News
Jac Sperling Joins NiFTy’s Board of Advisors
Jac Sperling, Vice Chairman of the Minnesota Wild Hockey Club and Chairman and CEO of Grit Rock Ventures, LLC, joins Network Foundation Technologies’ Board of Advisors
Los Angeles, CA. July 21, 2009 – Network Foundation Technologies (NiFTy) announced today that Jac Sperling has joined the company’s Board of Advisors. Sperling is Vice Chairman of the Minnesota Wild Hockey Team of the National Hockey League (NHL), and its parent company, Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE). He is one of the team’s Alternate Governors at the NHL’s Board of Governors’ meetings. Jac served as co-General Partner of MSE from 1997-2008, CEO from 1997 until 2004, and Vice Chairman from 2004 until the present.
In 2004, he founded Grit Rock Ventures, LLC, an investment company focused on sports, media and entertainment businesses. Grit Rock is a partner in the entity that owns the media and marketing rights to the “Toughest Cowboy” nationally televised series (last year on Spike TV). Both AEG (one of the largest live entertainment companies in the world) and Mark Burnett Productions (producer of “Survivor”, “Contender”, “Apprentice” and “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?”) are also partners in “Toughest Cowboy.”
As a member of NiFTy’s Board, Sperling will tap his years of experience in the sports marketing world to provide NiFTy with strategic advice. Marcus Morton, President and CEO of NiFTy welcomed Sperling onto the Board, saying, “Jac will make an excellent addition to NiFTy’s stellar Board of Advisors that already includes such notable individuals as music industry legend Clarence Avant (former Chairman of Motown Records) and Writer / Producer / Director Bill McDonald (co-creator of HBO’s series ‘Rome’).”
Jac Sperling was named the Minneapolis Star Tribune Sportsman of the Year in 2000 for his vision, leadership and dedication to the Wild and sports in the Twin Cities. The success of the Wild is underscored by the fact that the Wild had sold out every home game in franchise history held at their home arena. In 2003 and 2004, the Wild was recognized as one of the top businesses in professional sports: ranked as #1 for stadium experience and #2 for fan relationships in an ESPN survey of all 123 sports franchises, the Prism Award by the Sports Business Daily as the “Best-Managed Team in Professional Sports”, and the “Fan Friendliest NHL Team” by the NHL Fans’ Quality Awards.
Jac Sperling was named a recipient of the 2002 Service to Humanity Award by the United Hospital Foundation in the Twin Cities. He also has served as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Capital City Partnership, and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Prior to accepting his position with Minnesota Sports & Entertainment, Jac was a partner in the Denver office of the Washington D.C. law firm of Hogan & Hartson.
While as a lawyer, and now at Grit Rock Ventures, Sperling has dealt extensively with the legal, finance and marketing aspects of the acquisition, relocation and expansion of professional sports franchises, and the construction and financing of sports and entertainment venues throughout the United States.
He is an avid skier, golfer and fly fisherman. Jac was born in New Orleans, LA, and graduated from the University of Virginia, both from the College of Arts and Sciences (B.A. with Distinction, 1971) and the School of Law (J.D., 1975). He and his wife, Mary Griesedieck, reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They have two grown children: a son, Jay, and a daughter, Teale.
About Network Foundation Technologies, LLC
Network Foundation Technologies, LLC (NiFTy) is a name that is quickly becoming synonymous with the online broadcasting of large, live events to worldwide audiences. NiFTy’s patented technology overcomes the scalability and cost bottlenecks associated with online broadcasting, enabling the company to bring large-scale, advertiser-supported, television-style broadcasting to the Internet for the very first time. Please visit NiFTyTV.com for more information.