The Sport Performance Summit

Dr. Ed Hoffman is NASA’s Chief Knowledge Officer.  He works within NASA as well as with leaders of industry, academia, professional associations, and other government agencies to develop the agency’s capabilities in program and project management and engineering.

Dr. Hoffman has written numerous journal articles, co-authored Shared Voyage:  Learning and Unlearning from Remarkable Projects (NASA, 2005) and Project Management Success Stories:  Lessons of Project Leaders (Wiley, 2000), and speaks frequently at conferences and associations.  He serves as adjunct faculty at The George Washington University.

He holds a Doctorate, as well as Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees from Columbia University in the area of social and organizational psychology.  He received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Brooklyn College in 1981.

Rick enters his 5th season as General Manager of the club, the 11th overall with the Vikings and the 26th season in the NFL. The 2016 season will be a monumental one in Vikings history as the club enters the new state-of-the-art U.S. Bank Stadium and is coming off a successful 2015 campaign boasting a roster of young, talented core players. Rick joined the Vikings as Vice President of Player Personnel on May 30, 2006 and directed scouting, free agency and draft preparations for the club before taking on General Manager duties for 2012. Earlier in his career he climbed the ranks of NFL personnel departments with Detroit, Chicago and Miami and his tenure with all 3 franchises were highlighted by drafting impact players throughout the seven rounds and making key trades and free agency acquisitions – his teams have won 6 divisional titles and advanced to the playoffs 10 times. The Vikings have drafted players who have made immediate impacts on the club under Rick’s direction, such as superstar Adrian Peterson and this season just gone with Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter and Stefon Diggs, that led them to the NFC North title, taking it away from previous winners Green Bay Packers on the regular season finale.

Jeff is a senior policy advisor and security professional with 20+ years’ experience managing strategic efforts and leading high-stakes, high-performing teams for the White House, Department of Defense, as well as the U.S. Navy where he held many roles including as strategic advisor to General Stanley McChrystal. He was a trusted advisor to senior U.S. government officials with six years of White House experience under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and most recently as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. He’s a retired Navy SEAL with extensive operational and combat leadership experience, and recently founded his own strategic advisory firm specialising in organisational leadership and performance. 

Tobias is one of the best young players in the NBA and currently plays for the Detroit Pistons. He was drafted in the 1^st Round and 19^th overall in the 2011 Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats, and later traded to the Milwaukee Bucks on draft night. He made his debut on January 7^th 2012 against the Los Angeles Clippers, and went on to appear in 42 games during his rookie season. In 2013, Tobias made the move to Orlando where his playing time notably increased, and subsequently tripled his points per game average, and more than quadrupled his rebounds, assists and blocks per game – his fine form was rewarded with four-year contract worth $64million. In February of this year, he made the move to the Detroit Pistons who were on a push to make the play-offs, which they achieved after finishing third in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference – however they were knocked out in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tobias is a young power forward with a lot of potential to go far in the game, backed up by the fact that in the 2015/16 General Manager’s Survey, he was voted as one of the players most likely to have a breakout season alongside players like Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis. 

Lt. Jack Cambria has recently retired from the NYPD after 33 years of service. He served for 16 years in the Emergency Service Unit (ESU), whose primary focus is to provide Rescue, SWAT, and Counter-Terrorism services to the City of New York. He holds numerous awards for bravery and dedicated service, and has responded to and served on many high profile assignments such as both World Trade Center disasters, plane crashes, and a variety of hostage and barricade situations, particularly violent and suicidal individuals. Jack commanded of the agency’s Elite Hostage Negotiation Team, where his duties consisted of coordinating the efforts of 100 negotiators, who respond throughout New York City to all hostage related assignments. In 2006, he and some select members of his team were dispatched to the U.S. Military Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to conduct hostage negotiation training for members of the United States Joint Task Force. He has also served as a technical consultant in the entertainment industry, where he advised on the major motion picture, ‘The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,’ and the television series, ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Blue Bloods.’ Now retired, Jack trains and teaches negotiations to law enforcement officers throughout the country, and has also authored several scholarly articles on negotiations.

Chris Anderson is the Curator of TED, a nonprofit devoted to sharing valuable ideas, primarily through the medium of ‘TED talks’ – short talks that are offered free online to a global audience.

Back in the UK in 1984, Chris was captivated by the personal computer revolution and became an editor at one of the UK’s early computer magazines. A year later he founded Future Publishing with a $25,000 bank loan. The new company initially focused on specialist computer publications but eventually expanded into other areas such as cycling, music, video games, technology and design, doubling in size every year for seven years. In 1994, Chris moved to the United States where he built Imagine Media, publisher of Business 2.0 magazine and creator of the popular video game users website IGN. Chris eventually merged Imagine and Future, taking the combined entity public in London in 1999, under the Future name. At its peak, it published 150 magazines and websites and employed 2,000 people.

This success allowed Chris to create a private nonprofit organization, the Sapling Foundation, with the hope of finding new ways to tackle tough global issues through media, technology, entrepreneurship and, most of all, ideas. In 2001, the foundation acquired the TED Conference, then an annual meeting of luminaries in the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design held in Monterey, California, and Chris left Future to work full time on TED.

He expanded the conference’s remit to cover all topics, including science, business and key global issues, while adding a fellows program, which now has some 300 alumni, and the TED Prize, which grants its recipients “one wish to change the world”.  The TED stage has become a place for thinkers and doers from all fields to share their ideas and their work, capturing imaginations, sparking conversation and encouraging discovery along the way.

In 2006, TED experimented with posting some of its talks on the Internet. Their viral success encouraged Chris to begin positioning the organization as a global media initiative devoted to ‘ideas worth spreading’, part of a new era of information dissemination using the power of online video. In June 2015, the organization posted its 2,000th talk online. The talks are free to view, and they have been translated into more than 100 languages with the help of volunteers from around the world. Viewership has grown to approximately one billion views per year.

Cameron is most well known for coaching the 2015 U.S Open and Masters champion, and current #2 ranked player in the world, Jordan Spieth. He has coached him since the age of 12, and with a background in competitive golf, both collegiate, amateur and professional; in addition to knowledge in the bio-mechanics, motor learning and psychology domains, Cameron has developed an international reputation as a sought after coach to players at all levels. His client list covers the range from beginner to elite players, and has coaches over 20 combined PGA, Champions, Web.com and LPGA Tour players & 4 of the last 7 USGA Junior Amateur champions.Cameron is most well known for coaching the 2015 U.S Open and Masters champion, and current #2 ranked player in the world, Jordan Spieth. He has coached him since the age of 12, and with a background in competitive golf, both collegiate, amateur and professional; in addition to knowledge in the bio-mechanics, motor learning and psychology domains, Cameron has developed an international reputation as a sought after coach to players at all levels. His client list covers the range from beginner to elite players, and has coaches over 20 combined PGA, Champions, Web.com and LPGA Tour players & 4 of the last 7 USGA Junior Amateur champions.

Mike Preston is passionate about creating a leadership culture focused on the development and well-being of all the people of Deloitte. As the Chief Talent Officer for the Deloitte U.S. Firms, Mike is responsible for delivering on Deloitte’s value proposition to its 65,000+ professionals by fostering an environment where leaders thrive. He leads a world-class Talent organization which includes Acquisition, Development, Total Rewards, Strategic Operations, Partner Matters, Inclusion and Alumni Relations. Additionally, Mike is a Tax partner focused on the Professional Services industry where he has served law firms and other businesses for over 25 years. He has helped firms improve their operations and tax efficiency as well as advised them on potential transactions and talent related issues.

Adam is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave, which examines how features of the world shape our thoughts and feelings beyond our control. He has also written for the New York Times, New Yorker, WIRED and Huffington Post, among other publications. He has shared his ideas at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, and with dozens of companies, including Google, Microsoft, Anheuser Busch and several design and ad agencies around the world. Adam’s academic research focuses on judgment and decision-making and social psychology, with a particular interest in the sometimes surprising effects of subtle cues in the environment on human cognition and behavior.

Adi is the Head Coach of the Chelsea Under 21 Team, as well as their two time and current European Champion Under 19’s team. He led the U19’s to their second consecutive European title a couple of weeks ago (which is known as the UEFA Youth League, and is the equivalent to the Champions League at youth level), after a 2-1 win against Paris Saint Germain – their triumph meant that they became the first team in any age group to retain a European Cup, and are now impressively unbeaten in 15 matches in the competition dating back to November 2014. The squad that won the cup last year also consisted entirely of players eligible to represent England. The previous year, Adi led the U19’s to European victory courtesy of a 3-2 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the final. During his three years looking after the youth team, they have also won the prestigious FA Youth Cup twice. Adi has worked in Chelsea’s Academy since 2008/09, helping to coach all ages from U12s up to reserves, and has been integral in the development of young talent such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dominic Solanke and Bertrand Traore. He is a great European addition and perfectly placed to discuss the balancing act of developing and winning with young players, while putting everything in place give the next generation of stars the opportunity to succeed – he’ll be able to share insight on what has made them successful over the last two seasons, and what more can be done to push these young players into first team contention. 

Dr Adam Weir is a British sports medicine physician who did his training in Holland and is now the Clinical Lead of Aspetar’s Sports Groin Pain Centre. He has extensive experience with the integration of education in sports medicine and has been published in multiple sports medicine journals around the globe. Dr Weir boasts a strong background in Groin Injuries, Tendinopathy and Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome.

Dr Ulrike Muschaweck is the surgical chief and founder of the ‘Hernia Centre’ in Munich and London, the largest Centre in Europe that exclusively specializes in hernias of the abdominal wall and groin region. Since 1989, Dr Muschaweck has worked solely on developing techniques for hernia repair. She took up residence in her own medical practice as a surgical specialist in 1993 and since then has worked exclusively in the field of hernia repair. She has over 10 years developed two surgical methods which have revolutionized patient care: the ‘Minimal Repair’, specifically developed for athlete’s groin in athletes, and the ‘Munich Repair’ treating umbilical hernias. Dr Muschaweck tailors her approach to the individual patient. Whenever possible and depending on the type of hernia, repair is done under local anaesthesia and in day surgery.

John is Assistant Principal and Chess Coach, and now in his 20th year at Eugenio Maria De Hostos Intermediate School 318, or I.S. 318 as it’s better known. He is a veteran educator and dedicated coach, tough but supportive, and his high expectations have resulted in a culture of success that has spread throughout the school. John rose to prominence after the 2013 film documentary Brooklyn Castle , which tells the story of five members of the chess team at a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school that has won more National Championships than any other in the country. 

Chantel Riley is a Toronto native and attended York University where she received her B.A in Sociology. She began her acting career with the opportunity of being given the principal role as Nala in The Lion King in Hamburg, Germany. From there, she headed to the broadway stage of the original production where she continues to play the same role. You can also see Chantel in the new Jesse Owens biopic, ‘RACE’. 

Robby has worked at the forefront of sports and data sciences for the past decade. Before making the move to Team Sky, he served as the Director of Sports Science with Garmin-Sharp Cycling team where he was known as the ‘secret weapon’ for the number of innovations he brought to cycling. With an ever-evolving role, Robby has put his years of experience in aerodynamic analysis to use, helping the team find key gains in aero projects. He joined Team Sky as a data scientist, and among his first jobs in 2015 was to look at the data the team had available, and structuring it in a way which could make it more meaningful.

Jamie is a Harvard-trained neurobiologist who serves as the Associate Professor of the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering at Arizona State University. He has also served as an expert and advisor for numerous government bodies, scientific, medical and pharmaceutical organizations, as well as universities, start-ups and international policy organizations. Jamie’s work has influenced innovation in a variety of areas of neurotechnology and neuroscience, ranging from the basic biophysics of neuronal signalling to functional human brain mapping and human performance optimization. Jamie was also the Co-Founder of start-up Thync, which he left in March.

Timothy F Tyler MS, PT, ATC has been working in sports medicine for the last 25 years. In 1989 he graduated from Southern Connecticut State University and started working as an athletic trainer. After receiving a Masters in physical therapy from Long Island University he started as a staff physical therapist at the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital shortly thereafter he was promoted to Clinical Research Associate where he remains on staff as a consultant. In 2001 he started a private practice in Scarsdale, NY named PRO Sports Physical Therapy of Westchester. In addition, he works as the head athletic trainer at Scarsdale High School. He is a member of the APTA, AOSSM, NATA, ICCUS, ASSET and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Sport Rehabilitation and the North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. He has published over 50 articles in peer-reviewed sports medicine journals along with writing 30 book chapters. In 2010 he was the first to be president of the Sport Physical Therapy Section and the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow Therapists in the same year.

Phil joined the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 after a career across multiple elite level sports in multiple countries that has been dedicated to elite sports performance and athlete well-being. Prior to joining the Spurs, he worked as the Head of Medical Services at the Newcastle Knights, a professional rugby league team in Australia. Before this, he served as the head of physical therapy for Liverpool Football Club from 2010-12 and as the Head Physiotherapist for the Australia National Soccer Team from 2007-10, as well as working at AFC Bournemouth and as a lecturer at the University of Sydney.

Michael is the Head Coach of Columbia University’s Fencing Team. A former software salesman with no prior coaching experience, Michael utilized a ‘deliberate focus practice’ method combined with statistical analysis to transform Columbia’s fencing team into champions. After rebuilding the team, Michael led Columbia to the 2015 NCAA National Championship – its first national championship under his guidance, the program’s 14th and first since 1993. In addition, three individual fencers came away with medals. The Men’s Fencing team has also just won its third straight Ivy League title. Michael has also worked with USA Fencing since the London Olympics in 2012.

Douglas is a member of the 106th Rescue Wing of the New York Air National Guard. He is the National Air Guard’s Outstanding Noncommissioned Officer of the Year 2015 and one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year. He is also a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.