September 20, 2022

New advisers bring diverse expertise across sports franchise operations, data & analytics, gaming and motor sports

DALLAS and NEW YORK — Arctos Sports Partners, a private investment platform dedicated to providing growth capital and liquidity solutions to industry-leading professional sports franchise owners in major North American leagues and premier global sports organizations, today announced that Shane Battier, Jessica Gelman, Chris Grove and Normand Legault are joining the firm as operating advisors.

Arctos’ group of operating advisers brings deep operational experience and perspective to the firm and is a valuable resource for Arctos’ portfolio franchises and investment team. The firm’s operating advisors play a broad role in the firm’s operations, including identifying and completing due diligence on potential investments, providing insights into industry trends and deepening relationships with key stakeholders across the industry.

“As we’ve built Arctos, we’ve focused on surrounding ourselves with who we believe are the best minds and operators in the sports ecosystem. Our operating advisers provide additional expertise to the Arctos team so that we are positioned to identify and execute on investment opportunities and support the growth and innovation of our portfolio franchises,” said Doc O’Connor, Managing Partner at Arctos Sports Partners. “We are proud to welcome Shane, Jessica, Chris and Normand to our already outstanding group of operating advisers, and we look forward to their contributions in growing our firm and providing value to the world-class ownership groups and leagues with whom we partner.”

Newly Announced Arctos Operating Advisers

Shane Battier has won championships at the college and professional levels. After retiring from the NBA in 2014, Shane has led a successful business and philanthropic career, serving as Vice President of Basketball Development and Analytics for the Miami Heat; becoming a sought-after speaker; founding the Battier Take Charge Foundation, dedicated to elevating underserved young scholars; and serving as a board member and investor in early stage technology companies.

Jessica Gelman, CEO of KAGR (Kraft Analytics Group), has spent more than twenty years at the intersection of the business of sports and analytics. She is one of the founders of the sports analytics movement with her creation of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, a large and influential conference focused on analytics and sports. At KAGR, she oversees the high-growth organization’s innovative work with more than 40 clients, including teams, leagues and industry leaders across all of the major professional sports leagues. Her leadership has influenced how sports franchises use data and analytics at all levels of their organization to increase value, improve the fan experience and gain a competitive edge.

Chris Grove is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Acies Investments, a venture capital fund focused on companies in the global sports betting, iGaming, esports and sports technology industries. Chris also founded the sports betting practice at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, where he continues to serve as Partner Emeritus, a partner-level advisory role supporting the firm’s online gambling research and consulting work.

Normand Legault is the President of GPF1 Inc., an advisory and mergers & acquisition firm, dealing in professional sports, live entertainment and communications. He has served as an executive in the motor sports industry, including as general manager of the Canadian Grand Prix. Normand also serves as a Director with Dorna Sports and Cogeco Inc. and previously served as a senior private equity advisor to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). He is an inductee in the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

Shane, Jessica, Chris and Normand join Arctos’ existing operating advisers, who include:

• TJ Adeshola, Head of Global Content Partnerships at Twitter
• William Chambers, Former CFO & COO of Sinclair Broadcast Group and EVP of Finance at Fox Sports Media
• Neil Glat, Co-President Americas of SPORTFIVE and former President of New York Jets and SVP of Corporate Development at the NFL
• Jeff Krolik, Former President of Sinclair Broadcast Group and Fox Regional Sports Networks
• Tim Leiweke, Chairman and CEO of Oak View Group
• David Levy, Chairman of Genius Sports and former President of Turner Broadcasting
• Angela Ruggiero, CEO of Sports Innovation Lab and four-time Olympian in women’s ice hockey
• Richard Scudamore, Former Executive Chairman & CEO of the English Premier League
• Nzinga Shaw, President and Global Practice Head, ESG & DEI at ZRG Partners and former Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer of Starbucks and the Atlanta Hawks
• Kenneth Shropshire, Wharton School of Business Professor Emeritus and Senior Advisor to the Dean’s Coalition for Equity and Opportunity
• Sara Slane, Founder of Slane Advisory and former SVP of American Gaming Association
• Malcom Turner, Head of Corporate Development and Strategy at Draft Kings and former President of NBA G-League

About Arctos Sports Partners

Arctos Sports Partners works with innovative and visionary ownership groups and leagues across North American professional sports and European soccer. Arctos has a team of more than 30 investment and operational professionals with offices in Dallas and New York. In addition to liquidity solutions and growth capital, Arctos’ portfolio franchises are able to leverage the deep industry knowledge and operational expertise of the firm’s operating advisors to help drive additional value. Arctos is the first firm to be approved by and execute deals across NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS, and to date, has invested in more than 20 sports franchises and adjacent businesses.

Contacts

Arctos Media Relations media@arctospartners.com

April 5, 2021

DALLAS — Arctos Sports Partners, the first private investment platform dedicated to providing growth capital and liquidity solutions to professional sports franchise owners in major North American leagues and European soccer, today welcomed Robyn Sacks Slutzky as a Partner and Head of Capital Solutions. Robyn will lead Arctos’ investor relations and capital raising activities, investment strategy, and overall firm governance.

Prior to joining Arctos, Slutzky served as co-Head of Private Equity Due Diligence for JPMorgan’s Private bank, where she led a team that sourced and oversaw more than $40 billion in client commitments. Previously, she was a private equity investor at Prudential Financial. In addition to her extraordinary career as an investor, Slutzky led and contributed to several major diversity and inclusion initiatives at JPMorgan as a founder and chair of the Solutions Women’s Network, which focused on building inclusive cultures where women can thrive.

“Robyn has been my friend and a frequent strategic investment partner for almost fifteen years,” said Arctos founder and Managing Partner Ian Charles. “She is one of the most rigorous and thoughtful private equity portfolio managers in the industry. Her ability to bring an analytical, ‘thought partner’ approach to our Capital Solutions function is going to be a tremendous asset to our firm and our investors.”

“We’re thrilled to have someone of Robyn’s caliber, experience, and character joining us at Arctos,” said Managing Partner David “Doc” O’Connor. “Robyn is a proven builder, leader, and diversity champion and we are fortunate to have her as a Partner. Her impact and influence can already be felt at Arctos and she’s only just begun.”

“Arctos has an opportunity to pioneer and innovate at an important time in the history of sports ownership,” said Slutzky. “Departing JPMorgan was not an easy decision—I’ve been privileged to work alongside an outstanding group of people on truly impactful work. I am excited to join Arctos and build a firm alongside a leadership team I have so much conviction in.”

About Arctos

Arctos Sports Partners works with owners and leagues across professional sports to increase liquidity and financial flexibility for ownership groups. With a focus that spans the professional sports ecosystem and places an emphasis on creating value through sport-specific operational expertise, Arctos is uniquely positioned to execute this strategy on behalf of institutional investors while supporting sports owners and leagues. Led by longtime executives and investors Ian Charles and David O’Connor, Arctos is positioned to execute deals across all major sports leagues.

 

Contacts

Arctos Media Relations media@arctospartners.com.

August 18, 2020

Firm’s Investment and Operations Team Supplemented with Six Accomplished Professionals

Arctos Sports Partners today announced the addition of six new team members, including four members of the investment team and a senior member of the finance and operations group.  These new additions will be key to Arctos’ growth and responsible for sourcing, transaction evaluation, execution, financial reporting and logistics.

“These talented and experienced professionals bolster our already deep capabilities and bring exceptional investing acumen and knowledge from their experiences at leading investment and financial services firms” said Ian Charles, Arctos Managing Partner.

“We are thrilled to have added to the character and depth of our firm and truly believe these new team members to be invaluable resources as we continue to grow our platform” said Doc O’Connor, Arctos Managing Partner.

Arctos’ newest team members bring with them a wealth of knowledge from prior experiences at prominent firms including Goldman Sachs, HarbourVest, MSD Partners, TPG Global, Fortress, Golub Capital, Morgan Stanley, EnCap Investments and PJT Partners.  New members of the Arctos team include:

• Alastair Seaman, Director, joins from Goldman Sachs’ Vintage Funds investment team
• Larissa Wall, Controller, joins from Fortress Group and TPG Global
• Forrest Richmond, Senior Associate, joins from HarbourVest Partners and BAML
• Melissa Kelly, Associate, joins from Golub Capital and Morgan Stanley
• Daniel Lewis, Associate, joins from MSD Partners and PJT Partners
• Amanda Del Biaggio, Executive Assistant, joins from EnCap Investments

Detailed information about the new members of the Arctos’ team additions can be found below.

About Arctos Sports Partners

Arctos Sports Partners is an investment platform focused on acquiring passive minority stakes in professional sports franchises as well as providing thoughtful liquidity and structured growth capital solutions to sports franchise control owners and governors.  The management team has significant experience and expertise across the media, sports, technology, and alternative asset industries.  Arctos is a U.S.-based firm with offices in New York and Dallas. For more information, visit www.arctospartners.com.

 

Contact

Ian H. Charles, Managing Partner

ian.charles@arctospartners.com

 

David J. O’Connor, Managing Partner

doc.oconnor@arctospartners.com

 

New Additions to the Arctos Sports Partners Team

Alastair Seaman joins Arctos as a Director responsible for the sourcing, evaluation, and management of investments.  Prior to joining Arctos, Mr. Seaman was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in New York, where he served as a member of the Vintage Funds investment team within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.  While at Goldman, Mr. Seaman executed transactions ranging from direct secondaries and special situations opportunities to more traditional secondary investments.  Prior to joining Goldman, Mr. Seaman was a Senior Associate in the London office of HarbourVest Partners, where he served as a member of the Secondary Investment Group. Mr. Seaman joined HarbourVest from EPIC Private Equity, an independent private equity firm focused on growth, buyout, and special situations investments in UK-based small and medium-sized companies.  Mr. Seaman started his career at SVG Capital, an international private equity investor and fund management business that was listed on the London Stock Exchange prior to the sale of its investment portfolio to HarbourVest. Mr. Seaman received an MA from the University of Cambridge, an MBA from Columbia Business School, graduating with Dean’s Honors and Distinction, and is a CFA Charterholder.

 

Larissa Wall joins Arctos as a Controller responsible for the financial reporting aspects of the firm and its affiliates.  Prior to joining Arctos, Ms. Wall was a Vice President at Fortress Investment Group, a global investment manager.  At Fortress, Ms. Wall managed accounting on a real estate fund and oversaw an accounting team for multiple legacy and new funds. Prior to Fortress, Ms. Wall was the Assistant Corporate Controller at Mount Kellett Capital Management, a multi-strategy investment firm where she was instrumental in transitioning accounting functions to the Texas office as well as modernizing their accounts payable system.  Prior to Mount Kellett, Ms. Wall was a Senior Associate at TPG Global, a leading global private investment firm, and a Senior Audit Associate at Ernst & Young. Ms. Wall graduated from Texas A&M University Mays Business School Professional Program of Accounting, Business Honors with an M.S. in Finance, B.B.A. in Accounting and Minor in Psychology.

 

Forrest Richmond joins Arctos as a Senior Associate responsible for all aspects of transaction evaluation and execution. Prior to joining Arctos, Mr. Richmond was a Senior Associate at HarbourVest Partners where he executed transactions and played an integral role in building out the firm’s Technology, Media, and Telecom investing framework. Prior to joining HarbourVest, Mr. Richmond was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Technology, Media, and Telecom group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Mr. Richmond graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon University where he received a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a minor in Global Systems and Management.

 

Melissa Kelly joins Arctos as an Associate responsible for all aspects of transaction evaluation and execution. Prior to Arctos, Ms. Kelly was an Associate on the direct lending team at Golub Capital, where she underwrote lending and syndicated loan transactions for middle market companies. Prior to Golub, she was an associate at Morgan Stanley in the credit risk group, underwriting leverage finance commitments supporting M&A, LBO, and other specialized transactions. She previously was an intern at Major League Baseball in their Labor Relations function and is also the founder of a real estate platform in northern Florida. She graduated with honors from Cornell University with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations.

 

Daniel Lewis joins Arctos as an Associate responsible for all aspects of transaction evaluation and execution. Prior to joining Arctos, Mr. Lewis was an Associate in the Private Capital Group at MSD Partners, in their New York office. At MSD, Mr. Lewis evaluated leveraged buyout and structured equity investment opportunities alongside senior investment professionals to assess merits and risks of potential investments. Prior to MSD, Mr. Lewis was an analyst with PJT Partners, a global advisory focused investment bank. Mr. Lewis graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia where he received a B.A. in Statistics with a concentration in Econometrics.

 

Amanda Del Biaggio joins Arctos as an Executive Assistant responsible for providing comprehensive logistical and administrative support to both the Investment and Investor Relations Team.  Prior to joining Arctos, Ms. Del Biaggio was an Executive Assistant at EnCap Investments for nine years where she provided direct support to Partners, Directors and other senior management. Prior to EnCap, Ms. Del Biaggio was an Executive Assistant to the Investor Relations team at HM Capital Partners.