleiman hopes will be an ambitious set of members.
The experiences will include what the company is calling “intimate programming” and networking events, an annual conference exclusive to members, entry to Boardroom’s flagship events throughout the year at Art Basel, the NBA All Star Game, etc.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always taken pride in being a bit of a connector and a community builder for other people. So it felt like the natural time to take that halo of what we had built with Boardroom on the media and event side, and to build this more intimate community where people could be very like-minded,” Kleiman tells The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. “I think the ages will range from as young as 25 to people in their mid-40s, early-50s. Because I think the beauty of it is that if you’re interested in this world and you love the idea of building this community and this network, then you’ll be very much inspired by the mix of people in this community, and then what we continue to give them.”
Boardroom has also lined up a long list of advisors to the membership project, many of whom will participate in curating the programs. Those advisers include former NFL star turned TV personality Michael Strahan, musician Mark Ronson, CAA Sports co-head Mike Levine, and prolific on-air sports reporter Taylor Rooks, who will also serve asa strategic advisor to Boardroom.
“I’m beyond thrilled to join Boardroom in this new capacity and broaden my involvement with a company that has been home to some of my favorite multimedia stories and live events at sports’ biggest moments,” Rooks says. “Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman have built something truly special — highlighting the intersection of sports, business, and entertainment in a way that pushes the industry forward. Boardroom represents everything at the heart of what I love about this business: relationships, knowledge, advancement, and opportunity. With Boardroom Members Club, we’re creating a space where real connections lead to real possibilities, and I’m excited to play a vital role in shaping a community that empowers the next generation of leaders.”
“I think that having them there as a resource as we build it is invaluable,” Kleiman says. “I think having them implemented into the programming throughout the year, whether it’s in the live fireside chats, or just being in the room when we create these networking events or having roundtable panels of discussion … If we find a contingency of our members that are really interested in private equity, we can set up a conversation on Zoom or in person with [investor] David Blitzer. I mean, these things are priceless for these for these people.”
Kleiman says that Boardroom is targeting people that work in industries adjacent to sports and media, as well as some folks in the finance sector that want to have exposure to the sports and entertainment sectors. There will be athletes and managers too.
“I think it’ll be industry people that work at Fanatics and CAA and Goldman Sachs and Nike,” Kleiman says. “I think it’ll be athletes that are recently retired, or athletes that are currently playing that don’t necessarily have the same connections or networks that some of the top players in football and basketball have. I think it’ll be people that have graduated business school that are going to work in private equity or work in real estate or a hedge fund, but understand the value of having connectivity into like the sports and entertainment space as well.”
Boardroom previously partnered with Michael Rubin’s Fanatics to launch a development program for pro athletes and their management teams. The participants in that program will receive complementary access to the Boardroom Members Club.
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