Chris Valletta

High School and college

Born in New England, Valletta moved to Plano, Texas in the 1990s, where he attended Plano Senior High School and played football as an offensive lineman, and was on the Plano Senior Wildcats team that won the 5A State Championship in 1994. At Plano, Chris was selected to the prestigious Parade All American Team in 1995. Valletta played football as an offensive linesman at Texas A&M University from 1997-2000, where he received All-Conference honors. During his time at A&M, he played on the teams that won the Big 12 South Championship in 1997 and the Big 12 Championship in 1998. On November 18, 1999, the Aggie Bonfire, part of the pregame festivities between Texas A&M and the University of Texas collapsed during construction, killing 12 and injuring 27. At the game, held the following Friday, Valletta wrote the names of the 12 students on a shirt beneath his jersey. Valletta graduated in 2001, with degrees in majoring in speech communication and rhetorical theory, as well as political science.

Professional

Valletta signed to the Tennessee Titans in 2001 as an undrafted free agent. He was released in August of the same year, and signed to the New Orleans Saints, where he was released in August 2002. He then joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was a member of their practice team until his release in October 2002. Tampa Bay went on to win the Super Bowl that season, beating the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII

KRLD

Following his retirement from the NFL, Valletta worked in advertising sales at KRLD News Radio in Dallas. During this time, he started a company called Big Tree Investments LLC. with business partner Richie Jaynes. A transactional real estate company, Big Tree Investments used land trusts to acquire and wholesale properties. He and his then-wife Lacie also founded C&L, Inc, which operated their 100-acre tree farm in East Texas, where they raised and harvested pine trees.

Appearance on The Apprentice

In 2005, Valletta was selected for the cast of the fourth season of The Apprentice. Following a ratings slide in the show's third season, Valletta was part of a cast that was personally selected by Donald Trump. He was the second contestant fired from the show, after serving as the project manager for the losing team on a task that involved creating a 30-second television commercial and print ads for a new Lamborghini sports car. He also appeared on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.

GoSMILE

Following his appearance on The Apprentice, Valletta was named the senior director for business development at GoSMILE Inc. A company that markets tooth-whitening products, GoSMILE was co-founded by Josh Shaw, one of Valletta's fellow Apprentice contestants. GoSMILE was later acquired by investment firm JH Partners.

Mission Athletecare

Valletta is the co-founder of Mission Athletecare. Founded in 2009, the company markets a line of personal care products conceived, researched and developed by athletes for athletes, many of whom are also stakeholders in the company. Athletes involved with the company include Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Serena Williams, Mia Hamm and Billy Jean King. The company also makes Mission Product, a line of skincare products that was the idea of ultra-endurance athlete Charlie Engle. Josh Shaw serves as the company's founder and CEO. The company was named as the Sports Marketer of the Year for 2012 by readers of NYSportsJournalism.

Affiliations

Valletta serves as the chairman of the Health and Wellness Committee for the NFL Alumni Organization (NY/NJ).

Personal life

Valletta resides in New York City and is married to marketing strategist Liliana Gil Valletta.