Meet Our
Leadership

Demetric Evans is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Primary Ventures, where he advises institutions, leaders, and athletes and leads the firm’s investment and business development initiatives. A standout collegiate athlete at the University of Georgia and ten-year NFL veteran with the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and San Francisco 49ers, he brings a perspective few advisors can replicate: firsthand experience inside professional sport, combined with years spent working alongside the institutions, executives, and stakeholders shaping its future.

Since his playing career, Demetric has built a second career at the intersection of sports, business, and civic leadership. He has advised institutions serving professional athletes, developed relationships across the sports and business communities, and become a trusted intermediary among athletes, executives, investors, and institutional leaders. His approach is grounded in credibility earned over time, an ability to see competing perspectives, and a practical understanding of what it takes to turn relationships and opportunity into meaningful outcomes.

Demetric holds a Master’s Degree in Health Science from the University of Alabama and an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia. His executive education includes the NFL Business Management and Entrepreneurship Program at Harvard Business School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, as well as a life skills coaching certification from Yale University. He is a longtime consultant to The Trust and founder of 92 Blessings, a youth empowerment organization. A proud Georgia alumnus, he is a member of UGA’s 40 Under 40 and the Magill Society.

Lydia Zakhari is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Primary Ventures, where she advises institutions and leaders on enterprise strategy, governance, organizational transformation, and complex stakeholder dynamics. Her career spans more than two decades across law, business, and executive leadership, with experience ranging from high-stakes commercial litigation and corporate transactions to the executive management of a nationally recognized athlete-centered institution.

Prior to co-founding Primary Ventures, Lydia served as General Counsel and senior executive of The Trust, the collectively bargained benefit program of the NFL and NFL Players Association. Her responsibilities extended well beyond legal oversight to encompass enterprise strategy, financial and operational management, governance, compliance, risk, and cross-sector partnerships supporting thousands of former professional athletes. Earlier, she represented Fortune 100 companies, first as a complex commercial litigator before transitioning to corporate and business law. That progression gave her a rare view across the full life of a consequential decision, from identifying risk and structuring the transaction to understanding how it must operate within the enterprise.

Lydia is recognized for bringing clarity to complex matters and integrating legal, strategic, operational, and stakeholder considerations into sound decisions. Her work has earned national recognition, including selection to The Best Lawyers in America and a featured profile in Vanguard Law Magazine. She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and a B.A. and M.S. in Justice, Law and Society from American University.