David Stern leads a league that is a model for professional sports in league operations, public service, global marketing and digital technology. During Mr. Stern’s 28-year tenure, the league has added seven franchises; enjoyed a 30-fold increase in revenues; expanded its national television exposure dramatically; and launched the Women’s National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League. Interest generated by the leagues’ growing international initiatives has led to the opening of offices in 15 global markets, the televising of games in 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, and the creation of 14 language-specific Web destinations. The leagues’ digital assets, including NBA.com, WNBA.com, and NBADLeague.com; social media platforms; NBA LEAGUE PASS; NBA TV, which is currently available in 59 million U.S. homes; and mobile applications reach hundreds of millions of fans every day. An intense commitment to social responsibility both in the United States and around the world has marked Mr. Stern’s tenure as commissioner. In 2005, the league launched NBA Cares, a program through which the NBA, its players and teams have raised more than $175 million for charity, provided more than 1.8 million hours of hands-on service to communities around the world, and created more than 675 places where children and families can live, learn, or play. NBA Cares supports a host of community outreach initiatives, including a myriad of internationally recognized youth-serving programs that focus on education, youth and family development, and health and wellness. Mr. Stern is the chair emeritus of the Trustees of Columbia University and serves or has served on the boards of Beth Israel Medical Center, the Rutgers University Foundation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Paley Center for Media, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A native of New York City, Mr. Stern is a graduate of Rutgers University and Columbia Law School. He is married to Dianne Bock Stern, and they are the parents of two adult sons.
