Dave Kaval, Co-Founder

Dave Kaval is an entrepreneur, author, California civic leader, lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the former President of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball (MLB) team. He is known for his innovative leadership and efforts to modernize fan experiences and infrastructure in professional sports.

A Cleveland native, he graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations in 1998 and later earned an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. During his academic journey, he interned with the George W. Bush administration, focusing on national security budgets.

Kaval co-founded the independent Golden Baseball League (GBL), a venture that nurtured professional baseball talent with a promotional flair similar to the Savanah Bananas, with teams across the Western U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Unaffiliated with Major or Minor League Baseball, the GBL featured MLB veterans like Rickey Henderson and José Canseco, and saw over 100 players signed to MLB organizations, with several reaching the majors.

He transitioned to soccer in 2010 when he became the President of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes. During his tenure, the Earthquakes won the 2012 Supporters’ Shield and opened their first soccer-specific stadium, PayPal Park, in 2015.

In 2016, Kaval assumed the presidency of the Oakland Athletics, where he spearheaded fan engagement initiatives and capital improvements at the Oakland Coliseum. His tenure was marked by significant efforts to secure a new ballpark for the A’s.

Since 2014, Kaval has Lectured at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Sports Management, General Management, and Marketing. An active community leader, he sits on the National Advisory Board for the Positive Coaching Alliance.

Brad Null, Co-Founder

Brad Null spearheads research and analysis efforts at Golden Research Institute, leveraging more than 20 years of experience as a leader in AI and data science. He has developed innovative tools, methods and approaches to solve the challenging and impactful problems such as (list a couple here) that can be addressed using these technologies.

As co-founder of Giraffe AI, Brad helps companies build out their AI and insights capabilities. He has worked with organizations ranging from startups building their first data functions to established corporations pivoting toward AI, data and everything in between. His experience spans industries including manufacturing, sports, technology, advertising, and finance.

Brad spent more than a decade as the Chief Scientist at Reputation, spearheading the development of industry leading products and metrics in the Reputation Management space. His tech leadership roles include positions at GreyscaleAI, an AI manufacturing startup, AOL, and the Golden Baseball League.

He holds a PhD in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University, where his thesis explored “Stochastic Modeling and Optimization in Baseball.” Currently, Brad serves as a visiting faculty member at the UCLA Anderson School of Business, teaching the Fundamentals of AI.