Iron Peak Management Team
Fred Ewig, General Manager
Fred has spent the bulk of his professional career in the sports and events industry, starting 20 years ago with the New Jersey Devils. After a brief detour working for Yahoo!, Fred realized that he needed to return to something he was passionate about. He worked for two seasons in minor league baseball for the Newark Bears as their Director of Fan Development, before moving to the Gazelle Group, a sports marketing company based in Princeton. For nearly 12 years, he was involved in every aspect of producing Division I college basketball events across the country, including at Madison Square Garden and Prudential Center.
In January 2019, Fred was named the Business Development & Events Director at Apex Sports & Events, where he has been responsible for overseeing the re-branding to Iron Peak Sports & Events, as well as working with local, regional, and national organizations looking to bring sporting events to Somerset County. Fred currently resides in Lawrenceville with his three kids, and his very patient and understanding wife.
PIERS GILES, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND CREATIVE SERVICES
Piers joined the Iron Team in February of 2020 after working for many years in aquatics as Assistant Aquatics/Waterfront Director, Swim Lesson Coordinator, Marine Safety Officer, and Head Lifeguard at Lake Mohawk. With a strong background in youth programs and coaching, he knew he would fit in well at Iron Peak. His stronger skill set is rooted in marketing analytics, campaign management, and creative design.
Piers spent most of his youth in England. Heavily involved in school and club sports, he has experience playing rugby, field hockey, cricket, soccer, tennis, basketball, track & field, and more. After moving to the United States, Piers began swimming competitively, making his way to multiple Nationals meets in 2013/14. He played DII Rugby in college for Slippery Rock University where he received his Bachelor’s Degrees in Integrated Marketing & Communication and an M.B.A specializing Marketing & Management.
david flum, finance manager
David has 20+ years of combined experience in finance and accounting, in diverse industries, including Financial Services, Insurance, Publishing, and Healthcare for both global public companies and nonprofits. He is skilled in streamlining processes to increase efficiency, identifying opportunities for reducing expenses, and using advanced Excel skills to improve productivity.
Prior to joining Iron Peak, David was Fiscal Officer for 1 1/2 years at Morris/Sussex/Warren Employment & Training Services in Morris Plains, NJ. He also worked at Rutgers University Press in New Brunswick, NJ for over 11 years where his last role was Director of Finance.
David graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He grew up on Long Island but has lived in Berkeley Heights, NJ for the last 13 years with his wife and daughter. David enjoys traveling, cooking and investing.
Meghan O'Brien, Manager of sports events & rentals
Meghan brings more than 15 years of marketing and digital communications experience to Iron Peak. She has led the external relations efforts for a Division I athletic program as well as the largest, multi-divisional athletic conference in the country. Meghan’s affinity for sports began at a young age, as the Brooklyn native grew up playing on the hardwood. She’ll tell you one of the highlights of her professional career was attending the Men’s Basketball Final Four.
In addition to her sports background, Meghan has also had brief stints in the hospitality and events industries, utilizing her expertise to elevate the digital brand, and social media presence of a variety of entities. Her creativity and attention to detail will help enhance the Iron Peak brand, bring more exposure to the facility, and create awareness in the community.
Vance matthews, sports performance
Vance graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Kinesiology and Health (Sports Management). Vance is a Rutgers Football Alumni (2012-2016) Wide Receiver and a 2x winner of the Iron Knight Award, which is given to the hardest working individual, on and off the field. For the past six years Vance has obtained mastery over fitness and programming, working with a variety of clientele inclusive of professional athletes, collegiate athletes, high school sports teams and individuals, and youth athletes. Vance also coached Football and currently coaches Girls Track and Field at Somerville High School.
Vance enjoys being outside, playing sports, riding his motorcycle and ATV, and spending time with his friends and family!
Christian graverson, sports coordinator
Christian Graverson joined the Iron Peak team as a guest services team member in July 2020. He was promoted to a supervisor in December, overseeing guest services team members, and added basketball coach to his job description, becoming an integral part of the youth development program.
Christian completed his degree in the winter of 2021 with a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in Exercise Science and a minor in Sports Management and was promoted to Sports Coordinator in January 2022. In his new role, he oversees all adult league programming, organizes all youth development classes and clinics, and assists in the execution of all tournaments and events on the weekend.
Christian is a native of Hillsborough, NJ and resides in town with his fiancé Alyssa and their son Caden.
Joe Cohen, facilities manager
Joe is the heartbeat behind the Iron Peak infrastructure. With a background in HVAC, plumbing and maintenance and repair, Cohen brings a wealth of experience to Hillsborough.
Prior to arriving at Iron Peak, Cohen spent five years as a program director for the YMCA, first in Westfield from 2014-2019 then at the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge & South Amboy (MEWSA) location. In both roles he oversaw all the youth development programming, leagues and classes.In 2020, Cohen was promoted to Director of Facilities at the YMCA of MEWSA. He maintained the building and all its assets, specializing in construction management, landscaping and HVAC issues.
You can find Joe at Iron Peak every weekend, ensuring the property remains in top shape for all our guests.
When Joe isn’t at Iron Peak, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons.
Emily Grube, Marketing Coordinator
Emily is super excited to be part of the Iron Peak team and play a key role in sharing all that Iron Peak has to offer the community. After graduating from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 2019, she found her passion in social media and digital marketing to help companies better communicate their brand and offerings. As Marketing Coordinator, Emily will be able to use her experience and passions to continue to attract kids, families, adults, teams and more to Iron Peak Sports & Events.
In her free time you can find Emily outdoors kayaking or baking tasty desserts!
We want to hear from you!
Fill out our contact form below with questions, comments, or feedback for our team. We value our visitors and want to make our facility the epicenter of sports, events, and recreation in New Jersey.