Press Release: NFL and MLT Join Forces

MLT Teams with NFL to Develop Minority Talent for C-Suite Level Positions

September 24, 2009 (New York, NY) - Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a national non-profit that has made ground-breaking progress developing the next generation of African American, Hispanic and Native American leaders in major corporations, non-profit organizations and entrepreneurial ventures is pleased to announce that they will team with the NFL to develop and recruit high-potential, diverse business talent. The relationship seeks to address the problem of under-representation of minorities at the c-suite level in corporate America. The NFL will work with undergraduates within MLT's Career Prep program to help expose these talented young people to career opportunities with the NFL and set them on the fast-track to success.

MLT (www.ml4t.org) has had tremendous success to date in preparing minorities to achieve at the highest levels academically and professionally. Their formalized training programs work with talented minorities from across the country to prepare them for admission into the top colleges, business schools, and leadership positions in corporations, non-profits and entrepreneurial ventures.

MLT's partnerships with companies in a variety of sectors, from finance to technology to entertainment, expose African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans to careers and professional opportunities of which they may have otherwise been unaware. Furthermore, MLT's training programs equip minorities with the hard and soft skills, career roadmaps, coaches, mentors, and door-opening relationships required to become high-impact business and community leaders.

Since opening its doors in 2002, MLT has become the leading source for minority talent in academics and business. Ninety-five percent of MLT's Fellows in the Career Prep program secured a job upon graduation in 2009 and MLT's MBA Prep program is the number one source of minority students for the top business schools in the country.

"Ask any established businessperson and they'll agree that the key tools to their success were learned on the job or through informal networks, instead of in the classroom," said John Rice, MLT's founder and CEO. "Our relationship with the NFL creates an exciting opportunity for our Career Prep Fellows to gain exposure to career opportunities and career paths in the sports and entertainment industry. The NFL relationship will provide our Fellows with access to valuable mentors who can share their insights on what skills are required to be successful at the NFL and across the sports and entertainment industry."

NFL professionals will participate in MLT's Career Prep workshops across the country, expose fellows to careers with the NFL through internships, provide mentorship and guidance for Fellows, and help create a career path for Fellows pursuing careers at the NFL.

"We know that MLT will help us to attract the most talented future leaders with a real interest in sports and entertainment," said Nancy Gill, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at the NFL. "We're excited to be a part of such a groundbreaking program and are looking forward to contributing to MLT's Career Prep program to help develop the sports and entertainment leaders of tomorrow."

About MLT: Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) is a national nonprofit that develops African American, Hispanic and Native American young people for leadership positions in corporations, non-profits and entrepreneurial ventures where these minority groups are dramatically under-represented. In partnership with the top MBA programs and several blue-chip corporations (including Goldman Sachs, Kraft, Hewlett Packard, Target and General Mills), MLT delivers programming at the critical career transition points: high school to college, college to early career, early career to MBA, and MBA to executive leadership.

MLT equips high-potential minority talent with the hard and soft skills they need to succeed in corporations, nonprofits, and entrepreneurial ventures. With over 500 Career Prep alumni and 1,000 MBA Prep alumni to date, MLT is creating a generation of high-impact business and community leaders that will have the skills, relationships, capital, and commitment needed to make a difference in their communities. Learn more at www.ml4t.org.