Neal Pilson

Neal Pilson (born April 18, 1940) is founder and president of Pilson Communications, Inc., a consulting company specializing in sports television, media and marketing. PIC clients have included the Arena Football League, NASCAR, the Kentucky Derby, the Rose Bowl, the World Series of Poker as well as the IOC.^[1]

Neal served two terms as president of CBS Sports (1981–1983 and 1986–1995) and is known for negotiating huge television broadcast contracts for all of CBS's major sports franchises including MLB, NASCAR, NCAA, NFL and PGA.^[2] Prior to joining CBS in 1976 as Director of Business Affairs, he was in private law practice in New York and was an executive at Metromedia, Inc. and the William Morris Agency, Inc. In 1994 the IOC awarded Pilson with the Olympic Order, the highest honor given by the IOC.

Mr. Pilson attended Hamilton College in Clinton, NY where he received his B.A. in history in 1960 and then earned his LL.B from Yale Law School in 1963. Neal is a general partner of Sports Business Ventures, LLC and has been the Senior advisor for the Sports Finance Group at UBS AG since 2004. He also is an advisor for Grand Prix Entertainment, Inc., Route 2 Digital, LLC., and a board member of Collegiate Images, LLC.^[3] He often serves as a speaker, panelist and moderator at sports conferenced across the country. Neal currently teaches Leadership and Personnel Management with Val Ackerman in Columbia University's Master of Science in Sports Management Program.^[4]

Awards and Recognitions

1991 – Received March of Dimes Sports Luncheon Founder's Award
1994 – Received Olympic Order from IOC
2004 – Named to The 20 Most Influential People: Sports Media
2010 – Named to the first class of "The Champions" of Leadership and Success by IMG World Congress of Sports

References