Education

An entrepreneur in every sense of the word, Daymond John has come a long way from taking out a $100,000 mortgage on his mother’s house and moving his business operation into its basement. John is CEO and Founder of FUBU, a much-celebrated global lifestyle brand, and a pioneer in the fashion industry with billions in product sales world-wide. Former President Barack Obama appointed Daymond John a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) to harness his energy, ideas, and experience to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs both at home and abroad.

John is an award-winning entrepreneur and has received 100s of awards including the Brand Week Marketer of the Year, Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and was named #2 on LinkedIn’s Top 20 Voices, a list of the top influencers, who are using their voice to help us analyze today’s changing world of work, navigate our industries, and find balance. Most recently, Real Leaders Magazine ranked Daymond John oneoftheTop20 Keynote Speakers in the World for2024!

His marketing strategies and ability to build successful brands has made him a highly influential consultant and motivational speaker today. His marketing firm The Shark Group offers advice on how to effectively communicate to consumers through innovative means and connects brands with the world’s top celebrities for everything from endorsements to product extensions.

John is also an author of 6 best-selling books including his New York Times best-sellers, The Power of Broke (2016) and Rise and Grind (2018).He released his fifth book, Powershiftin2020 that walks through his tried-and-true process of how to transform any situation, close any deal and achieve any out- come. John's most recent book, Little Daymond Learns to Earn (2023) is his first for kids, reached the New York Times and Amazon best-seller list the first week of its release. The book addresses the current void of educating our children about money in a fun and engaging story for parents and kids to connect. John’s mission is to continue challenging the status quo and leave a lasting legacy of inspiring other leaders to do the same..

Finally, John is celebrating his 17th season on ABC TV’s critically acclaimed business reality show Shark Tank by renowned producer Mark Burnett, which has reinvigorated entrepreneurship around the world. Shark Tank has now gone on to win five Emmy® in the US and millions of weekly viewers world-wide tune into the show as John demonstrates his marketing prowess and entrepreneurial insights.

Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, and Emmy Award winner Nicole Kidman first came to the attention of American audiences with her critically acclaimed performance in Phillip Noyce’s riveting 1989 Australian psychological thriller Dead Calm. Kidman has since become an internationally recognized, award-winning actress and producer known for her range and versatility.

Kidman won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Virginia Woolf in Stephen Daldry’s The Hours, for which she also won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. She has also been honored with Academy Award nominations for her performances in Baz Luhrmann’s innovative musical, Moulin Rouge!, John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole, Garth Davis’ Lion, and Aaron Sorkin’s Being The Ricardos. Kidman also served as a producer on Rabbit Hole, the first feature film produced under her production company, Blossom Films.

Kidman took home her first Golden Globe for her performance in Gus Van Sant’s To Die For. Her next Golden Globe came in 2002 when she was nominated for both Best Actress in a Musical for Moulin Rouge! and Best Actress in a Drama for Alejandro Amenabar’s psychological thriller, The Others, winning for Best Actress in a Musical. Kidman’s most recent Golden Globe win was for her performance as Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos, for which she also earned SAG and Critics choice nominations. She has also received Golden Globe nominations for the films Billy Bathgate, Cold Mountain, Birth, Rabbit Hole, The Paperboy, Lion, and Destroyer.

Kidman’s other feature credits include Eyes Wide Shut, Nine, Killing of a Sacred Deer, Beguiled, Boy Erased, Aquaman, Bombshell, The Prom, The Northman, and A Family Affair. In 2024, Kidman received critical acclaim for her work in Halina Reijn’s Babygirl. Her performance earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, a Golden Globe nomination, and she was named Best Actress of 2024 by The National Board of Review.

Kidman reunited with Sandra Bullock to star in and produce the much anticipated sequel of Practical Magic for Warner Brothers.

In television, Kidman starred in HBO’s Hemingway and Gellhorn alongside Clive Owen in 2012 for which she received Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe nominations. In 2017, Kidman returned to the small screen with the limited series Big Little Lies alongside Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz, and Shailene Woodley for HBO, co-executive produced by Blossom Films. Kidman received Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal of Celeste. Big Little Lies also received an Emmy Award, Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for Outstanding Limited Series. The second season of the series premiered in June 2019 and the producing team is currently in development on a third season.

Nicole was nominated for a Golden Globe and SAG Award for her role in HBO’s The Undoing opposite Hugh Grant, where she also received recognition for her role as an executive producer on the series along with her Blossom Films, nominated for a PGA Award in the category Outstanding Producer of a Limited Series. Kidman and her Blossom Films have also produced acclaimed limited series including Nine Perfect Strangers, Roar, Love & Death, and Expats. Kidman starred in the second season of the Paramount+ original series Lioness, for which she also serves as an executive producer (she will start production on the third season this year). She also starred and Blossom Films executive produced The Perfect Couple for Netflix; the project held the #1 title on the streaming platform for multiple weeks after its premiere. In 2025, Kidman and Blossom Films produced Holland for Prime video which Kidman also starred in; the film was #1 globally on the platform in its opening weekend. Blossom Films recently wrapped production on Margo’s Got Money Trouble for Apple TV+ and A24; Kidman will be featured in the series starring Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeifer. Kidman and Blossom Films next project to be released is the first season of Scarpetta for Prime video; Kidman will star in the series opposite Jamie Lee Curtis.

In theater, Kidman made a highly-lauded London stage debut in the fall of 1998, starring with Iain Glen in The Blue Room, David Hare’s modern adaptation of Schnitzler’s La Ronde. For her performance, Kidman won London’s Evening Standard Award and was nominated in the Best Actress category for a Laurence Olivier Award. In 2015, Kidman was seen on the West End stage in Anna Ziegler’s Photograph 51, for which she received a London’s Evening Standard Award.

Kidman was awarded Australia’s highest honor, the Companion in the Order of Australia. She was also named, and continues to serve, as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women. In addition, Kidman has helped raise millions over the years for the Women’s Cancer Program at Stanford as well as the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. In 2017, the Cannes Film Festival honored Kidman with a special award for her body of work and longstanding history with the festival. She is one of only eight people to ever receive this honor in the 70-year history of the festival. In 2024, Kidman became the 49th recipient of the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award, their highest honor for a career in film and the first Australian to receive this honor.

In his 28 seasons as a collegiate head coach, Saban’s uncompromising dedication to excellence garnered him 7 national championships, 11 SEC Championships (9 at Alabama and 2 at LSU), and 9 National Coach of the Year awards. Saban compiled a 297-71-1 (.806) record, including a 206-29 (.877) mark in Tuscaloosa. He achieved resounding success as a head coach and earned a reputation as an outstanding tactician, leader, organizer, and motivator. Those qualities sparked impressive turnarounds at every stop of his career. Saban’s consistent approach and disciplined leadership known as “The Process”, are the reasons his teams are recognized for exhibiting grit, determination, and resilience, often overcoming adversity to achieve victory.

The 2021 season proved to one of Saban’s best coaching jobs, taking an Alabama team that lost 10 players to the NFL Draft – including eight in the first 38 picks and six in the first round – and leading them to an SEC Championship. The 2021 squad also used a victory in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl to earn a spot in the 2022 CFP National Championship Game for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Winning its 9th SEC Championship under Saban’s guidance (his 11th SEC title overall) with a dominating 41-24 win over No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta, they earned Alabama it’s seventh College Football Playoff berth in eight years and a bid to the Cotton Bowl. The Tide dispatched of the Bearcats 27-6 in Dallas to advance to the National Championship where Georgia scored 20 fourth-quarter points for a come-from-behind 33-18 win in the CFP National Championship Game. Alabama finished with a 13-2 record and a No. 2 national ranking that included a 7-1 mark in SEC play. UA finished sixth nationally in scoring offense (39.9 ppg) and 18thin scoring defense (20.1 ppg) while ranking seventh in both total offense (488.2 ypg) and total defense (304.1 ypg).

Saban’s second season in Tuscaloosa in 2008, the Tide has played just three regular-season games in which it hasn’t been in contention for the national championship – the final three regular season games of the 2010 season – a staggering 163 of 166 games, while posting an astounding 176-19 (.903) record, including an 102-12 (.895) mark in regular season conference play.

In Saban’s 6 national championship seasons at Alabama, his teams went 21-2 against top-10 opponents, and, since 2008, the Crimson Tide is 35-12 overall against top-10 teams.  Alabama has also been ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll for at least one week for 14 straight years, which broke the record of seven established by Miami (1986-92). In honor of his exceptional success, Coach Saban was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2025 class, becoming the fifth Alabama Coach elected to the Hall of Fame.

In 1998, during their time at Michigan State University, Nick and Terry Saban established Nick's Kids Foundation in honor of the late Nick Saban, Sr. Since then, the Sabans have maintained and supported their charity throughout their careers at Louisiana State University, the Miami Dolphins and at the University of Alabama. As the official charity of the Saban Family, Nick and Terry invest their time in hosting luncheons, golf tournaments, scrimmages, and other events to benefit the cause. They are also active in the annual Giveaway Luncheon, which serves to distribute grants to support children, family, teacher and student causes. Nick and Terry also recently started the Saban Center, which is a first-of-its-kind STEAM campus where education, experience, and innovation meet. It includes community partners at TCT and IGNITE, formerly Children's Hands-On Museum, plus public-private educational partnerships spanning the state of Alabama. Saban Center will be a hub for education training, arts participation and academic support for teachers and families alike.

A native of Monongah, W. Va., Saban is a 1973 graduate of Kent State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business. He earned a master’s degree in sports administration from Kent State in 1975. Born Oct. 31, 1951, Saban and his wife, the former Terry Constable, have two children, Nicholas and Kristen. They have been married for over 50 years and are enjoying the company of their friends, children, granddaughter Amélie, daughter-in-law Samira, and grandson James.