Kevin Carroll
Author
Kevin Carroll is the founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC and the author of three highly successful books published by ESPN, Disney Press and McGraw-Hill. As an author, speaker and agent for social change (a.k.a. the Katalyst), it is Kevin's "job" to inspire businesses, organizations and individuals - from CEOs and employees of Fortune 500 companies to schoolchildren - to embrace their spirit of play and creativity to maximize their human potential and sustain more meaningful business and personal growth.
Raised by his grandparents in Philadelphia, Kevin spent endless hours at the neighborhood playground where he found his calling: a red rubber ball. His subsequent pursuit of play and his "red rubber ball" took him overseas with the Air Force, where he served as a language interpreter and translator, gaining fluency in Croatian, Czech, Serbian, and German.
After serving in the Air Force for ten years and earning his college degree, Kevin became an athletic trainer at the high school and collegiate levels in Philadelphia. His expertise in sport performance recognized by the 76ers organization and led to his job as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1995. While at the 76ers, Nike tapped Kevin to bring his unique experiences to the sneaker giant in 1997. Although no job "officially" existed at the time, Kevin was directed to create a position at the company that would add value to the overall mission of the brand. Kevin accepted the challenge and stayed for seven years as "Katalyst" (the 'K' is for Kevin) - a creative change agent. At Nike, he was instrumental in helping the company develop a deeper understanding of athletic product performance, team dynamics and interpersonal communication. Kevin left Nike in 2004 to create his own company, Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC, committed to elevating the power of sport and play around the world.
In May of 2005, a notable moment occurred when Kevin addressed dignitaries from 31 nations at the United Nations about the importance of play in their developing countries. Kevin is also heavily involved with many social entrepreneur organizations that use sports as a catalyst to change lives.
Kevin self-published his first book, Rules of The Red Rubber Ball, which Newsweek called "...an adult's version of Dr. Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go! - a pocket-size guide to finding your way in life." ESPN loved the book so much they bought the rights to the book in 2005. With the support of ESPN Books, Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, Find and Sustain Your Life's Work has over 120,000 books in print and is in its fourth printing already. Rules was featured in BusinessWeek's "Champions in Innovation" of 2006.
ESPN Books and Disney Press published Kevin's second book, What's Your Red Rubber Ball?!, Discover Your Inspiration and Chase it for a Lifetime in July, 2008. Kevin's third book, The Red Rubber Ball At Work, Elevate Your Game Through the Hidden Power of Play, published by McGRaw-Hill was released in November 2008.
As the founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst/LLC, Kevin has helped turn creative ideas into reality for organizations such as ESPN, Nike, Starbucks (his words appeared on 17 million Grande cups), The Walt Disney Company, Mattel, Paramount Television, Procter & Gamble, The Discovery Channel, Capital One, and many others.
He is also Partner and Katalyst at TAOW, a modern marketing agency that builds relationships between consumer brands and their core user groups. TAOW provides high-value experiential campaigns that are unlike traditional marketing solutions.
Kevin holds an MS in Health Education from St. Joseph's University and a BA in Speech Communication with a minor in Physical Education from Angelo State University. Kevin is a frequent visiting professor across the United States.
Kevin lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and family. When he's not speaking to business leaders or students, you can find him going to the movies or working at mastering the cello.
To learn more about Kevin visit his website: www.kevincarrollkatalyst.com
