Dana Schmitt, General Counsel
Dana L. Schmitt, General Counsel, is an accomplished and talented executive and attorney who provides leadership, expertise and creativity to the entire General Sports and Entertainment operation and its affiliated companies. Dana helped to launch General Sports Venue in 2003, and she oversees all legal matters for General Sports Venue.
Dana also serves as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of all General Sports divisions and projects, as well as legal matters. She provides guidance with respect to the strategic development of General Sports as the cutting-edge leader in the sports and entertainment industry.
Dana is actively involved in the Team Acquisition and Management Division. She played a key role in decisions made with respect to General Sports’ management of the Fort Wayne Wizards Minor League Baseball team, which was sold in 2006, and she is involved in the investigation of potential new team acquisitions. Dana’s comprehensive understanding of the sports industry enables General Sports to maximize franchise opportunities.
In conjunction with Andy Appleby, Dana created the Sports Executive Leadership Conference in 2001 – the premier annual networking and leadership conference for the sports industry’s most influential executives. The 7th annual Sports Executive Leadership Conference will be taking place in July 2007 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO. Dana also spearheaded the development of General Sports’ GSE Meetings & Events Division, and she is responsible for management of the division. The division has staged everything from employee recognition conferences for international conglomerates to intimate black tie affairs for the executive teams of local organizations.
In 2006, Dana worked with General Sports Chairman Andy Appleby to launch two new ventures. In August 2006, General Sports Alliances was established as a General Sports subsidiary focused on naming rights and sponsorship sales and consulting services. General Sports Alliances is based in Denver, CO and is led by President Chris Foy. In November 2006, Dana worked with Andy Appleby to acquire the assets of two companies that were merged into a new entity called US Energia. US Energia is the first non-sports related venture started by General Sports. The business is focused on providing technical services for DC batteries and uninterruptible power supply for various industries, with a heavy focus on the telecommunications industry, as well as technical and engineering services for the automotive industry. US Energia is led by Chief Executive Officer Jeff Moss.
Dana also played an integral role in the establishment of the General Sports Foundation in 2000, for which she serves as Secretary and a member of the Board of Trustees. The Michigan 501(c)(3) foundation is dedicated to adding value to the community, and has provided assistance to organizations such as Special Olympics, the Detroit Inner City Games, the Youth Sports and Recreation Commission and Metro Detroit Youth Day. In 2001, the General Sports Foundation launched its banner program called the Suite Dreams Project, which has a mission of creating healing environments in pediatric hospital facilities, community homes and private residences of children with serious, chronic illnesses. In August 2001, Hour Detroit magazine honored the program with its Portrait of Hope Award, and the Suite Dreams Project also has been featured in People Magazine and in Oprah’s O Magazine.
Prior to joining General Sports and Entertainment in 1999, Dana worked in Chicago, Illinois for the law firm of Blatt, Hammesfahr & Eaton, where she represented Lloyd’s of London Syndicates and various insurers and reinsurers in the London international insurance market. She is currently licensed to practice law in Michigan and Illinois. Dana received her Juris Doctor degree in 1995 from the University of Michigan Law School. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1992, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, received the William J. Branstrom Freshman Prize for academic excellence, and was the only female in her graduating class to make the Dean’s List every semester. She also participated in the University of Michigan’s Public Service Intern Program and completed an internship in the Washington D.C. office of United States Senator Carl Levin.
In addition to serving on the Board of Trustees of the General Sports Foundation / Suite Dreams Project, Dana also serves on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Cancer Research Foundation, and on the Advisory Board of Directors of the Founders Junior Council of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
