INDUSTRY CONSULTANTS
Ben Porter
Ben Porter is a highly experienced figure in the racquet sports industry, with a career spanning over two
decades. He is the co-owner and General Manager of Master Athletics, a leading company in Platform
Tennis, as well as the founder of Ben Porter Consulting, where he leverages his extensive expertise in
product development, marketing, strategy, and industry trends. Originally from London, England, Ben moved to the U.S. in 2000 on a tennis scholarship to Tusculum College, before transferring to Methodist University to pursue the Professional Tennis Management (PTM) program. His passion for tennis and sports management led him to a career in coaching, where he taught at several country clubs in Connecticut. Ben later earned a master’s degree in Sports Business Management from Manhattanville College in 2008, while also coaching the men’s and women’s tennis teams. Ben’s career took a significant turn in 2011 when he joined Prince Sporting Goods as a sales representative. After making several product suggestions, he transitioned into product development, eventually managing Viking Athletics and Ektelon for Prince. His expertise and leadership in this role opened the door for his 2015 position at Wilson Sporting Goods as a Global Product Manager. Over the next six years, Ben played a pivotal role in developing products across a variety of racquet sports, including badminton, squash, padel, pickleball and platform tennis. He was also involved in the development of the Baiardo stringing machines and managed both Luxilon and Wilson string lines.
In 2021, Ben founded Ben Porter Consulting to offer his knowledge and strategic insights to companies
in the racquet sports sector. Shortly after, he joined Master Athletics as a co-owner, where he continues
to drive innovation and lead the company’s expansion into new racket sports markets, including
pickleball, tennis and squash.
Ben’s career is marked by his deep industry knowledge, his ability to drive product development, and his
commitment to growing the racquet sports community.
Mark Gonzalez
Mark is one of the most respected names in the industry when it comes to customer service and in fact, is a role model for others to follow. Marks knowledge of stringing machines ranks among the very best in the industry. Mark is a MRT (Master Racquet Technician) with the USRSA (United States Racquet Stringers Association) and a certification tester for the USRSA as well. Mark began his career in the industry in 1985 in Corpus Christi Texas by working 8 years at Nevada Bob’s Golf and Tennis. In 1993 he moved to Alpha Racquet Sports where he remains today. Mark is without a doubt the number one reason behind Alpha’s renowned reputation for outstanding customer care and service after the sale. In recent years Mark has taken a position with Yonex and continues to work as an outside rep with the company. Mark has partnered with J.C. Carpentier of Tennis Machines in Chesterfield Missouri to offer his insight into machine repair and maintenance at the IART symposium. He is extremely passionate about racquet sports and he has participated in every IART stringers symposium to date as well as Alpha being a sponsor from the very beginning. You can contact Mark directly via email at mark@alphatennis.com
Julian Crandall
Ashaway Line & Twine is a firmly established American company that manufacturers racquet string as well as other products like medical sutures. They have been on the cutting edge of racquet string manufacture for many years and most recently, introduced their MonoGut Zyex string. We’re happy to have Julian on board as an industry consultant to the Alliance group. Julian is a member of the ownership family of Ashaway Line and Twine MFG and Ashaway Racquet Strings. He joined the family business 5 years ago and currently serves as the manufacturing director for Ashaway Racquet Strings. He is heavily involved in both production and R+D for their tennis products and he is available to answer questions and have discussions about Ashaway tennis products and strings in general. You can reach Julian via email at uppermill@ashawayusa.com or you can access his member profile here on the Alliance site and send him a PM
SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT
Lance Andersen
Lance Andersen is a PTR National Tester and Clinician 4A, a member of the National Cardio Tennis Speaker Team, USPTA Certified, an Etcheberry certified coach, a member of Team Babolat and a member of the USRSA. He is also the chairmen of the PTR technology committee, the PTR Massachusetts state representative, the USPTA New England Lesson For Life Chairperson, a member of the Tennis Industry Association Technology Committee, a USTA New England adult committee member, and USTA Eastern Mass Association League committee member. Lance is a senior tennis professional at the Longfellow Club in Wayland MA and for the Tennis Academy of Harvard. Lance was the recipient of the 2011 PTR & Tennis Industry Association Commitment to the Industry Award and was named the 2011 PTR USTA New England PTR Professional of the Year. Previously he was named the 2010 USPTA New England Regional Pro of the year and the 2010 PTR Massachusetts Member of the Year. Lance has been a speaker at tennis industry events for the PTR, Tennis Industry Association, USTA, and USPTA. When not on the court, Lance is a senior software engineer in the Java Engineering group at Oracle Corporation.
BUSINESS CONSULTANTS
Stewart Barnes, CFP Ameriprise Financial Services
Qualifications
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner
- Member, Financial Planning Association
- Senior Financial Advisor
- Bachelor of Science Degree
- Master of Science Degree
Stewart has participated as a presenter at the IART symposium in the past covering tax issues and business organization as they pertain to small businesses.