Director's Advisory Board

Arn Tellem is Vice Chairman of the Detroit Pistons basketball franchise. Mr. Tellem, who reports to owner Tom Gores, joined the organization in August 2015 following a distinguished career as one of the top player agents in professional sports.

As a representative of ownership, Mr. Tellem has broad responsibility for business and basketball strategy, planning and development, and strengthening the connection between the Pistons and the community. He is responsible for league-related initiatives as one of the team’s Alternate Governors on the NBA Board of Governors. In 2017 he served as Mr. Gores’ point man and chief negotiator in the successful bid to bring the franchise back to the city to play after a 39-year absence. Two years later, Mr. Tellem oversaw the organization’s complete move to downtown Detroit with both the basketball and business arms of the company occupying the newly constructed, state-of-the-art, Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center. In 2021, he executed another key piece of Mr. Gores’ vision for Detroit and the Pistons franchise as the Motor City Cruise made their NBA G League debut at a sparkling state-of-the-art new arena on the campus of Wayne State University. Most recently, Mr. Tellem led Detroit’s expansion bid for a WNBA franchise, beginning play in 2029, and is currently leading efforts to construct a dedicated WNBA practice facility with capacity to support a future Youth Development Academy.

As Mr. Gores continues using the Pistons organization as a catalyst in Detroit’s resurgence, he and Tellem have worked to grow the organization’s relationship with Henry Ford Health and in February 2023, the partners joined Michigan State University to announce a sweeping new community development and investment of $3 billion over the next decade turning Detroit’s New Center neighborhood into a vibrant, walkable community with state-of-the-art health care, residential, commercial, retail and recreational components.

A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Mr. Tellem said the opportunity to contribute to the region’s revitalization was a key factor in his decision to join the Pistons. To that end, Mr. Tellem has spearheaded several community partnerships that earned the organization national recognition. Committed to making an impact in the city of Detroit and the metro region, the club’s community relations efforts were recognized nationally by ESPN as a finalist for the ESPN 2016 Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award. A long-time board member of PeacePlayers International, Mr. Tellem lends his time and supports the organization’s efforts to bring together children from conflict regions to promote tolerance and understanding.

Mr. Tellem has represented more than 500 professional athletes in his career, including numerous former Detroit Pistons. He joined PSE following nine years at Wasserman Media Group, where he served as Vice Chairman and oversaw the Team Sports Division. In 1989, he founded Los Angeles-based Tellem & Associates, which was acquired in 1999 by SFX Entertainment, the world’s largest producer and marketer of live entertainment. Mr. Tellem served as Chief Executive Officer of SFX Sports until he joined Wasserman. Mr. Tellem began representing professional baseball and basketball players in the early 1980s. Before that, he was a partner at the law firm Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, where he specialized in sports law and commercial litigation. Mr. Tellem also served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers between 1982 and 1988.

In 2006, Sports Business Journal named Mr. Tellem the Most Influential Agent in Sports and The Sporting News named him "Most Influential Sports Agent.” In 2004 and 2005, he was the only NBA player agent named as one of The Sporting News’ "50 Most Influential People in Sports Business.” Mr. Tellem was recognized as the industry’s top agent by the magazine in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2008, Sports Business Journal ranked him second among sports agents. Two years later Business Insider named Mr. Tellem one of the world's four "best" sports agents. In 2013, Forbes ranked him the third most powerful agent in sports; and first in basketball.

A member of the American Bar Association and the State Bar of California, Mr. Tellem served as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Law and is frequently invited to lecture on issues related to sports law and business. He received his bachelor’s degree from Haverford College in 1976 and his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1979.

Mr. Tellem is married to Nancy Tellem, the former entertainment and digital media president of Microsoft and a onetime president of CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television. She is a founder of BasBlue, a non-profit space in midtown Detroit dedicated to women’s needs and fostering a diverse, authentic, and inclusive community. They have three grown sons: Michael, Matt and Eric.