Ryan McNeil
President & CEO
Ryan McNeil is the Founder of the Professional Business and Financial Network (PBFN). He is an award winning entrepreneur and All-Pro NFL professional athlete. He serves as President and CEO of PBFN. Mr. McNeil founded PBFN as an exclusive business membership organization designed to provide professional athletes with the tools and resources to be successful in business now and in their post-athletic careers. Mr. McNeil's concept is to shrink the learning curve of the basic business fundamentals for professional athletes, whether active or retired. His vision is to create an organization offering the opportunity and means for any professional athlete to be a successful business person.
Mr. McNeil's strong business sense allows him the perspective to see beyond his professional
football career. The impetus behind Mr. McNeil starting PBFN is a personal one. He wants to expose others to practical business insights in order to attain a long-term successful life of choices and achievements.
For the past ten years, Mr. McNeil has served as a National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Player Representative. In addition to his role as Player Representative, Mr. McNeil was selected to serve on the newly formed Diversity Committee by former NFLPA President Trace Armstrong.
Karen Adams
Vice President of Operations
Karen Adams joined the PBFN team as Vice President of Operations. In her primary role, she is responsible for managing the overall operations of PBFN to include member and business relations, managing people and projects, and organizing resources.
Prior to her tenure with PBFN, Adams has held positions in business, human resources and administrative consulting. She has worked for companies such as MetLife, Ralston Purina, Sigma Chemical and Foodmaker in roles ranging from Asset and District Manager to Human Resources and Administrative Manager. Her strong business, organizational and communication skills
are a natural fit for PBFN.
Adams has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Maryville University and a Master's Degree in Business and Human Resources Development from Webster University.
Alvin Conteh
Manager of Sports Relations
Alvin N. Conteh is in his first year with Professional Business & Financial Network and Overtime Magazine. As Manager of Sports Relations, Conteh is charged with introducing PBFN/OT and its benefits to local and national sports teams/organizations. In addition to his duties with PBFN and OT, Conteh manages programming for The PBFN Foundation.
Conteh comes to PBFN and OT after several sport management experiences at the interscholastic, intercollegiate, and professional sports levels. He served as Director of Athletics at Brookhaven High School (Columbus, Ohio) where he supervised a coaching staff in fifteen varsity sports and directed event management, marketing, sponsorship, budget, travel, contract negotiations, and ticket management for the entire athletic department. Conteh’s other athletic management experiences include working with the Atlanta Hawks, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and Norfolk Tides. Alvin earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Hampton University in 1997 and went on to gain a master's degree in sport management from The Ohio State University in 1999. He also served as a graduate administrative associate for the Sport Club program at Ohio State.
George Gendron
Senior Board of Advisor (Strategist)
George Gendron joined the PBFN team as Senior Board of Advisor (Strategist). In his primary role, he is charged with assisting PBFN to achieve its goals via strategy and business plan development.
Prior to his tenure with PBFN, Gendron debuted at Inc. Magazine in January 1981 and was editor-in-chief from 1983-2002. Under his direction, Inc. catapulted to become the country's premier business magazine for leaders of small to midsize fast-growing companies. Gendron is a regular commentator on entrepreneurship and small business on TV, radio, and in print.
Prior to his career at Inc. magazine, Gendron served as arts and entertainment editor of New York Magazine and as editor-in-chief of Boston Magazine, which won numerous awards under his leadership. He is active on many boards, including The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, which builds healthy economies in America's inner cities to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents.
Gendron is a graduate of Manhattan College.
Melissa Gillespie
Public Relations Consultant
Melissa Gillespie joined the Professional Business and Financial Network in 2001 as a Public Relations Liaison. Since then, Ms. Gillespie has led the strategy and execution of the PBFN public relations efforts on a national level and served as editor for PBFN's monthly eZine, PBFN Connections. With more than a decade of experience in a diverse range of industries and specialties including sports business, education, telecommunications, high technology, outsourcing, medical and government, Ms. Gillespie brings a strong background in public and media relations and marketing communications to PBFN.
Ms. Gillespie holds a Master of Arts in International Communication from United States International University in San Diego, CA. Prior to that, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Spanish, with minors in English and Political Science, from New Mexico State University.
Rachael Shumaker
Member Relations Manager
Rachael Shumaker joined the PBFN team as Member Relations Manager. In this role, she is charged with assisting Ryan McNeil as well as providing back-up support in the area of member recruitment, retention and communication. She is also Vice President of Convenient Services Division for McNeil
Management, Inc.
Prior to her tenure with PBFN, Shumaker spent much of the last decade as a personal assistant to many professional athletes. She was owner of a management firm which specialized in managing physician offices as well as an office manager for a large San Diego law firm which specialized
in estate planning, tax law and non profit foundations. She served three years as an operations officer and one year as COO for a non profit foundation.
Shumaker earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi.
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