Jed Hughes

About Jed Hughes

Jed Hughes, a highly sought-after sports business strategist, is colloquially known as the “most valuable connector” in sports according to Forbes. With one foot on the field and another in the boardroom, Jed has worked internationally across many sports, leagues, and conferences. As a former NFL and collegiate coach who worked under seven Hall of Fame coaches, Jed has developed strong relationships with prominent decision makers: commissioners, owners, CEOs, general managers, university presidents, athletic directors, and coaches. From working with leaders to review and assemble their organization’s structure to working with Chairman of the Board and ownership, these partnerships have resulted in helping place Super Bowl-winning head coaches (Tampa Bay’s Bruce Arians, Kansas City’s Andy Reid, Las Vegas Raiders\' Pete Carroll), an Associated Press Coach of the Year (Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh), a NBA championship winning leader and NBA Executive of the Year (Toronto’s Masai Ujiri), a MLB Commissioner (Rob Manfred), multiple MLB Presidents of Baseball Operations (David Stearns of the New York Mets, Derrick Falvey of the Minnesota Twins, Farhan Zaidi of the San Francisco Giants), MLB General Mangers (Ross Atkins of the Toronto Blue Jays) and two out of the 25 College Football\'s Most Intriguing People in Suits in 2022 by Sports Illustrated (Kevin Warren and Greg Sankey). Jed is at the forefront in introducing game changing diversity leaders as mentioned above – whether it be Masai Ujiri, Farhan Zaidi, Kevin Warren – First Power 5 African American Commissioner Big 10 conference, and Carla Williams, First Power 5 African American Athletic Director at University of Virginia. As the defensive coordinator at UCLA, he was recognized as a top recruiter in the US for five years and recruited 20 players that were drafted in the NFL. A high percentage of the 22 starters for the UCLA 1982 Rose Bowl Team were his recruits. During his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was named one of the top NFL assistant coaches. From a trusted advisor to a championship recruiter, the results of Jed’s expansive skillset are reflected in his resume. In addition to his resume, Jed frequently appears in national media to share his work with outlets like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Washington Post, and the Associated Press. He has completed 100 podcasts (Jed Hughes Podcast) interviewing a broad range of transformational leaders including Andy Reid, Jerry Wright, RC Buford, Jim and John Harbaugh, Sam Kennedy, Larry Baer, Mark Shapiro.

Experience

1. Vice Chair, Global Head of Sports Practice

   Korn Ferry

   Jan 2012 — Present · New York, NY, US

   Vice Chair, Global Head of Sports PracticeOversee senior-level search, organizational assessment, and talent management solutions for college and professional sports teams, conferences, leagues, and other governing bodies, was well as sports related industries, such as sporting goods retailers and media entities.

Education

• University of Michigan

  Ph.D Rackham Graduate School

  1973 — 1976

• Stanford University

  M.A., Education

  1971 — 1972

• Gettysburg College

  B.A.

  1968 — 1971

Skills

• Human Resources
• Organizational Behavior
• Talent Management
• Coaching
• Sports
• Recruiting
• Start-Ups
• Sports Writing
• Talent Assessment
• Strategy
• Business Development
• Management
• Management Consulting
• College Recruiting
• Sports Business
• Entrepreneurship
• Leadership Development
• Organizational Development
• Executive Search
• Executive Coaching
• Talent Acquisition
• Leadership