LOS ANGELES (Friday, April 21, 2023) – The LA Galaxy in the present day introduced that Galaxy Senior Vice President of Soccer & Enterprise Operations and Enterprise Improvement Tom Braun has been named to the 2023 Road and Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal’s Forty Below 40.
Braun has been with the membership since 2015 and earns his first Forty Below 40 award. The achievements and accomplishments that led to Braun’s nomination embrace organizing and executing the inaugural Soccer Champions Tour: a nine-day, four-city summer time tour with a number of of essentially the most well-known worldwide soccer golf equipment on this planet, together with Actual Madrid, FC Barcelona, Juventus, Membership América and Chivas de Guadalajara. The July 2022 tour turned a record-breaking success with sell-out crowds, 250,000 plus tickets offered, hundreds of thousands in broadcast and sponsorship income, and a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of worldwide media impressions. The tour additionally resulted within the all-time highest attended membership soccer match in Los Angeles historical past, with greater than 93,000 attendees filling the Rose Bowl for a match between Actual Madrid and Juventus. The Houston, Texas, native additionally designed and launched the inaugural Coachella Valley Invitational: a primary of its sort MLS preseason occasion on the identical footprint of the long-lasting Coachella Valley Music and Arts Pageant. Below his management, the occasion has grown from 5 golf equipment in 2022 to 12 golf equipment in 2023, and was open to followers for the primary time this 12 months.
Over the course of his almost 10-year profession at AEG, Tom has expanded the LA Galaxy’s model and enterprise in new and modern methods, together with main the event and launch of the first-ever MLS workforce owned-and-operated USL membership: LA Galaxy II. Braun not too long ago led the transition of LA Galaxy II from the USL Championship to MLS NEXT Professional. Moreover, Braun supported the event and launch of the LA Galaxy Academy’s Excessive Faculty – a primary of its sort endeavor for the membership. This system combines each high-school research and soccer coaching, and helps younger athletes develop their data and abilities each on and off the sphere. Braun additionally led the acquisition of the Kinecta Soccer Heart, Powered by the LA Galaxy, and the event of LA Galaxy Sports activities Park. Below his administration, these amenities have grown into common and worthwhile youth soccer locations for the Torrance and Carson group. Notably, Braun established a brand new division inside AEG centered on Soccer Enterprise Improvement. This rising workforce is producing new income streams inside home and worldwide soccer and is increasing the affect of AEG on the worldwide stage.
Braun is a graduate of the Georgetown College McDonough Faculty of Enterprise and obtained his MBA from the College of Southern California’s Marshall Faculty of Enterprise. Previous to becoming a member of the LA Galaxy, Braun labored in Analytics & Analysis for AEG Sports activities. Earlier than transferring to Los Angeles, Braun was an Affiliate Vice President of Institutional Fairness Gross sales at FBR Capital Markets in Washington, D.C.
Representing groups and leagues, businesses and media firms, and dealing throughout sectors equivalent to finance, legislation, sports activities betting and analytics, Sports activities Enterprise Journal’s Forty Below 40 Class of 2023 exemplifies excellence within the business. Their work and accomplishments are driving sports activities enterprise to new heights. All 2023 honorees can be featured within the June 26 difficulty of SBJ, the place the tales of their careers and successes are advised. Additionally they can be acknowledged at our annual Forty Below 40 gala on Oct. 20 at The Aria Resort & On line casino in Las Vegas. That is the twenty fourth 12 months of SBJ’s Forty Below 40 program.