Keith Dawkins

Award-winning, strategist and creative Keith Dawkins serves as President, Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios; he is charged with the overall day-to-day operations of both entities. In his role, he spearheads the brands’ ongoing evolution from a live event business, spanning 124 countries across six continents, to a global branded entertainment force.

Dawkins has led the organization’s growth and expansion across media/entertainment, consumer products, commercial partnerships, corporate social responsibility, digital/social media, and through a variety of strategic partnerships that are re-energizing its global footprint. He orchestrated a content deal with Hearst Media Production Group, which returned the Globetrotters to television for the first time in 40 years with the twice Emmy® Award nominated hit NBC weekly series “Harlem Globetrotters: Play it Forward.” Additional content development partners include Hidden Pictures, Atmosphere TV, Reach TV, Grey Television, Composition Media, Sesame and many others. Dawkins has also solidified deals with IMG as the exclusive licensing/merchandising partner as well as with Excel Sports as the Globetrotters official commercial partner.

Under his leadership he has steered the global organization to 3 consecutive years of revenue and EBITDA growth, leading to audience expansion across its owned and operated and partner platforms – as well as its successful return to Asia in Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Dawkins also launched The Goodwill Ambassador Initiative, Harlem Globetrotters first-ever Corporate & Social Responsibility program. The initiative focuses on the strategic pillars of Health & Wellness, Education, and Community Empowerment, and has created partnerships with the U.S. State Department, Microsoft, Comic Relief/Red Nose Day, the United Nations and Campus Multimedia to name a few.

Dawkins is also the sole proprietor of Rock Hill Media Ventures (RHMV), the media company he founded in 2018. RHMV strategic partners have included the National Basketball Players Association, Believe Entertainment Group, 9Story Media Group, Sutikki, Toonz Media Group, and Battat Entertainment Group.

Previously, Dawkins served as EVP, World Golf Foundation and Chief Executive Officer of The First Tee and he also served 17 years at Paramount (formerly Viacom) serving as Nickelodeon’s first ever General Manager for the Nicktoons Network. Over the years he rose within the organization to Executive Vice President where his purview included overseeing TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick Jr. and NickMusic channels, and launching a Nick Sport initiative.

He serves on the Board of Governors of Ramapo College of New Jersey, where he also serves as an Adjunct Professor. A graduate of the CTAM Executive Management Program at Harvard Business School and the NAMIC Executive Leadership Program at UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management, Dawkins holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Ramapo College. He currently resides in Ridgewood, NJ with his wife and two sons.