Mark Patricof

Mark Patricof is an American businessman and entrepreneur. Considered a digital media pioneer, tech investor, and seasoned investment banker, he has advised on and invested in a wide range of leading traditional and digital media and entertainment companies and transactions. Mark is the founder of Patricof Co (P/Co), a highly differentiated investment and advisory platform, leveraging the unique relevance of world-class professional athletes to source the most attractive alternative investment opportunities and drive superior returns. Mark previously served as Managing Director and Global Co-Head of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group at Houlihan Lokey, a publicly traded global investment bank. Notable transactions while there include advising on the highly publicized sale of Gawker Media to Univision at a bankruptcy auction for a staggering $135 million and the sale of the iconic concert venue Webster Hall to AEG Presents and Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment. Mark was formerly a Managing Partner at Media and Entertainment Strategy Advisors (MESA), a boutique investment bank strategically acquired in 2015 by Houlihan Lokey. MESA was incorporated into the firm’s nascent Technology, Media & Telecommunications practice, with Mark leading out of New York office. Founded in 2008, MESA served high-growth companies across the media and entertainment landscape, offering M&A advisory, private placement, and structured finance services. Core areas of focus included film, television, music, sports, live entertainment, and digital media, including key verticals such as games, interactive, advertising, and e-commerce. MESA advised on over 80 transactions including some of the most notable deals in the sector: Colony Capital’s acquisition of Miramax, the sale of Songza to Google, the sale of IndiaGames to Disney, structured finance transactions for Relativity and IMAX, and equity financings for Blue Man Group and FanDuel. Additionally, MESA advised multiple global corporations, including Discovery Channel, Time Inc., and Viacom. In 2012, Mark launched MESA Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on e-commerce, advertising technology, and digital content. The fund, which invested in Seed and Series A rounds alongside established and top-tier early-stage VC firms, combined a unique data-driven ranking system with a co-investment strategy, thus creating the first “indexing” approach to seed-stage investing. Mark previously served as President and COO of design firm The Rockwell Group, which he joined in 2003 in order to launch Studio Red, a joint venture with the Coca-Cola Company. In 1996, Mark co-founded <kpe>, an incubator/digital studio that financed, designed, and built businesses for the media and entertainment industry; offering its partners and portfolio companies a broad range of interactive services including rich media broadband content development, design and technology support, business planning, strategy marketing, branding and public relations. In the years following the company's inception, <kpe> guided some of the biggest names in the entertainment and media industries on the development of their earliest digital initiatives and new business ventures, including BBC, CBS, Disney, Hearst, Sony and Viacom. Additionally, and in partnership with Grey Advertising, the Endeavor Agency and Wasserstein Perella, <kpe> also managed an early stage venture fund that invested in over 20 digital media companies. Among other digital innovations, <kpe> was an early player in streaming media and in 1996 produced the first-ever webcast of a U.S. Presidential inauguration. Mark served as President and CEO of the company until it was sold to Omnicom in 2001. Mark began his career at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Los Angeles, where he started in the agency’s famed mail room. Over the next six years, Mark moved into creative positions at CAA, working with corporate clients on strategic development initiatives and assisting with the launch of the agency’s theatrical division. Mark graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. He then attended the University of Southern California’s Master of Film Studies program. Mark serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Bully Pulpit Interactive and Hornblower Cruises, an Operating Executive at Crestview Partners, and a member of the Executive Board of Broad Sky Partners. He has held advisory roles at Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment and Verve Wireless and is a former consultant to Airbnb. Mark has served on a number of boards throughout his career, including Abbeville Press, Bluefly.com, NEP Broadcasting, New York Cruise Lines, the New York Economic Development Corporation, Piano Media, Rockwell Group and Union Square Partnership. Mark currently serves as Chairman of the Board for New Heights, a non-profit organization based in New York City whose stated mission is to “inspire inner-city youth to be leaders, champions and student-athletes and empower them to be successful in high school, college and life.”