Agassi Ventures

Andre Agassi

Founder of Andre Agassi Foundation for Education

After turning pro at the age of 16, tennis prodigy Andre Agassi rose to international fame, earning 60 men’s singles titles, including eight Grand Slam singles championships, over a 20-year career. A former World No. 1 player, Agassi is the only male player ever to win all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal. He was also a member of three winning Davis Cup teams (1990, 1992 and 1995).

While his tennis career took him all over the world, Agassi always stayed connected to his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1994, at the age of 24, he created The Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation. Early activities included building a shelter in Las Vegas for abused and neglected children; creating the Andre Agassi Boys and Girls Club; and developing Team Agassi, a tennis program that nurtures professional players and puts college within reach.

Over 15 years, the Foundation has honed its mission to focus on transforming public education. In 2001, in partnership with the Clark County School District, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy (Agassi Prep) in West Las Vegas. Recognized as a model charter school, Agassi Prep graduated its first senior class in June 2009 with a 100 percent college acceptance rate.

Each year, the Foundation’s primary fundraising vehicle, the Grand Slam for Children, brings together international stars to raise awareness and money. Since 1987, the Grand Slam for Children has raised more than $70 million for the Foundation’s activities.

Since retiring in 2006, Andre Agassi has increased his focus on his Foundation and on promoting education reform. He is also building a lifestyle business through endorsement relationships, joint venture investments and real estate development.

He is married to tennis superstar, philanthropist and businesswoman Stefanie Graf. The couple resides in Las Vegas with their children, Jaden Gil and Jaz Elle.

Stefanie Graf

Founder of Children for Tomorrow

Tennis champion Stefanie Graf, winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, remains the only player to win Wimbledon, the French Open, the US Open and the Australian Open at least four times.

In a career spanning 17 years, Graf won 107 singles titles and is the first—and still only—woman player to achieve the "Golden Slam" by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same year.

Graf was ranked No. 1 for a WTA-record 377 weeks, the longest of any player, male or female, since rankings began.
With the same purposeful strength she brought to professional tennis, Stefanie turned her attention to aiding suffering children.  In 1998, she founded Children for Tomorrow, a charity focused on supporting children and families who are victims of war, violence, abuse, exile or loss of the family. She established the organization in conjunction with Outpatient Clinic for Refugee Children and their Families at the University Clinics of Hamburg-Eppendorf.
 
The special outpatient unit for children's psychiatry and psychotherapy treats refugee children from all over the world and their families. The majority of patients are from Afghanistan, southern Europe and West-African countries. Since its inception, approximately over 6,000 children have received treatment at the at different projects. Some of the active projects are in Kosovo, Eritrea, Mozambique and South Africa.

In 1999, Graf retired from the women's professional tennis tour with a World No. 3 ranking.  As a mother, wife, philanthropist and entrepreneur, she now works on building lifestyle businesses through endorsement relationships, joint venture investments and real estate development. 

She is married to former tennis superstar Andre Agassi.  The couple resides in Las Vegas with their children, Jaden Gil and Jaz Elle.

Ron Boreta

President, All American Sport Park, Inc.

Ronald S. Boreta has served as President of All American Sport Park, Inc., the parent company of All-American Golf Center, Inc. dba Callaway Golf Center, since 1992, and has been Chief Executive Officer since August 1994; and Director of the Board since its inception in 1984.

Mr. Boreta was the creative force behind Callaway Golf Center and All-American Sport Park, Inc. and has been the President and CEO since its inception.

From 1983 to 1995 Ron served as Chief Executive Officer of Sporting Life Inc., where he was the owner and operator of 75 golf shops that operated under the name of Las Vegas Discount Golf & Tennis.

Mr. Boreta and his brother John currently own four retail golf stores in the greater Las Vegas Valley.

Ron attended UNLV where he played as a member of the UNLV golf team.

Steve Miller

Chief Executive Officer, Agassi Graf Holdings

Steve Miller is the Chief Executive Officer of Agassi Graf Holdings.  In this newly created position, he is responsible for the leadership and operation of three for-profit entities plus one non-profit foundation.  Miller oversees staff and manages a financial portfolio of more than $100 million.  He is responsible for the coordination of business ventures and strategies, and personnel evaluations, as well as for managing and representing the Agassi Graf Lifestyle brand.

As CEO of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, Miller is responsible for the leadership and operation of the Foundation enterprise; managing the financial portfolio, and operating budget which includes the Andre Agassi Preparatory Academy.  He is a visionary, passionate and progressive leader with the broad institutional experience and the intellect necessary to motivate and lead a diverse team of professionals.  He participates personally and sets the example for dynamic, aggressive fundraising, manages foundation assets and effectively partners with the board of directors.

Miller brings a wealth of experience to these positions.  Most recently, he served as a senior analyst and adjunct professor at the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.  Acting as a key industry specialist, he worked with the Warsaw Center on a variety of initiatives, including industry outreach and research.

From 2000-2005, Miller was President & CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association in Seattle.  In his five years at the PBA, he was responsible for revamping the organization, bringing membership to an all-time high, negotiating two exclusive, three-year television deals with ESPN, and increasing sponsorship from two sponsors in 2000 to 17 for the 2004-05 PBA Tour season. 

Additionally, Miller is the Executive Chairman of Power Plate International which has a 100+ employees and operates in 66 countries.  His duties include global management, financial profit, and reorganization, including annual sales of approximately $60 million for a business with international market penetration in a globally challenging economic environment. 

Miller is also well known in the world of sports markting, having served as director of Global Sports Marketing during his 10 years at Nike.  While at Nike, Miller served in numerous positions, including Director of Athletics, Director of U.S. Sports Marketing, Director of Sports Marketing for the Asia Pacific Region and Director of NCAA Sports Marketing.  He also oversaw Nike’s $100 million investment in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

A former track and field star, Miller was named NCAA ‘Coach of the Year’ five times. He is a member of the Board of Directors of USA Track & Field, and of the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation. Miller is a highly sought-after lecturer on topics ranging from motivation to executive leadership. He has a B.S. in English literature and physical education from Bradley University, and an M.S. in physical education and biomechanical analysis from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Tracy Palandjian

Managing Director, The Parthenon Group

Tracy directs the nonprofit practice and chairs the Charitable Contributions Committee.  Her broad range of consulting experiences includes clients in both the private and nonprofit sectors.  More recently, she had worked with client in the nonprofit, foundation and public sectors, including organizing in education, advocacy, the arts, community development and social services.

Tracy’s previous work experience includes McKinsey & Company and Wellington Management, where Tracy managed mutual fund account relationships and advised clients in product development and portfolio strategies.

She is chair of the New England board of Facing History and Ourselves.  She also serves on the boards of Milton Academy, Harvard Business School Alumni, the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, the Robert F. Kennedy Center, the YK Pao School, and is a director of the Hong Kong Association of Massachusetts.

A native of Hong Kong, Tracy is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin.  She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, with a B.A. in economic, and received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School with high distinction, where she was a Baker Scholar.

Maureen Peckman

CEO, Keep Memory Alive

Maureen Peckman is the Chief Operating Officer for Keep Memory Alive, support organization for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She also leads a community-based organization, the Council for a Better Nevada, an organization comprised of Nevada’s leading CEO’s whose purpose is to engage private sector resources and ideas to positively impact Nevada issues of critical community interest.

Ms. Peckman is also a member of the Nevada Commission on Homeland Security, whose mission is to advise the governor on matters pertaining to the prevention, mitigation ad response to terrorism-related events. Maureen is also an active member of Conservation International as part of their Chairman’s Council, whose purpose is to pursue global conservation and is also a member of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board. Locally, Maureen serves on the Agassi Charter Academy school board and is Chairman of the Nevada Community Foundation. Ms. Peckman is a frequent media contributor to radio, print and TV on a variety of topics that include national security, conservation, public education reform and health care. Ms. Peckman graduated from the George Washington University in Washington D.C. with a B.S. in Sports Medicine and Exercise Physiology. Maureen has lived in Las Vegas since 1999 and is married with a daughter.

Julie Pippenger

Chief Operating Officer, Andre Agassi Foundation for Education

Julie Pippenger is the Chief Operating Officer of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, she joined the Foundation in 1997.  For two years, she also served as Chief Operating Officer for the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a Clark County independent public charter school. In these capacities, she was involved on a daily basis with myriad activities pertaining to both the Foundation and Agassi Prep, including overseeing design and construction of the school and subsequent expansions (a $40 million project), managing fiscal affairs, strategic planning, coordinating fund-raising efforts such as the annual Grand Slam For Children (which over the past 14 years has raised more than $70 million), and submitting grant applications to various funding sources.

Prior to her current position, Julie served as a special events supervisor for the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino’s Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and wrked on the Grand Slam for Children event, which eventually led her to join the Foundation in 1997.

Julie received her BS in Travel and Tourism from Niagara University in New York, and has served on numerous boards in the Las Vegas area, such as, the Boys & Girls Club of Las Vegas for which the Foundation funded and built the Andre Agassi Boys & Girls Club that opened in 1998.  Her contributions to the community have garnered several awards including the “Woman & Youth” award in 2000 as well as a “Hometown Heroes” award in 2006.

Gunlek Ruder

President, Agassi Graf Holdings

Gun Ruder is President of Agassi Graf Holdings (AGH), a private company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ruder is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Agassi Ventures and Stefanie Graf Ventures. AGH provides business management services for retired tennis stars Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf and is focused on building lifestyle businesses through endorsement relationships, joint venture investments and real estate development. Ruder also oversees the finance department at AGH, which includes financial management of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education.

Ruder is an experienced business strategist with extensive problem-solving and team leadership experience across a diverse set of industries and geographies. His deep experience in developing new business opportunities, strategy and analysis and project implementation is uniquely suited to running the ventures of Agassi and Graf. 

Prior to relocating to Las Vegas in 2005 to join AGH, Ruder worked for MBNA America Bank at its Wilmington, Delaware-based headquarters, as a senior member of the internal strategy group. In this capacity, Ruder was focused on diversifying the credit card company by developing financial products for consumers and small businesses. 

Upon earning his MBA in 1999 with a concentration in strategy and finance from Stanford University, Ruder was recruited to McKinsey & Company where he worked in the financial services and private equity industries in New York City. At McKinsey, Ruder managed large teams of consultants and clients in the areas of business development, strategic due diligence and project management. Some of his consulting successes include:
  •  Developing pricing strategies to increase private banking revenue by $150 million for a Fortune 100 financial institution.
  •  Creating business plans to grow market capitalization by $5 billion for a multi-national financial institution.
  •  Developing the plan for a $200 million asset management distribution business for a Global 400 bank.
  •  Leading the research and analysis for a multi-billion dollar private equity fund’s “no-go” decision for two telecommunications investments.   

Also while at McKinsey, Ruder was selected to lead associate recruiting at Stanford Business School and business analyst recruiting at Yale University.
 
Prior to attending Stanford Graduate School of Business, Ruder lived for a number of years in Japan working for Nittetsu Shoji, Nippon Steel’s primary trading company. There, he worked in project finance and management to develop the company’s natural resource business in Asia, Russia and South America.    

Ruder holds an MBA from Stanford University, and a BA in international relations and history from Georgetown University. He and his wife have three daughters.

Peter Rukeyser

Managing Director, UBS Private Wealth Management

Peter Rukeyser is a managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management in New York, where he advises a select group of ultra-high net worth families and foundations on asset allocation and comprehsive wealth management.  Prior to joining UBS, Peter was manging director in Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management group for 14 years.  Before attending business school, Rukeyser worked for Prudential Investment Corp in their Leveraged Buyout Group.  He received an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1995 and an A.B. in economics from Harvard College in 1990.

Rukeyser has been named to Barron’s Top 100 financial advisers in America for the last three years.  Worth Magazine names Peter to their 2009 Top Advisers List.  Research Magazine has recognized him among the top 10 advisor teams in America for the last four years running, and on On Wall Street Magazine has named Peter on its Top Advisers Under 40 List.

Peter is a supporter of Paul Newman’s Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Camps and resides in Rye, New York with his wife and two children.

Billy Vassiliadis

CEO, R&R Partners

Billy Vassiliadis is CEO of R&R Partners, Nevada's largest advertising and public relations agency. Ranked as one of the fastest growing independent agencies in the U.S. by Adweek magazine.

Under the guidance of Vassiliadis, R&R Partners has redefined the practice of travel and tourism marketing. R&R created and developed the "What happens here, stays here" campaign for Las Vegas and received the coveted Brandweek "Grand Marketer of the Year" award.

R&R Partners has also provided the Andre Agassi Foundation with substantial pro bono public relations and marketing services for many years.

He has guided a number of successful political campaigns, including two terms for former Gov. Bob Miller (D-NV) and the first senate race for former U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan (D-NV).