Palmer Trinity School

E VA N Z E D E R ' 0 1 T O O K T HE S TA G E AT R A C Q UE T X , E N G A G IN G IN A C O MP E L L IN G C O N V E R S AT I O N O N INN O VAT I O N A ND T HE E V O LV IN G C ULT UR E O F S P O R T. R E P R E S E N T IN G NE W B A L A N C E , Z E D E R S H A R E D IN S I G H T S O N T HE IN T E R S E C T I O N O F P E R F O R M A N C E , FA S HI O N , A ND B R A ND ID E N T I T Y IN T HE T E NNI S IND U S T R Y ' S E V E R - C H A N G IN G L A ND S C A P E . He credits his time at Palmer Trinity for laying the groundwork for his success, not just in sports, but in navigating life's many transitions. After graduating from Palmer Trinity in 2001, Evan continued his tennis career at the University of Illinois, joining a fiercely driven team that went on to win the 2003 NCAA Championship, four consecutive Big Ten titles, and set the NCAA record with 64 straight victories. "We had a chip on our shoulder," Evan laughs. "We were a team full of players who pushed each other constantly. It was intense, but it was also the environment I needed." While tennis had always been his focus, Evan wasn't immediately sure what his next step would be after college. He dabbled in real estate before joining a friend's tennis apparel start-up, eventually leading him to New Balance, where he found the ideal mix of entrepreneurial spirit and global impact. Today, Evan serves as the Director of Global Sports Marketing for Tennis and Baseball at New Balance, where he oversees strategy, athlete partnerships, and product development. He has played a pivotal role in shaping relationships with some of the world's top athletes, including Coco Gauff and Shohei Ohtani. Evan signed Coco Gauff when she was just 14 years old. Now, she is a US Open Champion and the youngest woman in 20 years to win the World Tour Final. He works closely with her to co-develop her brand, and most recently helped launch her 2 nd signature sneaker, The Coco Delray. It follows the CG1 and CG2 as the first and only signature shoe for a current player in all of tennis, a major milestone in their partnership. Evan also led two major campaigns this year celebrating both Coco and Shohei. Each campaign had its own unique product launches, activations, and messaging tailored to the athletes' individual stories. For Shohei, it marked his return to Japan as a Major League Baseball World Series Champion, along with the evolution of his signature line. The campaign culminated in a highly successful launch of the Shohei Ohtani Collection in Tokyo, which sold out 68 PALMERTRINITY.ORG A L U M N I N E W S

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