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About Alex Versen.

Lecturer. Nonprofit founder. Sport ecosystem advisor. Career coach.

Alex Versen, founder of West Kennedy

Lecturer

Maine Business School, University of Maine. Sport Partnership & Sponsorship, Emerging Sport, Sport Marketing, Sport Governance.

Executive Director

NOVA Foundation. Next Game programming for college athletes navigating life after sport.

Founding Team

NOVA Innovation Group. Sport and entertainment advisory. Active Chicago Sport & Entertainment District work.

Principal

West Kennedy. Career coaching, sport business advisory, expert testimony.

How I think about this.

The work starts before the resume. It starts by looking inward — finding out what actually drives you, what you'd show up for whether or not anyone was watching. That takes real curiosity. And curiosity takes intention.

If we can get to a place where you're genuinely excited about the career itself — not just the outcome, but the whole process of building it — that's when things actually move. The wheels come off and the kids can ride.

That's what we're going for. Not a polished LinkedIn and a rehearsed elevator pitch. The conviction to keep going, and the discipline to act on it.

The career, briefly.

Eight years at Uber.

Joined in 2015 to launch eleven secondary Florida markets, stayed for eight years. Left in 2023 as Head of Partner Management for Venues & Live Events — $15M+ annual budget, 250+ major venues, 500+ events, a team across U.S. and international markets. A lot of what I now teach came from those rooms.

MBA, University of Oregon.

The Lundquist College runs one of the strongest sport business MBAs in the country. I went in 2022-23 to refresh the framework after seven years inside one company. It changed how I think about the industry.

NOVA Innovation Group.

On the founding team of NOVA Innovation Group — a women-owned sport and entertainment advisory firm contributing to active redevelopment work on the Chicago Sport & Entertainment District. The advisory perspective sharpens the academic one.

NOVA Foundation.

Executive Director of the NOVA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) focused on college athlete transition. We run Next Game — our first Summit was at the United Center in 2026. It keeps me close to the questions athletes are actually wrestling with when their playing careers end.

Lecturer at the University of Maine.

Joined the Maine Business School in 2025. Four courses, two I designed: Sport Partnership & Sponsorship and Emerging Sport. Faculty advisor for the Sport Management Club. The teaching grounds everything else.

Why I coach.

West Kennedy Coaching is how I do this work at scale — formally, sustainably. Other consulting and advisory work runs through the same entity and lives on the consulting page.

Want to talk?

Free 30-minute intro call. Tell me what you're working on.

Book intro call