Jed Hughes Email Address

Vice Chair, Global Head of Sports Practice

Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm. We work with our clients to design optimal organization structures, roles, and responsibilities. We help them hire the right people and advise them on how to reward and motivate their workforce while developing professionals as they navigate and advance their careers.

Jed Hughes, a highly sought-after sports business strategist, is colloquially known as the “most valuable connector” in sports according to Forbes. With one foot on the field and another in the boardroom, Jed has worked internationally across many sports, leagues, and conferences. As a former NFL and collegiate coach who worked under seven Hall of Fame coaches, Jed has developed strong relationships with prominent decision makers: commissioners, owners, CEOs, general managers, university presidents, athletic directors, and coaches. From working with leaders to review and assemble their organization’s structure to working with Chairman of the Board and ownership, these partnerships have resulted in helping place Super Bowl-winning head coaches (Tampa Bay’s Bruce Arians, Kansas City’s Andy Reid, Seattle’s Pete Carroll), an Associated Press Coach of the Year (Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh), a NBA championship winning leaders and NBA Executive of the Year (Toronto’s Masai Ujiri), a MLB Commissioner (Rob Manfred), multiple MLB Presidents of Baseball Operations (David Stearns of the Milwaukee Brewers, Derrick Falvey of the Minnesota Twins, Farhan Zaidi of the San Francisco Giants), MLB General Mangers (Ross Atkins of the Toronto Blue Jays) and two out of the 25 College Football's Most Intriguing People in Suits in 2022 by Sports Illustrated (Kevin Warren and Greg Sankey). Jed is at the forefront in introducing game changing diversity leaders as mentioned above – whether it be Masai Ujiri, Farhan Zaidi, Kevin Warren – First Power 5 African American Commissioner Big 10 conference, and Carla Williams, First Power 5 African American Athletic Director at University of Virginia. As the defensive coordinator at UCLA, he was recognized as a top recruiter in the US for three years. A high percentage of the 22 starters for the UCLA 1982 Rose Bowl Team were his recruits. During his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was named one of the top NFL assistant coaches. From a trusted advisor to a championship recruiter, the results of Jed’s expansive skillset are reflected in his resume. In addition to his resume , Jed frequently appears in national media to share his work with outlets like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Washington Post, and the Associated Press. He has written several op-eds in top outlets like USA Today and FoxNews.com, and continually does weekly podcasts highlighting leaders and their ability to transform organizations.