TMRW Sports, which is focused on building progressive approaches to sports, media, and entertainment, has announced the first wave of key staff positions who have been helping form the company’s technology-backed ventures. The announcement was made by Mike McCarley, founder and CEO of TMRW Sports (pronounced ‘tomorrow sports’). McCarley and co-founders Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy recently announced the formation of TMRW Sports and the company’s first project, TGL, following nearly two years of development.
“Working with this group of talented executives for the past couple of years has positioned TMRW Sports as an innovative company creating a new approach to entertainment that blends sports and technology – and this is just the beginning. In the coming months we will continue to build momentum as we unveil our world-class roster of partners, investors, and additional team members as we expand our operation leading up to the launch of our first venture, TGL, in partnership with the PGA TOUR,” said McCarley.
TMRW Sports initial staff announcements include:
Matthew Levine, Senior Vice President, Business Operations – Matthew Levine brings more than 20 years of experience as a multi-time technology founder and executive with a track record of building and leading billion-dollar enterprises across various industries. For the past 18 months, he has led all administrative functions at TMRW Sports, including oversight of key opportunity modeling, finance and accounting, human resources, corporate development, and project management. Levine has been a trusted advisor to McCarley throughout the creation of TMRW Sports.
Prior to joining TMRW Sports, Levine served as Global Chief Operating Officer for People 2.0 and WorkforceLogiq, both technology-enabled services firms in the human capital sector. At both firms, Levine was a key executive focused on scaling operations, M&A, and global expansion, as well as an instrumental leader in the recapitalization process with TPG Growth and The Carlyle Group, respectively. Through his consulting practice, CJ Squared, Levine also has guided organizations through capital raises, new product launches, corporate structuring, DEI initiatives, and strategic planning.
Tom Veit, Senior Vice President, Venue and Events – Tom Veit is a 30-year veteran of sports and live entertainment with deep experience in the creation, development, and management of sports entertainment venues. Veit possesses a vast knowledge of the sales, marketing, and operation of large-scale live entertainment productions and for a year and a half has been a consultant to TMRW Sports providing insight into the development of the venue and event production.
Veit has had a long and storied career in the sports and entertainment space, including serving as Head of Global Events for WWE where he was responsible for 300 live events in 22 countries, including the record-setting WrestleMania XVII and XVIII, generating well over $100 million of ticket revenue annually. Veit’s experience also includes founding President of the MLS’s Philadelphia Union and its stadium PPL Park (now Subaru Park) and Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for United Soccer League. He most recently served as President of S2 Sports and Entertainment Solutions.
Christopher Murvin, General Counsel – Christopher Murvin joined TMRW Sports as General Counsel after a storied career at Golf Channel. Murvin began his journey at Golf Channel as part of its founding team with Arnold Palmer and Joe Gibbs where he served as General Counsel until 2000. After a short hiatus working at different ventures including as Chief Financial Officer of Kessler Collection, Murvin rejoined the Golf Channel in 2006, where he eventually served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Business Affairs. In that capacity, Murvin was responsible for negotiating television and new media rights agreements with various golf organization partners, including the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, USGA, PGA of America, Augusta National, and DP World Tour. Murvin also was responsible for protecting Golf Channel’s trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property, and overseeing the network’s licensing and use of intellectual property from third parties.
While at the Golf Channel, Murvin and McCarley worked closely for more than a decade during the transformation and rapid growth of the organization as part of NBC Sports Group. For the past year, Murvin has provided legal guidance and counsel to McCarley in the lead up to TMRW Sports launch last month in addition to working with outside counsel Proskauer on the formation of TGL.
Joey Brander, Vice President, Corporate Development – Joey Brander is a venture capitalist, esports industry expert and advisor to startups and funds across the private and public markets, with a focus on gaming, esports, and web3.
In this role with TMRW Sports, Brander has led corporate initiatives and strategy, new venture analysis, innovation, and investor relations. For the past two years, Brander advised McCarley on TMRW Sports’ industry analysis, web3 approach, capital raise process and long-term strategy.
Brander began his career in sports and media early in his life as a child sports reporter for Disney Channel, and by the age of 18 had also worked for affiliates of ESPN and CBS. An investor and thought leader at the intersection of sports, media, and gaming, in 2018, Brander co-founded First Serve Partners, a venture capital firm that has invested across more than 30 startups in gaming, media, web3, and consumer. Additionally, Brander is part of the ownership group of esports franchises in each of the three most-notable global leagues; League of Legends, Call of Duty, and Overwatch.
Katie Fitzpatrick, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer – Katie Fitzpatrick is a veteran Chief Financial Officer that has served in roles for small, mid, and large companies for more than 15 years. Katie has been working with TMRW Sports for the past 3 months via an engagement with CFO Strategic Partners, a Florida based firm that specializes in CFO outsourcing for over two decades. She is responsible for the oversight of the accounting and finance functions, financial statement preparation and analysis, and strategic planning and budgeting.
Prior to joining TMRW Sports, Katie started her career in private accounting as Controller of a $500M bank where she was responsible for financial and regulatory reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and asset/liability management. During her tenure, she also managed two strategic mergers and acquisitions, doubling the size of the bank to over $1B. After the bank was acquired, Katie served as Chief Financial Officer to a private entrepreneurial group, leading accounting teams that managed 25 operating businesses. A majority of these businesses were start-up companies in a high growth phase.
Other roles have included CFO for a commercial developer, managing funding, contracts, and construction budgets of $200M+ on projects including Wawa, Publix, Outback, Chipotle, Aldi, and Portillo’s.
Joanne Chiang, Director of Operations – Joanne Chiang brings to TMRW Sports a solid foundation in television pre- and post- production, studio shows, domestic and foreign logistics, and budget management, as well as fluency in both Mandarin and Cantonese.
Joanne enjoyed a 20-year career at NBCUniversal, where she was a 7-time Emmy award winner. While at NBCUniversal, Chiang managed multi-million-dollar budgets and collaborated on teams ranging from 3-3,000 people. Chiang has previously served in production management roles across Golf Channel, NBC Olympics, and NBC Sports Group. Additionally, Chiang worked on many high-profile events that include eight Olympic Games; Sunday Night Football; Football Night in America; two Super Bowls; National Science Foundation partnership (Science of NHL; Science of NFL); and five long-form Golf Channel documentaries.
David Schaefer, Senior Vice President, Communications – With more than 20 years of experience working for global media powerhouses NBC Sports Group and Discovery Communications, David Schaefer is serving as TMRW Sports’ Senior Vice President, Communications where he will lead global communications. For the past year, Schaefer has been a trusted advisor on strategic communications for McCarley on the launch of TMRW Sports and TGL.
Schaefer also leads his corporate storytelling consultancy, Schaefer Solutions Group, working with a roster of growth-stage companies across sports, media, and technology industries. Previously as Vice President, Communications, Schaefer led communications for NBC Sports’ global portfolio of golf businesses, led by Golf Channel and digital lifestyle businesses like GolfNow, GolfPass, and Golf Business Solutions.
About TGL:
In August, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and McCarley announced the formation of TMRW Sports and TGL, a new tech-infused golf league in partnership with the PGA TOUR. TGL will showcase team match-play competitions fusing advanced tech and live action from a custom-built venue in primetime on Monday nights. Woods and McIlroy are the first two golfers committed to compete and the league’s inaugural season will kick off in January 2024.
TGL, the golf league of TMRW Sports, will feature:
Teams: Six teams of three PGA TOUR players in head-to-head, 18-hole match play;
Tech-Infused Venue: A first-of-its-kind experience for golf enabled by a data-rich, virtual course combined with a tech-infused, short-game complex;
Tech-Enabled Fan Experience: High-energy, greenside fan experience with every shot live within a 2-hour, primetime televised match;
Season: 15 regular season Monday night matches followed by semifinals and finals matches, kicking off in January 2024.
About TMRW Sports Group: (pronounced ‘tomorrow sports’)
Founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and sports executive Mike McCarley, TMRW Sports is focused on harnessing technology to build progressive approaches in sports, media, and entertainment to create new pathways for the next generation to enjoy sports. TMRW Sports’ first project, TGL, is an innovative league launched in partnership with the PGA TOUR. TMRW Sports is supported by an all-star roster of athletes, celebrities, and business leaders from the worlds of sports, media, technology, and finance who make up a powerful and diverse investor group. TMRW Sports joins Woods’ TGR Ventures and McIlroy’s Symphony Ventures, and is led by McCarley, founder and CEO. For more, visit TMRWSportsGroup.com.