Lunar Accel 2025 Opening Keynote: Alex Chang (first-ever CMO, SF 49ers)

Join the Asian American professional community at Lunar Accel's Spring 2025 Accelerator Opening Keynote!

Join Lunar Accel, the premier 501(c)(3) nonprofit leadership program for early-career East/Southeast Asian Americans, for a fireside conversation with Alex Chang (first-ever CMO, San Francisco 49ers) on Sunday March 23rd 2:30-5pm in NYC! Hear from Alex on how he:

💼 Started his career at EY before rising through the ranks at American Express, becoming vice president of sports and entertainment marketing
🏈 Became a trailblazer as the first-ever CMO of the San Francisco 49ers—and as one of the very few Asian American pro sports executives—where he led the “Faithful to the Bay” campaign among others
🙌 Gives back to the community as a board member at Pro Sports Assembly, a non-profit promoting diversity and inclusion across pro sports

The event will be moderated by William Mao, SVP of Global Media Rights at Octagon.

Agenda

• 2:30 - 2:45PM -- Guest check-in
• 2:45 - 4:00 PM -- Fireside chat with Alex Chang, Senior Advisor and first-ever CMO of the SF 49ers
• 4:00 - 5:00 PM -- Social hour

Dress code: Smart casual 

*2025 Accelerator Fellows - please refer to the email for obtaining your Opening Keynote ticket

About Alex Chang:

Alex Chang is in his sixth season with the 49ers and currently serves as Senior Advisor to the President. Prior to this, Alex served as the team's first CMO for the past five seasons. During this time, his team included brand, design, social, digital, content, game presentation, events, corporate communications, and public affairs.

Since joining the 49ers, Alex has spearheaded the "Faithful to The Bay" brand campaign, the team's 75th Anniversary campaign, and the return of the '94 red throwback jerseys. He has also led successful bids to the NFL which earned the 49ers global marketing rights in Mexico and the UK. His team's efforts in Mexico earned a Best in Sports Social Media nomination from the Sports Business Journal. Alex also served on the Bay Area Host Committee where he was part of core team that secured successful bids to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Super Bowl LX.

A veteran of more than two decades in brand marketing, Alex is an influential player in the sports marketing industry. Prior to joining the 49ers, he served as the head of partnership marketing for Samsung. Prior to that, Alex worked at elite marketing agencies. He was vice president at Wasserman, where he advised global brands on their sports and entertainment partnerships. He also served as vice president at IMG College.

Alex became an industry expert at American Express, where he spent 13 years in various marketing roles, including vice president of sports and entertainment marketing and vice president of U.S. advertising. He also served on the executive leadership team at American Express, which created Small Business Saturday. Alex began his career at Ernst & Young as a senior strategy consultant.

While with the 49ers, Alex was awarded an Adweek CMO Vanguard Award and was named to the Gold House A100 list, honoring the 100 Asians and Pacific Islanders who had the most impact on culture and society. He was previously named to the SBJ's Forty Under 40 and Power Players lists. His work has been recognized by awards from organizations including the Cannes Lions, Effies, CLIOs, Webby, Shorty, and Event Marketer. Alex is also a founding board member of PRO Sports Assembly, a non-profit trade group focused on increasing diversity and inclusion across professional sports.

Alex is a native of North Carolina and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Emory University in Atlanta. He and his wife, Menaka, have three children and reside in New Jersey.

About Lunar Accel:

Lunar Accel is a NYC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the premier, first-of-its-kind career accelerator dedicated to building the next generation of East and Southeast Asian American leadership. Throughout year-round events and our flagship career accelerators, we organize speaker events with Asian American founders and business leaders, executive coaching workshops, and social and cultural events, enabling early-career young professionals to hone key career skills, expand their professional network, and advance their career past the “bamboo ceiling.” Our past speakers include Laurie Lam (Chief Brand Officer, e.l.f. Beauty), Eric Chan (CFO, LA Clippers), Amy Zhou (Partner & Director of Operations, Cote Steakhouse), Christine Chang (Co-founder and Co-CEO, Glow Recipe), and more. For more details about Lunar Accel, please visit lunaraccel.org.

Lunar Accel, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization incorporated in the state of New York. Our EIN is 92-1538184. All contributions are tax-deductible for income, gift, and estate taxes.