Theodore "Ted" J. Leonsis (born January 8, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York[1]) is a long-time AOL executive and owner of the NHL's Washington Capitals.[2]
Leonsis was born to Greek American[3] parents in Brooklyn, and spent his early years there. His parents worked as a waiter and a secretary.[4] After skipping 8th grade, Leonsis attended Brooklyn Tech[1] but before graduation, his family moved back to their hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. He graduated from Lowell High School in 1973 and attended Georgetown University.[5] After graduation, Leonsis moved back to his parents' home in Lowell and began working for Wang Laboratories.[1]
After surviving an airplane crash landing in 1983, he drafted a list of 101 things to do in life and has completed many of the tasks including owning a sports franchise.[6]
AOL
Brought on to help AOL compete with Microsoft,[7] his career with AOL started in 1993 when AOL purchased his marketing company, Redgate Communications Corp. "From '94-'97, Leonsis helped increase AOL's membership from fewer than 800,000 members to 8 million. Revenue also increased from $100 million to $1.5 billion." [8] Leonsis is credited with helping to launch the popular web browser Mozilla and Firefox. In 2003, Leonsis arranged for the Mozilla Foundation to be spun-off of AOL and given $2 million.[9] Leonsis retired in 2006. He held numerous positions at AOL during his years there, completing his tenure as the audience group's president and vice-chairman.[10] He now serves as vice chairman emeritus of AOL.
Sports holdings
Leonsis watches the Capitals practice
Leonsis is also the founder, chairman, and majority owner of Lincoln Holdings LLC, a sports and entertainment company that holds ownership rights in several entities including 100% of the NHL's Washington Capitals and the WNBA's Washington Mystics. Lincoln Holdings also owns approximately 44% of Washington Sports and Entertainment Limited Partnership (WSELP), which owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the Verizon Center and the Baltimore-Washington Ticketmaster franchise.[11]
The Washington Capitals finished the 2008-09 regular season with a record of 50-24-8 and a team record 108 points, and they won their second consecutive Southeast Division championship. They defeated the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 4 games to 3, overcoming a 3-1 deficit. The Capitals were then defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference semifinals in seven games.
Leonsis has been called one of the most fan-friendly owners in professional sports, occasionally greeting fans in the arena and always responding to their e-mails.
Films
Leonsis has become involved in film investing as a philanthropic interest, which he calls "filmanthropy". "The driver of filmanthropy is that the world is more screwed up every day and people want to call attention to issues," he told the Financial Times.[12] His first production was the documentary Nanking which made its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.[13] The 2008 Peabody Award winning[14] film is based on the best selling book The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang.
In 2008, Leonsis produced Kicking It, a documentary by Susan Koch about the 2006 Homeless World Cup. The film, narrated by actor Colin Farrell, featured residents of Afghanistan, Kenya, Dublin, Charlotte, North Carolina, Madrid and Saint Petersburg. The film premiered in January, 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival and is being distributed by Liberation Entertainment, Netflix and ESPN.
Post AOL
As of 2008, Leonsis is the chairman of SnagFilms, a social media website that lets viewers watch and share documentary films.[15] He is also chairman of Clearspring Technologies[16] and Revolution Money, a subsidiary of Revolution LLC, the investment company created by Steve Case.[17] In December of 2008, Leonsis was named to the board of NutriSystem, Inc.[18] In June 2009, Leonsis was appointed as member of Alcatel-Lucent Board's Technology Committee.[19]
Leonsis is currently on the board of directors at Georgetown University, his alma mater[20].
Publications
In a press release dated April 22 2009, "Regnery Publishing announced today it has signed a major publishing contract with Washington Capitals owner and AOL vice chairman emeritus Ted Leonsis. His new book, The Business of Happiness, will be released in early 2010." [21]
- Kaufeld, John, forward by Ted Leonsis. 2004. AOL for Dummies. Hoboken: For Dummies Publishing (Wiley Publishing).[22]
- Chposky, James and Ted Leonsis. 1988. Blue Magic: The People, Power and Politics Behind the IBM Personal Computer. New York: Facts on File Publications.[23]
- Leonsis, Ted. 1984. Software Masters for Pfs. Clayton: Warner Books.[24]
- Leonsis, Ted. 1984. Software Masters for Pes: Apple Version (48k). Clayton: Warner Books.[25]
Philanthropy
Leonsis is a contributor and an active participant in a number of charities. He has been a member, volunteer and active spokesperson for Best Buddies since 1999. Leonsis keeps in constant communication with Ken, who suffers from intellectual disabilities, according to Best Buddies.[26]. For this work, Leonsis was recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as a "Washingtonians of the Year, 2001"[27]
Leonsis is a mentor through the Hoop Dreams program. Through Hoop Dreams, Leonsis was able to guide Michael Hendrickson into and through his first choice college. Leonsis and Hendrickson continue this relationship today.[28] About Hoop Dreams, Leonsis has stated, “"The Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund is extraordinary and this Tournament really brings together so many different segments of the city to do something good for the youth of DC. Together, we can help make the educational dreams of hard working students a reality."[29]
In addition, Leonsis is a contributor to the See Forever Foundation[30] and to YouthAIDS[31]. He also sponsors his own philanthropic foundation,the Leonsis Foundation, dedicated to creating “opportunities for children that enable them to reach their highest potential.” The Foundation “partners with and supports organizations with the creativity, skill and dedication to help children overcome obstacles and achieve their goal.” [32]
Recognition
Leonsis was named Businessperson of the Year in 2001 by Washington Business Journal [33] and Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine [34]. In 2009, Leonsis was named one of Washington's Tech Titans by Washingtonian Magazine. [35]
References
- ^ a b c Transcript: Ted Leonsis
- ^ Washington Capitals
- ^ Ted's Take - The American Dream
- ^ Power Profile: Ted Leonsis: The former dot-com pioneer tackles new challenges in sports and filmmaking - Examiner.com
- ^ Ted's Take - The College Experience
- ^ ESPN.com - Page2 - 101 things to do in D.C. when you're Ted
- ^ Swisher, Kara. 1998. AOL.COM: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates, Nailed the Netheads, and Made Millions in the War for the Web.New York: Three Rivers Press
- ^ USA Today ,2000.
- ^ [1] San Francisco Chronicle - Firefox rises from ashes of abandoned Netscape
- ^ Leonsis Pulls Away From Helm of AOL - washingtonpost.com
- ^ Virginia Business Magazine: The Virginia 100 2006, Part 1
- ^ FT.com / Wealth / Philanthropy - Shooting the message
- ^ The Hollywood Reporter
- ^ Politico
- ^ SnagFilms
- ^ Clearspring Technologies
- ^ Revolution Money
- ^ Philly.com
- ^ [2] Press Release
- ^ Georgetown Board of Directors, 2008-2009
- ^ Press Release, Regnery Publishing
- ^ Amazon.com
- ^ Portal
- ^ AbeBooks
- ^ Amazon.com
- ^ Volvo For Life Event
- ^ Washingtonian Magazine2001
- ^ A Push in the Right Direction, Washington Post, May 20, 2005.
- ^ Hoop Dreams Press Release June 8th, 2008.
- ^ See Forever Press Release, January 2007
- ^ Washingtonian.com, "A Night Out: YouthAIDS Gala", October 30, 2006
- ^ Leonsis Foundation.
- ^ Ted Leonsis: Businessperson of the Year December 28, 2001
- ^ Past Washingtonians of the Year January 29, 2008
- ^ Washington's Tech Titans May 1, 2009
External links
