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Business Leader Doug Conant Named 2019 ITA Achievement Award Winner

TEMPE, Ariz. (July 10) - Doug Conant, alumnus of Northwestern University’s Class of 1973, and J.L. Kellogg School of Management’s Class of 1976, will receive a prestigious honor from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) when he is presented with the 2019 ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award September 7 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s (ITHF) Board of Governors Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. The ceremony will be hosted by the ITHF and presented by Rolex Watch, U.S.A.

Stan Smith, President of the ITHF, will present the award along with David A Benjamin, ITA Chairman Emeritus; Timothy Russell, ITA Chief Executive Officer and a representative from Rolex Watch U.S.A. Conant will be presented a distinctive, personally engraved, Rolex timepiece, invited to watch a session of the 2019 US Open from the President’s Suite, courtesy of the USTA, and recognized during the ITHF’s Legends Ball.

“The Intercollegiate Tennis Association is thrilled to recognize Doug Conant as the recipient of the 2019 ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award,” Russell said. “The ITA’s mission is to serve college tennis, advance our sport, and return the leaders of tomorrow. Doug is a shining example of a student-athlete taking the tools and experience gained on the tennis courts and in the classrooms and applying them throughout a distinguished professional career.”

Now in its 26th year, the ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award pays tribute each year to past participants in the world of varsity tennis who have achieved excellence in their chosen careers. The spirit of the award honors both professional success and contributions to society, made either as a direct result of a career, or through humanitarian efforts. In 2015, Margie and Stan Smith endowed the ITA Achievement Award in honor of Benjamin.

“We are very proud to partner with the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Rolex Watch U.S.A. to honor Doug Conant as the 2019 ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award laureate,” Benjamin said. “And we would also like to thank once again Margie and Stan Smith, for their generous endowment donation for this most special award.”

Conant was a four-year starter on the Northwestern University men’s tennis team where he played at No. 1 singles and doubles and earned a political science degree before graduating from the University’s J.L. Kellogg School of Management. He then went on to become an internationally renowned c-suite business leader, New York Times bestselling author, keynote speaker, and social media influencer with over 45 years of leadership experience at world-class global companies.

On his learning that he is the 2019 ITA David A Benjamin Achievement Award, Conant said:

“The sport of tennis has been transformational to my life journey. It took a shy young man and helped him find his way in a fiercely competitive world—teaching me the values of honor, hard work, integrity, self-reliance, and perseverance in the face of adversity. Throughout it all, I have found that the more I give back to tennis, the more I continue to get from it, reaping rewards of continuous learning, growth, and personal fulfillment. I greatly admire how the USTA and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association are advancing the same bedrock values with the youth of today, helping to develop conscientious and diligent leaders of tomorrow.”

Posted on July 10, 2019
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