Ithaca College

Harvard Business School Executive Education

Avon Old Farms

Serial Entrepreneur (Sports  -  Entertainment  -  Tech)

New York, New York, United States

Led by Kawhi Leonard and Mark French, X2 Performance is a brand disrupting the sports nutrition space with a patented, NSF-for-sport certified, clean ingredient formulation taking sports athletes to the next level in their training and performance. X2 PERFORMANCE products are designed to enhance endurance and improve recovery both during and after workouts. They use a patented combination of clean ingredients, scientifically proven to deliver sustained performance through the generation and regeneration of ATP (a natural molecule the body uses to provide energy). X2 has been vetted by the most rigorous gatekeepers in professional sports and is widely used by pro teams in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL. Kawhi Leonard, along with hundreds of other elite athletes, trust X2 PERFORMANCE’s patented, natural products.X2 products are available nationally at CVS, GNC, Subway, Amazon and <a href="http://X2Performance.com">X2Performance.com</a>.  Backed by the world’s leading consumer growth investor L Catterton, along with leadership from serial sports innovator Mark French, X2 is positioned to revolutionize the energy drink and supplement sectors.

X2 PERFORMANCE

Chief Executive Officer, Board of Directors

Mark French has partnered with Netflix and Bunim / Murray to develop and executive produce programming with celebrity athlete partners.  Mark and Bunim / Murray's first property is FIT TEAM FIVE™ is a ground breaking interactive kids TV series designed to get children “off the couch” and excited about exercise.  Combining forces with Co-Creator Dwyane Wade, CAA Sports, along with others leading experts in the kids fitness, French is once again filling in the white space.Featuring guest celebrity athletes in every episode who will unite with the FIT TEAM FIVE heroes to help kids become healthy and more active through the show’s world-class interactive fitness content, the show breaks through kids programming barriers. Exciting story lines and aspirational characters will provide the brand with the ability to engage and entertain kids while a national tour of the characters and celebrity athletes will provide fans the opportunity to interact with their favorite stars in an unprecedented way.www.markfrench.info

Netflix

Executive Producer

Healthy Together provides end-to-end employee Health & Safety software systems that are being used to support public health officials, emergency response departments, enterprises, and universities in their efforts to keep residents, employees, and students healthy and safe.Healthy Together is deployed state-wide in Utah and Florida as well as in multiple Enterprise business organizations who have partnered with Healthy Together to ensure a safe and healthy work environment for their employees. The platform's health passport feature allows employees to easily share their status—green (clear to work) or red (seek medical attention)—with their supervisors, thereby reducing potential risks and liabilities. Organizations like Real Salt Lake, Hilton Hotels, Traeger Grills, BYU and many more have implemented the Healthy Together Daily platform.

Healthy Together

Co-Founder

Mark has joined some of the Sports Industry’s most intuitive leaders as the latest Advisor of Block Six Analytics (B6A).   Along with David Falk, Chuck Baker, Ron Pillar, and Tai Hsia I plan to help B6A expedite the company’s growth both inside and outside of the sports industry.   Block Six Analytics (B6A) is an industry leading technology and analytics company whose clients include Fortune 500 companies, large agencies and teams in the NFL, NBA, MLBA, and esports.  B6A's clients use its’ proprietary technology and analytics to determine the value of television viewable signage, jersey rights deals, social media conversation, earn media, and corporate hospitality.

Block Six Analytics

Board Member

K Plus is a USDA certified organic sports drink formulated for young athletes.  A company born on the sideline of our kid’s games, Co-Founders, Savannah James and Velana Colón are on a mission to create healthy fuel for active families, eliminating all the unnecessary bad stuff found in today’s sports drinks.   Your kid is an athlete. You watch what you feed them at home. You’re conscious about eating healthy and not giving them too much sugar. But then it happens. A parent from your kid’s team shows up. They’re packing a cooler full of sugary treats, toting enough chemical-laced neon sports drinks to “hydrate” an entire professional football team. So what are you supposed to do? Run screaming onto the field, tackle your kids, and knock the high fructose corn syrup right out of their hands? Yeah, good luck with that. We were right there with you. And it drove us crazy. That’s why we created K+, an organic sports drink formulated with our young athletes in mind. K+ is made with all natural flavors and coloring; it contains only natural and organic sweeteners, and best of all, each drink contains key vitamins, minerals and electrolytes. Long story short: Your kid is running, shooting, hitting, spiking, flipping and kicking like a champ. You're already ahead of the game. K+ will help you keep it that way.Website:  <a href="http://www.kplusorganics.com/">http://www.kplusorganics.com/</a>

K+ Organics

AthleticDirectorU was founded with one goal in mind – to empower the college athletics community. While the industry will always be inexorably tied to the world of academia and higher education, ironically, athletic administrators and coaches often lack the daily opportunity to learn and grow professionally. By delivering action-oriented insights and best practices from accomplished executives, top researchers, and the industry’s most influential thought-leaders, AthleticDirectorU seeks to create a transformative learning platform for all members of its community. Through innovative partnerships and pragmatic ideation, AthleticDirectorU has been designed to provide immediate and actionable value meant on improving individual and organizational performance.

AthleticDirectorU

Board of Directors

Created in 1930 to cover a burgeoning industry with objectivity, accuracy, and fairness, Ad Age continues to be powered by award-winning journalism. Today, Ad Age is a global media brand focusing on curated creativity, data and analysis, people and culture, and innovation and forecasting.From vital print editions to must-attend events and innovative platform offerings, its industry-leading offerings include the coveted A-List & Creativity Awards, the Ad Age Next Conference, and proprietary data such as the Leading National Advertisers Report from the Ad Age Datacenter.

Ad Age

Overview Twenty® was formed out of a need for today’s plugged-in generation to spend more time connecting with their friends in real life instead of through a screen. Our goal is to drive more human connection by making it easier than ever to make plans and create new opportunities for friends to meet up.  On Twenty, users are able to see which of their friends are around, what they are doing later, discover nearby events and coordinate plans to meet up in.   Privacy is at the core of the Twenty experience as users are able to choose when and with whom they share. Users are not able to share what they have done in the past, but instead we focus on the future, helping friends"See Who’s Around, See Who’s Down and Hang out”.  With over 2 million users, Twenty has offices in San Francisco, New York and Utah.   We are currently hiring Data Scientists, Data Engineers, Engineers, Designers and Product Managers.  Contact us at <a href="mailto:hello@twenty.co">hello@twenty.co</a> for more info.  PartnersWe have entered into strategic partnerships with Live Nation, Endeavor (formerly WME/IMG), Roc Nation, MSG Co., The TAO Restaurant Group, DJ Khaled, etc.  Arianna Huffington and Rande Gerber intend to join the Company’s Board upon its formation.    These partners believe that Twenty’s technology could fundamentally change the way their fans experience events, and intend to utilize Twenty as a way for their consumers to discover events, engage on a deeper level with talent and allow users to seamlessly find and meet up with friends.

Twenty

Co-Founder / President

NLP Ventures is an investor and hands-on operational partner for portfolio companies in the Sports, Entertainment, and Technology sectors.We serve as a founder's most trusted teammate and an investor's strongest defender. As an active board member, we provide industry expertise, strategic direction, along with access to NLP Ventures world class partners, including:InvestorsA-List Athlete and Celebrity PartnersBrand BuildersMarketing ResourcesMedia RelationsSports, Entertainment & Tech ExecutivesLegal ExpertiseM&A OpportunitiesAt NLP Ventures we ensure that our portfolio companies shorten their time to scale and investors maximize their investments. We work closely with CEO’s and Board of Directors to innovate & solve problems at every level to help businesses grow successfully in all stages.

NLP Ventures

Founder

Mark is a Founding Partner of MISSION Athletecare™ and Inventor of Court Grip™, an NBA endorsed, patented traction enhancing formula and delivery system. Mark’s invention has been credited by ESPN, CNBC, the NBA, etc. as ‘one of the most dynamic innovations in the sports industry’. Mark developed his Court Grip business with an all-star team of partners including Miami Heat World Champion Dwyane Wade. In addition to Dwyane Wade, Mark worked closely with NBA superstars Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Jennings, as well as the NBA, the NBA Trainers, and several premiere NCAA and NBA coaches who all endorse Court Grip. Starting in Footlocker, Court Grip was recognized as one of the fastest selling accessories in sports retail history and is now available in more than 20,000 retail locations worldwide. Today, Mark is in discussions with the leading global sneaker manufacturers who are looking to maximize Mark’s patents of embedding his Court Grip formula directly into the sole of the sneaker.  Prior to the official launch of Court Grip, Mark merged his business with MISSION, and joined as President and led the company’s product innovation, marketing and M&A efforts. Mark and his team launched EnduraCool™ a revolutionary instant-cooling product line. Mark worked closely with partners Serena Williams, Reggie Bush, Ryan Tannehill, etc. on the development and marketing of the EnduraCool product lines. Mark produced and directed all of MISSION’s national marketing campaigns and led PR activations for the company. Including unprecedented integration into programs like The Today Show, Good Morning America, Sports Center, the Tonight Show, Mark orchestrated some of the most high profile product features. Under Mark’s leadership, MISSION was recognized with global and national awards for consumer goods packaging, sports marketing and product innovation. With their astronomical revenue growth, MISSION recently secured $35 million dollars of growth capital.

Mission Athletecare

Founder-Inventor, Court Grip™ / Founding Partner, MISSION™

Mark was a founding member of Derek Jeter’s Board of Advisors for The Players’ Tribune™. The Players Tribune is a compelling rich-content site that features unfiltered perspective and storytelling from the world’s best athletes. Mark helped Jeter and the All Star Team of Advisors and Contributors including NEA, Legendary Entertainment, Kobe Bryant, Russell Wilson, Andrew McCutchen, Blake Griffin, Danika Patrick, etc. with strategy, fundraising, athlete relations, marketing, strategic partnerships, talent recruiting and M&A. The Players’ Tribube has been acquired by Minute Media — the latest roll-up play in a wave of consolidation in digital media.  The Players’ Tribune joins Minute Media’s owned-and-operated destinations 90min, 12up, DBLTAP, Mental Floss and The Big Lead. Minute Media said it will provide enhanced technology, infrastructure and global reach to fuel the growth of Players’ Tribune.

The Players' Tribune

Member Of The Board Of Advisors

- Created and managed NBC Everywhere (digital out-of-home television network), which included first ever screens in taxis, trains, gas pumps, on college campuses, at checkout counters in supermarkets, fitness centers, etc.-NBC Everywhere garnered 3B annual captive impressions, generating over $20M in new OOH advertising dollars in 1st operating year.-Managed programming, sales, technology, finance, business development/M&A and marketing departments. -Hosted the 1st ever digital-out-of-home upfront, which was credited with changing the digital-out-of-home /mobile advertising marketplace.www.markfrench.info

NBCUniversal, Inc. (NBC Everywhere)

Founder-General Manager/Senior Vice President

- Oversaw NBC TV Station’s Strategic Partnerships and Marketing Unit.-Operated a business unit focused on tactical programming & marketing solutions geared towards increasing audience & non-traditional revenue growth for NBCU’s TV Stations. -Mark built & executed NBC’s product integration (branded entertainment) business, generating north of $18MM in new revenue. -Created and managed first NBC Flag Football Tournament. This ground breaking initiative delivered 3 revenue streams to NBC Universal: sponsored on-air / online media promotions featuring Jerome Bettis and the Sunday Night Football broadcast team, onsite event sponsorships and tournament registration fees.-Conceptualized, developed, sold and implemented customized multi-platform marketing and programming initiatives resulting in over $70 million in new business for NBC Universal. -Developed and implemented creation of NBC’s groundbreaking product integration strategy into the daytime TV show, iVillage Live. -Created, managed and executed the pre-show launch sale of 12 annual product integration sponsors, including all Estee Lauder brands, Kraft Brands, Healthy Choice, Bally Fitness, Unilever Brands, GE, <a href="http://Overstock.com">Overstock.com</a>, P&G brands, etc. <a href="http://www.markfrench.info">www.markfrench.info</a>