Jesse & Emily DeMund

Jesse and Emily’s unique talents and skills will support Kingdom Franchisees by supporting them from beginning to end and beyond for their clubs in Tennessee!

Jesse DeMund has held C-level and senior leadership positions with tech, software, and industry leading companies over his 20-year career.  He has built and led world-class organizations throughout his career, and now gets to leverage that experience while building and supporting the great Pickleball Kingdom leadership team across the southeast.  

Beyond the corporate realm, Jesse and Emily are embarking on a shared venture that merges the worlds of sport and community, creating a space where both thrive under one roof. Their active involvement in their local church and school communities underscores their commitment to establishing an environment that encourages active, healthy, and interconnected lifestyles for the people of Tennessee.

Jesse & Emily DeMund

Ace Rodrigues

Founder and CEO

When asked how he came up with the concept of Pickleball Kingdom, Ace likes to say, “On a windy, dirty court while standing in the sun waiting to play on January 9, 2021, I said out loud, ‘There has to be a better way.’ And then God threw this lightning bolt of a mission into my heart that has lit my brain on fire, and it’s been blazing ever since.”  

And the pickleball world has been better for it. Ace’s past experiences founding companies, scaling growth, and creating support networks, primarily in the financial services and energy efficiency sectors, serves him well in setting the go-forward vision to build Pickleball Kingdom.   

Having developed and coined numerous concepts and phrases that are now industry standards, Ace’s innovative approach continues to craft the path for not only the Kingdom brand, but the greater indoor pickleball industry itself. The creation of “Pickleball Paddle Battle,” a competition reality show is one such example of Ace’s leading-edge thinking.  

Originally from Hawaii, Ace has been married to Tracy for over 30 years and they have 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Ace and Tracy love sports, movies, and eating out. 

What motivates him? “I’m the most blessed man on the planet. So, my drive is to create Kings and Queens of Kingdoms, which are our franchisees, first throughout America, then throughout the world.”