Mark Walker

As executive chair of the Women@ESPN employee resource group‚ Walker’s commitment to creating a more inclusive workplace paid off when team member Mia Steinberg was named to Front Office Sports’ Rising 25 Class of 2024. He’s collaborating with immersive media and entertainment company Cosm to create innovative shared reality spaces that will provide ESPN fans with unparalleled immersive sports-related experiences. Last November, his painstaking work to secure a deal with PENN Entertainment led to the launch of ESPN BET.

What’s your boldest prediction about the industry in the next 10 years? That AI may not have the negative impacts that many people think. It has the potential to be helpful and beneficial to the sports industry and fans when thoughtfully deployed.

Advice I would give a recent graduate: To always be curious, never stop learning.

Has the internet created more inclusion or exclusion? Inclusion. The internet has opened up an endless amount of ways for people to connect, explore, learn, experiment, etc. As mentioned, this is certainly the case with AI, too.

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