Student Athlete NIL Announces Leadership Change
Founder Jason Belzer assumes the role of Co-Chairman; Chris Brown appointed Chief Executive Officer with Rick Kanemasu and Michelle Obetz named President and Chief Financial Officer, respectively
ATLANTA, Ga. – On Thursday, May 2, Student Athlete NIL (SANIL), a leading national operator of more than 50 NIL collectives, announced changes to its leadership team.
Jason Belzer, who founded the company in 2020, has moved into the new role of Co-Chairman to focus on thought leadership and market development. Belzer will work alongside Sonu Singh, the other Co-Chairman of SANIL. Chris Brown has been elevated to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and will spearhead business strategy, client planning, and partnership development. Other changes include Rick Kanesmasu being named to the newly formed role of President and Michelle Obetz becoming the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
“The rapidly evolving NIL landscape requires an intense focus on creating technology, processes, and organization structures that help collectives support student-athletes and maximize their monetary value,” said SANIL Co-Chairman Jason Belzer, “We believe that these changes will help SANIL continue its leadership position as a platform that provides rich value to brands, fans, universities, and especially, student-athletes.”
Brown will lead SANIL with 25 years of experience in sports marketing, management, and consulting for major global brands such as Coca-Cola, UPS, General Motors, and Kellogg’s. As an experienced entrepreneur who has built three sports marketing agencies, Brown has advised global sports properties in soccer, auto racing, golf, cricket, Olympics, and for organizations such as FC Schalke 04, Mumbai Indians, Petty Motorsports, and Chelsea FC. Brown holds a degree in marketing from Virginia Tech.
“I am honored to assume the role of CEO of SANIL and fuel our momentum in this ever-evolving space,” said Mr. Brown, “We have an important mission and our tech-forward, data-centric approach is unlocking new pathways of revenue in support of our clients and their stakeholders.”
As President, Kanemasu brings 25-plus years of consulting experience, leading practices and major initiatives for dozens of Fortune 500 companies with consulting experience at E&Y, Accenture, and KPMG Consulting. With this, Kanesmasu will leverage his experience in strategy, information technology, eCommerce, and marketing to strengthen the service delivery model to SANIL clients. Kanemasu holds an MBA from Duke University following a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Kansas State University.
Obetz, a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of Seton Hall University, has 25 years of experience in providing solution-based services centered on strengthening financial operations. From this effort, Obetz has driven growth, improved efficiency, and minimized risk through her roles with Deloitte, Merrill Lynch, and Allied Resource Group.
“Jason has established a solid foundation from which to build,” said SANIL Co-Chairman Sonu Singh. “With these changes, we put in place a seasoned team that can quickly scale our service model, technology infrastructure, and revenue delivery to our clients.”
ABOUT SANIL
Student Athlete NIL (SANIL) is creating Collectives as sustainable and scalable businesses with a focus on building long-term revenue streams that support the entire NIL ecosystem of a University.
Our tech-enabled sales, marketing, and service solutions operationalize the NIL platform at over 50 universities and provide student-athletes with opportunities to monetize the true value of their name, image, and likeness. Based in Atlanta, GA, SANIL has more than 35 employees, with many located near the clients we serve.