Jeffrey Pollack is a sports business executive and Emmy-Award winner with more than 25 years of leadership experience driving catalytic change, growth, and innovation for family-owned, private equity-backed, and corporate-based ventures.
Jeffrey most recently served as President and CEO of the XFL. He joined the league in 2019 as President and COO to lead all strategic planning and business operations, reporting directly to Chairman and Founder Vince McMahon. Under Pollack’s leadership, the XFL launched in 2020 to critical acclaim and proved that spring football in the United States can work. Following the XFL’s shutdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pollack led the organization through an orderly bankruptcy process and successful sale and transition to a new ownership group featuring Redbird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia.
Pollack has been lauded for helping businesses and brands rethink, recalibrate, and evolve. Immediately prior to his leadership role at the XFL, Pollack was Special Advisor and Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer for the NFL Los Angeles Chargers. From 2005 to 2009, he served as President and Commissioner of the World Series of Poker, which, during Pollack’s tenure, shattered previous attendance records, became a worldwide sports and entertainment phenomenon, and crossed the $1 billion mark in total prize money awarded. Pollack has also served as Executive Chairman of the Professional Bull Riders.
Earlier in his career, Pollack was the Managing Director of Broadcasting and New Media for NASCAR - just as the sport consolidated its media rights for the first time and broke through the national consciousness. He also served as Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications for the National Basketball Association, and as a communications consultant and strategic advisor to Commissioner David Stern. Pollack has also advised successful buyers on the acquisition of teams in the NBA and NHL.
Pollack is the founder of The Sports Business Daily, the original and leading daily trade publication for the sports industry. Through his vision and direction as President and Publisher, “The Daily” became the industry standard and must-read for sports executives, and also gave rise to a proliferation of sports business news and information services around the world.
In addition to receiving one of the first Primetime Emmy Awards presented for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television Programming, and a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Innovative Technical Achievement, Pollack received the first-ever Billboard Digital Entertainment Award for Best Interactive Television Programming. He has appeared on The Sporting News’ List of “The Top 100 Most Powerful People in Sports” and was named by Sports Business Journal to its inaugural list of “40 Under 40.”
Pollack began his career as a human rights advocate and legislative assistant in Washington, D.C., and then served as a political campaign manager and crisis communications consultant for Winner + Associates and the affiliated firm of Winner + Mandabach Campaigns.
He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America; serves on the Board of Advisors of Alpine Consolidated, Alpine Acquisitions Corporation, and the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission; and is a member of the Community Advisory Board of 90.7 WFUV Radio in New York.
Pollack also serves confidentially and selectively as a coach to other executives in the sports, entertainment, and media industries, and he has trained as a leadership and organizational performance coach at Rutgers University.
Pollack has a bachelor’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, a master’s degree from The Graduate School of Political Management, and a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He also completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.
