WESTPORT, CT (November 20, 2000) - Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal has named David Grant to its prestigious "40 Under 40" list for 2000. Grant is a principal with Westport-based Velocity Sports & Entertainment, the sports marketing agency he co-founded just over one year ago. SportsBusiness Journal, the leading sports industry publication, conducts an annual search for the 40 most influential sports businesspeople under 40 years of age, and the results were published in the Nov. 13 issue.

SportsBusiness Journal selected Grant for "wanting to break out on (his) own in an age of consolidation." The article continues, "Just over a year after moving into office space in Westport . Velocity is bursting at the seams. It already has 31 employees and 15 clients, and recorded about $5 million in revenue during its first year. Bringing only two clients, FedEx Corp. and IBM Corp., over from (their previous employer), Grant and Co. have added a range of other blue chippers."

Grant and his partners founded Velocity Sports & Entertainment on the belief that an independent agency could successfully compete in an era when traditional sports marketing agencies are being acquired by major advertising and entertainment agencies. Prior to the formation of Velocity, Grant was executive vice president, managing director of Clarion Sports and Entertainment. While with Clarion, Grant managed sponsorship activities for several clients, including Gillette, for which he helped pioneer the concept of the "million dollar shot."

Among the other honorees joining Grant on this prestigious list are New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux and Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder.

"I'm honored to be selected for a list that includes such notable and respected executives," said Grant. "We started this company wanting to offer customized service to a select list of clients, and our success is testament to the soundness of our strategy."

Grant lives in Mt. Kisco with his wife Suzanne and his two children, Samantha, age 4, and Dylan, age 1. He grew up in Hastings, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in managerial economics from Union College in 1984.

Velocity Sports & Entertainment is a marketing agency specializing in helping clients maximize the value of sports and entertainment sponsorship marketing efforts. Velocity assists clients in all aspects of the sponsorship marketing process including strategic planning, negotiation, program development, leveraging, execution, customer hospitality and pre-/post- evaluation. Its clients include IBM, FedEx, Verizon, Shell, Reliant, Texaco, Novartis, Labatt's, The New York Times, CowParade and NASCAR.

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