Makers Sports Management

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15+ Years is the Sports Management industry as an active Player Manager and Agent of top golf talent. He’s negotiated over $100 Million dollars in deals with top companies, agencies and brands over the years. He has a solid track record and niche for cultivating new companies into the golf space. Also was co-founder of TRUE linkswear in 2010 and was acting president for 5 years thru 2014. He lead the Sales efforts for the company and grew the brand to the 6th position in Market share in the competitive golf footwear space surrounded by billion dollar competitors. 

He was a college baseball player with big league dreams. He was drafted to play for the Twins out of high school but chose to go the college route with a scholarship to Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA. There he fell in love with the idea of a sports business career.  He initially got his start in the sports management business out of college in baseball working with MLB players and coaches. A couple years into that, he was given the opportunity to jump head first into the golf business and it was the best decision he ever made. 

He has a true since of entrepreneurship and has been part of the start up of 10+ businesses in his short career thus far. He has started multiple golf business in the young and emerging golf markets in Asia, including Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. 

He is married to his high school sweetheart Kate and they have 2 boys, Aiden (15) and Trey (13). They live in Scottsdale, AZ. 

Derek started his career in the software business. He has managed many successful programs and sales teams throughout his career which started at Epicor, Aerotek and most recently Trelevate. 

After playing collegiate golf at the University of Northern Iowa, he undertook a successful professional golf career; playing on tours and tournaments across the country. His success in golfing, led him to caddy on the PGA Tour for  world class players. From that experience he moved into a Director of Business Development  role at Trelevate in which he enabled 150+ sales people across the country on a daily basis, with strategy, activation and key implementation of programs.

His strengths are in communicating with people and starting programs from the ground floor. As a strong entrepreneur at heart, and with a strong communications and marketing background, we lean on him for strategies, player development and new partner management.

He is also married to his high school sweetheart Jamee (it's a Makers thing)  and they have 2 kids, Brooks (4) and Ella (2), and a four legged pup named Ace.

They reside in Fountain Hills, AZ.