Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski announced Monday the launch of PowerForward, a video-based leadership development platform for businesses that he co-founded.
Krzyzewski, who has the most wins in Division I men’s basketball history, is bringing with him to the company a number of leaders in the sports industry who are supporting him.
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Creative Artists Agency is incubating the company, and the CEO is Duke and Harvard Business School graduate Chrissie Gorman. Strategic partners in the venture include Duke graduates in Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue, Golden State Warriors investor Bruce Karsh and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca, whose son plays for Duke. Another partner is Warriors and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Peter Guber.
“As someone who has run companies and sports franchises, I have seen first-hand the parallels between what you learn on the court and apply to the boardroom,” Guber, who is also CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group, said in a statement. “But this isn’t a rah-rah ‘let’s win one for the team’ pep talk, but specific leadership lessons that translate seamlessly, yet can shift the entire paradigm of corporate leadership needed to inspire today’s ‘disruptive’ workforce.”
Krzyzewski graduated from West Point and in a statement pointed to his time there having made leadership a passion of his. He went on to lead Duke to NCAA championships and USA Basketball to gold medals.
The 69-year-old Krzyzewski told Forbes before the announcement that he wanted to have something set up for the future when he retires, adding that he would like to teach and stay relevant. With PowerForward, he is providing a subscription service for interactive content that is designed to help large companies develop leaders at all levels and up-and-coming organizations as well.
“PowerForward captures the essence of many core leadership principles I’ve shared with my players for decades and applies it to business teams,” Krzyzewski said. “What energized me about PowerForward is the ability to share my own storytelling approach with an entirely new audience off the court in the corporate and start-up communities.”