Tom Richardson has over 25 years of experience in sports, media, executive search, and consulting.  His background includes management positions at AOL, the NHL, and the NFL.  He also worked in and was trained at executive search at Spencer Stuart.  Throughout his career, Tom has been driving business through smart, creative, and effective relationship building, in the process establishing a robust, extensive professional network.  

Most recently, Tom founded and ran Convergence Sports & Media LLC, a consulting and recruiting company.  Some of his clients included the US Tennis Association, IMG Media, The Daily Racing Form, and Fantasy Sports Ventures.  

Before establishing Convergence in 2004, Tom was VP and GM of Sports and News for America Online, where he managed all business-related activities, including strategy, planning, development, and partnerships, for these two important categories.  Partnerships in the sports category included the NFL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR, NHL, College Sports TV, USTA, and CBS SportsLine.  News partnerships included ABC News, CNN, and the New York Times, among others.  At AOL, which he joined in 2001, Tom was initially VP and GM of AOL Sports.  He was responsible for the management of the AOL Sports channel, one of the most popular content areas on the AOL service and one of the top five sports sites on the Internet, and the development of new programming and partnerships.  He developed and managed the successful implementation of the sports category plan for the AOL for Broadband product launched in 2003.  Tom also skillfully managed relationships with the other sports properties within the AOL Time Warner family, including Sports Illustrated, Turner, and HBO.  
    
Prior to joining AOL, Tom worked at Spencer Stuart — one of the country’s largest executive search firms — where he served as executive vice president of Spencer Stuart Talent Network (SSTN), an online executive recruiting business.  Focusing primarily on client development, account management, and search execution, he was one of the original members of the management team that launched the business in 2000.
 
Before Spencer Stuart, Tom served as the president of NHL Interactive CyberEnterprises (NHL ICE), the National Hockey League’s Internet and new media business, which was initially a joint venture with IBM.  He was responsible for the overall management of NHL ICE, including strategy, programming, marketing, business development, advertising and sponsorship sales, e-commerce, licensing, and PR for NHL.com, the League’s official web site.  He was also responsible for the development of the League’s NHL.com network and the production of several NHL club sites.

Tom joined the NHL from the National Football League, where he ran the NFL’s publishing business, which grew dramatically during his eight-year oversight.  He was responsible for all NFL print and electronic publishing, including magazines, books, software, and custom publishing projects for NFL sponsors.  Additionally, he was a member of the NFL’s Interactive Task Force and assisted in the development of the League’s online business in the mid-1990s.
 
Prior to his tenure at NFL Properties, Tom served as district sales manager for Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, where he was involved in advertising sales for a number of Ziff-Davis publications, including PC Magazine.  He began his career in media at Grey Advertising.
 
Tom is a graduate of Hamilton College, where he earned a BA in English and French, as well as a CPLF degree from the Sorbonne in Paris at the end of his Hamilton College Junior Year in France program.   He also did some graduate studies in media at New York University.  Tom resides in Westport, Connecticut with his wife and two children.