Matt Kalish

The recognition Kalish has picked up is the kind given to operators rather than celebrities. Leaders in Sport put him on its Leaders Under 40 list in 2023, an honor that looks at executives driving the business side of sport, and the nod reflects his role running North American revenue for one of the largest sportsbook operators in the country. His more significant distinction is structural: he is one of three people who built DraftKings from a daily-fantasy startup into a publicly traded company, and that fact sits behind every other line on his resume. The HardScope launch in 2025 added a second act, and the $30 million marketing contract that followed put his new venture on the industry map faster than most founder-led studios manage.