Board & Advisors

Davyeon Ross / member
“You can’t score if you don’t shoot.”

With that mantra top of mind, Davyeon Ross has spent his technology career building and scaling companies and positioning them for profitable exit. Known as an innovator, problem-solver, and catalyst for growth, Davyeon founded and built tech companies, raising more than $40 million in capital, and taken them from ideation through product development, market launch, and revenue realization.

In his current role as Co-founder & President of DDSports, Inc., Davyeon led t...
Paul DeBruce / member
In 1988, Paul DeBruce established the DeBruce Foundation to give back in the greater Kansas City region and beyond. The DeBruce Foundation is supported by DeBruce companies, a private investment firm managing a diverse portfolio of private equity and other asset class investments across a broad range of industries, including biotech, energy, manufacturing, technology, and real estate. Over the past three decades, The DeBruce Foundation has invested in a variety of non-profits to improve the lives of others and st...
David Ward / Chairman of the Board
David serves as Managing Director and Member of ward.ventures and Ward Enterprises, private investment firms affiliated with the Ward O'Hara Family Office. David is an independent Director of Central Insurance Companies and sits on several investment related company boards and advisory committees. David has prior experience working for both private and public companies in securitizations, capital markets, private equity, and insurance.

David graduated from Farmer School of Business at Miami University in Ohio w...
David Famolari / Hearst, Member
David Famolari is managing director of Hearst Ventures. Previously, David was a director with Verizon Ventures, where he led investments in Beamr, FanDuel, Playsight, PrecisionHawk, Skyward and Swiftmile. He also oversaw investments and participation in the Techstars IoT and Mobility programs as well as the creation of the Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio.

Famolari began his career in advanced technology R&D at Bell Labs. He is the author of more than 50 technical publications and an inventor of more than 70 gran...
Vince Silvestri / Evertz, Member
Vice President of Software Systems,
Evertz Microsystems

Dedicated to amplifying human potential with technology, Vince has spent over 20 years building real-time, mission critical multimedia systems.

Vince is currently the Vice President of Software Systems for Evertz Microsystems, a company providing hardware and software solutions for the global television, telecommunications and new media industries.

At Evertz, Vince led the creation and ongoing development of the MAGNUM Operating System, the ground breaking ...
Michelle McCarthy / Verizon, Observer
Michelle McCarthy evaluates, recommends, and closes strategic investments for Verizon’s venture capital group, in addition to overseeing the venture team’s operations, processes, and internal events. She was recognized as a Global Corporate Venturing Rising Star in 2016 and is a board observer for select portfolio companies in the areas of advertising technology and connected devices. Before joining Verizon Ventures, Michelle headed acquisitions and asset management of a large portfolio of affordable housing t...
Jim Delaney / Advisor
Only the Big Ten’s fifth commissioner since its founding in 1896, James E. Delany served as Commissioner for over 30 years, retiring in 2020. He led the Big Ten through significant periods of growth that helped the conference maintain its preeminent position as one of the nation’s leaders in providing quality academic and athletic experiences for young men and women. The Big Ten now sponsors 28 official sports, more than every conference except the Ivy League.

The Big Ten saw unprecedented levels of national t...
John Kosner / Advisor
John Kosner is an internet pioneer and four-decade veteran of sports media. Today, he is president of Kosner Media, a digital media and sports consultancy.

In 2018, John and the late NBA Commissioner Emeritus David Stern created Micromanagement Ventures, a portfolio of sports technology start-ups focused on media, betting and player health. John continues to serve as an advisor to and an investor in 10 of the original Micromanagement Ventures portfolio companies which include DDSports Inc. (ShotTracker), WHOOP...