Guest Speaker - CJ Olivares

Please join us on May 20th as our guest speaker will be CJ Olivares.

CJ Olivares is General Manager and Senior Vice President of FUEL TV, the first and only action sports network of its kind launched by Fox Cable Networks on July 1, 2003. In this role, he works closely with Fox Networks Group’s advertising and affiliate sales groups to accelerate FUEL TV’s revenue growth, identifying new sources of income such as broadband and wireless content distribution, and liaising with the Fox International Entertainment Channels Group to develop localized versions of FUEL TV in major territories around the world. Additionally, Olivares oversees day-to-day operations of the programming, production and marketing departments.

Before joining FUEL TV in December 2002, Olivares served as CEO of the Broadband Interactive Group (BIG), the multi-media company responsible for “Bluetorch,” and also advised Extreme Group Ltd on their own expansion across the action sports genre. He first came to Fox as director of program development and acquisition for FSN (Fox Sports Net) in 1997, where he developed the action sports franchise “Rush Hour” programming block before joining BIG in 1999.

A graduate of University of California Los Angeles in political science, Olivares became editor of Triathlete Magazine in 1984, while also photographing sports, fashion and personalities for Nike, Oakley, Glamour, Sports Illustrated, Sportswear International and CNN. He became editorial director of Triathlete in 1988 and then director of development for Inclyne Sports, a pioneer in packaging and producing sponsor-driven television events including ABC’s Foot Locker Slam Fest and Ride of Your Life Mountain Bike Race. He became director of operations for FSN predecessor Prime Sports’ Event Group in 1996, supervising the creation and execution of 75 annual sports events and 150 hours of complementary television programming including the Bud Pro Surf Tour, Miller Lite AVP Volleyball, HPAC Surf Series and Steinlager Championship Rugby.

Olivares, a passionate lifelong surfer, lives with his wife and three daughters in Manhattan Beach, California.