CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
Kobe Bryant
Five-time NBA Champion & Chief Executive Officer, Kobe Inc
"Understand the journey of others to help create your own." - Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant is a five-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, NBA MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP and a 15-time All-NBA player. He has appeared in 17 NBA All Star Games, earning three NBA All Star MVP recognitions. He became the League's youngest player ever to be named to the NBA's All Defensive Team, to start an All-Star Game, and to earn All-Rookie honors. In December 2014, Bryant became the League's 3rd all-time leading scorer, surpassing his basketball muse, Michael Jordan.
Bryant was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets and was later acquired by the Los Angeles Lakers. Now in his 20th season, Kobe will be the first, and potentially only, NBA player to play all 20 seasons with the same team.
Throughout his career, Kobe has dedicated his philanthropic passion to a variety of causes benefitting children in need. He has served as the ambassador for After-School All-Stars and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles HomeWalk. He has partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help fulfill hundreds of wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.
In 2006, he launched the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation to improve the lives of young people though access to sports, mentorship and economic empowerment. In 2009, Bryant partnered with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation to create the Kobe China Fund dedicated to the welfare and education of youth in China. Since 2007, Bryant hosts the Kobe Academy camp to teach children fundamental basketball skills and life lessons to be successful.
Through his investment entity, Bryant has invested in several entrepreneurial companies who share in his vision to build athletic excellence. Most notably, Bryant has invested in Body Armor sports drink and the Players Tribune media platform.
To start building his post-basketball career, Bryant formed Kobe Inc. in 2013. Kobe Inc. is a multi-media content creation company focused on helping athletes learn the process of excellence and maximizing potential. Kobe Inc.’s first project, Kobe Bryant's Muse, debuted on Showtime in February 2015 and in China in August 2015 via a partnership with the Alibaba Group. Bryant executive produced the first-of-its-kind documentary, which earned a Clio Award in May 2015. Other athletes have now adopted the Muse documentary format as the gold standard for storytelling. Kobe Inc. is headquartered in Newport Beach, CA.
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