Alex Rodriguez to keynote SPECS 2026

One of Major League Baseball’s biggest superstars turned successful business entrepreneur will deliver the opening keynote at Chain Store Age’s annual SPECS Show, March 8–10, at the Gaylord National in National Harbor, Md.

Alex Rodriguez, the 14-time MLB All-Star and 2009 New York Yankees World Series Champion, merged his love of sports and business to create the investment firm A-Rod Corp. As chairman and CEO, Rodriguez partners with world-class startups and leading global companies across real estate, sports and entertainment. 

He also founded A-Rod Media, which offers multimedia capabilities across all marketing platforms.

Rodriguez recently became the co-chairman of the National Basketball Association’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the Women's National Basketball Association’s Minnesota Lynx.

Rodriguez also serves as a strategic advisor to the Professional Fighters League and is an investor in the multi-club soccer organization Blue Crow Sports.

In addition to being an Emmy Award-winning MLB analyst for Fox Sports, Rodriguez has been a guest investor on ABC’s Shark Tank, and mentored financially-distressed ex-athletes on CNBC’s Back in the Game.

 He also co-hosts the video series The Deal, interviewing CEOs, entrepreneurs and sports legends. And he recently wrapped his seventh year as a guest lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches a class called Strategic Pivoting. 

Committed to creating opportunities for young people, Rodriguez serves on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of America and is in the National Alumni Hall of Fame, and the Boards of Trustees of the University of Miami. His gifts to the University of Miami and Florida International University have provided scholarships to dozens of students.

Rodriguez will discuss his journey in sports, his role as business leader — and share lessons on how strategic pivoting can build success — during his keynote at SPECS on Monday, March 9!

To register for SPECS, click here.