Speaker Profile

Michael Rubin, noted internet entrepreneur, philanthropist, and social justice advocate, has built several multibillion-dollar direct-to-consumer companies. Driven by a deep passion for business and a life-long love of sports, Michael is CEO of Fanatics, a global digital sports platform that is reimaging the fan experience across many different businesses, including licensed merchandise, physical and digital trading cards and collectibles, and sports betting and gaming. Michael is a board member of Rue Gilt Groupe, the premiere off-price, e-commerce destination that includes RueLaLa.com, Gilt.com and ShopPremiumOutlets.com. He also founded GSI Commerce, which was sold to eBay in 2011 for $2.4B.

In addition to his entrepreneurial success, Michael is an advocate for criminal justice reform and the co-chair of REFORM Alliance, an organization that includes some of the biggest names in sports, business and culture that’s dedicated to advancing criminal justice reform and eradicating antiquated probation laws that perpetuate injustice in the United States. Michael is also the creator of the ALL IN Challenge, one of the largest digital fundraisers ever that raised $60M to feed those most in need during the COVID-19 pandemic by enlisting hundreds of the biggest celebrities, athletes, entertainers, sports leagues, teams and corporations to donate incredible prized possessions or create once-in-a-lifetime experiences that were available as online auctions or sweepstakes.

Named annually as one of the most prominent people in sports business, Michael was named the Sports Business Journal “Executive of the Year” in 2022 and has also been named to the Bleacher Report “Power 50” list of most influential people in sports. Through his vision of innovating the licensed sports industry, Fanatics has several times been named one of the “50 Most Innovative Companies in the World” by Fast Company, “Sports Business of the Year” by Yahoo! Finance, and was awarded the “Business Model of the Decade” (2010-2019) by Sports Business Journal. Michael spent more than a decade as a partner of the Philadelphia 76ers before selling his ownership stake in the team in June 2022 to focus his efforts on Fanatics’ expansion across the broader sports ecosystem.