Roundtable discussions aimed towards growing long-lasting relationships with other influential leaders across the US
Research-driven thought leadership on people experience design and strategy tailored, tailored towards the workforce of 2022
Best practice collaboration to equip your organization with people-improving factors to succeed this year
We'll keep things fairly informal, but will make sure to cover the following:
Introductions and a brief spotlight on Chris Golden (Founding Partner at Sterling Select Group) and Virgil Christian (Hall of Fame Inductee and former Head of Market Development at the United States Tennis Association) to kick off the conversation.
Group roundtable discussion focused on how sports organizations are evolving funding by bringing supporters closer and strengthening long-term alignment around the program.
Q&A and best practice collaboration on how leaders evaluate these emerging models to keep governance tight, risk manageable, and fan trust high.
Chris Golden is a a Founding Partner of Sterling Select Group, the Venture Development arm of Sterling Equities. He is a Founder of Keeps and President and CEO of Keystone Business Group, where he helps strategic clients design and execute aggressive growth plans through corporate development and technology-led strategy.
Earlier in his career, Chris trained as an accountant, serving as a Senior Auditor at Ernst & Whinney, and earned his BBA in Accounting from Hofstra University. Across Keeps and his broader work, he is known for disciplined financial thinking, practical execution, and a strategic lens on building long-term enterprise value.
Virgil is credited with some of the most innovative changes to happen to collegiate tennis; included are the NCAA format, bringing TV back to college tennis (Tennis Channel, ESPN and Fox sports), creating the College MatchDayTM format and creative driver of tennis facility design at over 100 Universities across the Country. He has worked with all Power 5 Conferences and Senior Leadership at the NCAAs and was named “Tennis Person of the Year” in 2013 by Racquet Industry magazine.
Virgil has been elected to multiple Athletic Hall of Fames, a former Penn State tennis captain, and current senior advisor to Keeps.
Ian Smith is Co-Founder and CEO of Keeps, where he is building a regulated, user experience driven platform that helps sports teams unlock new capital pathways while strengthening relationships with their global communities through digital product innovation and AI-powered engagement. Ian brings 35+ years of leadership across digital transformation, commercialization, and growth.
At Kraft Foods, he served as Director of Digital Transformation and later Head of Global Digital Marketing, leading early digital transformation efforts, scaling digital-first strategies across global markets, and driving significant revenue growth. He is a repeat founder who has built and scaled multiple businesses from the ground up and has taught MBA courses as an Adjunct Professor at Sacred Heart University.
Keeps is a regulated digital platform focused on connecting fans, clubs, and investors through shared ownership in sports assets. We combine expertise in sports commercialization, digital product innovation, and regulated marketplace design to create trusted experiences that bring global sports communities closer to the organizations they support.
We operate a public-market platform that enables fans to invest in sports assets while helping clubs unlock new capital pathways and deepen audience engagement. Our work connects investment infrastructure, fan experience, and data insights to help sports organizations grow sustainably and better understand their global communities.
