SDSI Board adds San Diego Hall of Champions’ President Alan Kidd
Press Release:
Bill Walton, executive chairman of CONNECT San Diego Sport Innovators (SDSI), announced today that Alan Kidd, President of the San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum has joined the SDSI Advisory Board.
Building on CONNECT’s 25 years of world-renown success accelerating innovation in San Diego, SDSI is fueling the growth of San Diego’s action sport and active lifestyle innovation cluster, an increasingly technology-focused industry.
“Al is dedicated to improving the lives of children in the United States through sports and promoting healthy habits that contribute to an active and responsible lifestyle. It is this foresight that compliments the SDSI initiative,” Walton said.
“Our efforts are bigger than today. Through SDSI’s dedication to accelerate sports innovation and foster greater awareness of the sport industry we are paving the way for future generations to engage in healthful and lifelong activities that strengthen their impact on the world on and off the court.
“That does not even touch upon the lifetime of business expertise Alan brings from running and building national companies, which will be vital to SDSI and the companies we aim to grow,” added Walton.
Kidd became president of the Hall of Champions in June 2003 after a diverse career in education, advertising and marketing, venture investing and business consulting, as well as owning his own business.
“I am honored to be asked to join the board of the San Diego Sport Innovators,” Kidd said. “With SDSI we can continue to increase our national sports footprint by assisting sports-related organizations bring innovative and industry moving sports products to market.
“The continuing growth of the San Diego sports products industry is vital to job creation and economic vitality for our region,” Kidd added. “It is my hope that I my experiences building national brands will be beneficial to our board and our member organizations.”
Kidd played a role in the development and growth of several advertising firms including National Advertising in Chicago, Knoth & Meads (K&M) Advertising, MDK Recruitment Advertising and started Kidd, Schneider and Dersh (KSD). Shortly after his career in advertising and marketing Kidd started ARK Enterprises, a venture investing company and business consulting practice.
About CONNECT SDSI
CONNECT SDSI is a business accelerator that connects and drives the growth of San Diego’s vibrant sports economy by offering innovative programs and services for start ups, mature companies and service providers.
Building on CONNECT’s world-renown success accelerating innovation in San Diego over the past 25 years, CONNECT SDSI offers mentoring, education and capital funding opportunities for start-ups; best practice collaboration, access to new technology, and public policy advocacy for mature companies; as well as deal flow to our service providers and the San Diego investment community.
For more information about SDSI please contact Garrett Hale at GHale@connect.org.
