I am very pleased to announce the formation of an Advisory Board for Soccermetrics Research & Consulting. A startup needs the input of a diverse collection of actors in order to become a successful and sustainable company, and advisors are a key element. These advisors have taken an interest in me and my company and want to see both succeed, and have graciously offered to share expertise on critical elements of the company’s development.

Prof. John Stasko is a Professor in and the Associate Chair of the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prof. Stasko is an internationally recognized and widely published researcher in the area of human-computer interaction, with a specific focus on information visualization and visual analytics. His Information Interfaces Research Group (http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/ii) develops ways to help people and organizations explore, analyze, and make sense of data in order to solve problems. Together with colleague Rahul Basole, Prof. Stasko has taught a course on Sports Analytics at Georgia Tech since 2011.

Dr. David P. Hedlund received his Ph.D. in Sport Management in 2011 from the Florida State University. Dr. Hedlund’s research interests include issues related to sport marketing, sport consumer behavior, and sport consumption. Dr. Hedlund’s primary research interest is the creation, development and use of sport fan communities. Prior to receiving his Ph.D., Dr. Hedlund was a soccer player and coach in the United States, Japan and Taiwan R.O.C. (Chinese-Taipei). Dr. Hedlund’s coaching experiences span the high school, college (NCAA Division I), and national team levels, and he holds the England Football Association’s Level 1 and Level 2 Certificates in Coaching Football.

I look forward to fruitful interactions with my Advisory Board in the future, and I welcome them to Soccermetrics!