Cole Gahagan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Cole Gahagan is the President and Chief Executive Officer at LEARFIELD. With a 25-year career that spans the sports, entertainment media, and technology industries, he leads the company and its multiple business lines in driving innovation and delivering compelling content to the collegiate sports market.
Cole joined LEARFIELD in early 2020, having previously served as Chief Commercial Officer for Fanatics. Prior to that, he held executive leadership roles at Ticketmaster and Live Nation, including Chief Revenue Officer, and Senior Vice President of Development and Strategy.
As a respected leader and visionary, Cole has been the recipient of Sports Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award, Leaders in Sport’s Leaders Under 40 Award, and named to Billboard Magazine’s list of Top 25 Digital Players in Entertainment. His dedication and passion for serving others extends to the greater community through his launch of the company’s nationwide partnership with Team IMPACT, and his personal involvement as a member of the board.
Although he’s a fan of every university partner that LEARFIELD serves, Cole holds a BBA from Texas Christian University and an MBA from Southern Methodist University. He resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Jackie, their two children, and their English Bulldog, Rosie. When he’s not supporting his children at baseball tournaments or cheerleading competitions, you might find Cole enjoying a few rounds of golf or sharpening his fly-fishing skills.
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ABOUT
COLE
Walk-On Song
Shine A Light
The Rolling Stones
Favorite Sports Movie
The Natural
Advice To His Younger Self
Seek regular guidance and feedback, particularly in necessary areas of improvement, from those you work with and for. Few people offer positive feedback, and even fewer offer constructive feedback. You have to seek it out.
Learned from a Mentor
When growing a company, it’s easy to get distracted; to feel the need to pivot or diversify. Focus obsessively on becoming the best at what you do – the undisputed leader in that space – and then look for new areas of growth.
Best thing about our business
The people – those inside our walls, and those we support. This industry is filled with remarkable people who genuinely care about creating opportunities for others, and particularly student-athletes, and growing our space as a result. That’s a unique aspect that you don’t usually find in other businesses.