Bios
Jonathan S. Blue
Chairman and Managing Director, Blue Equity, LLC
Chairman, BEST
Jonathan S. Blue is Chairman and Managing Director of Blue Equity, LLC. Blue Equity is a private equity firm with a diverse and innovative portfolio of lower middle market segment business enterprises in media, publishing, financial services, real estate, health care and sports & entertainment.
Prior to forming Blue Equity in late 2004, Blue served as Managing Director of another private equity firm with a wide-ranging portfolio of businesses. Most of the active business enterprises developed and grown during Blue's tenure at that firm are now part of Blue Equity's diverse and innovative portfolio of business operations and investments.
From June 1998 until he became involved with private equity investments, Blue served as Vice President for Progress Rail Services Corporation, which was then a subsidiary of Progress Energy, Inc. (NYSE:PGN), and has subsequently sold to Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT). While employed by Progress Rail, Blue was responsible for the commercial and marketing aspects of its Mexican subsidiary, Progress Rail Services de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. During Blue's tenure, Progress Rail expanded its Mexican focus by creating a network of facilities and landing corresponding clients in Mexico that mirrored the company's U.S. operations. Specific areas of focus included freight car and locomotive leasing, the marketing of railcar repair services, and railcar parts transactions. Blue hired a marketing team and developed an infrastructure with Mexican employees that eventually reported directly to senior management in the U.S. Prior to working on the Mexican operations, Blue served in Atlanta, Georgia as a Vice President for Railcar, Ltd., a subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation engaged in leasing freight cars and locomotives.
For six years prior to the June 1998 sale of the family business of Louisville Scrap Material Co., Inc. and its affiliates to Progress Rail Services Corporation, Blue served as Senior Vice President, Rail Services for such companies. Responsible for worldwide business development of the companies' railroad and rail related services, Blue succeeded in establishing these companies, collectively, as industry leaders.
Blue began his post-college career as a Senior Associate for APM, Inc., a leading international management consulting firm, which concentrated in turnarounds, operations improvement, strategic planning and continuous quality initiatives.
Blue received a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. A frequent speaker, Blue has been profiled in many national and international publications. His ideas and views have been featured in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. He has been interviewed on Bloomberg Television and CNBC. Blue has served on numerous professional panels relating to private equity, sports and entertainment and a variety of business issues and sectors.
Michael J. Principe
Chief Operating Officer, Blue Equity, LLC
Managing Director, BEST
Michael J. Principe serves as the Managing Director of BEST, an industry leader in sports marketing, management and production. He brings nearly 15 years of experience in sports and entertainment deal making, management and operations to his role as Managing Director. In such capacity, he is responsible for the overall management of the practice, which includes day to day operations, acquisitions and growth strategy. As BEST engages in talent representation, television rights and production, event production and operation and sponsorship sales, Principe operates across each line of business affording him an extraordinary depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in all facets of sports and entertainment.
In addition to his role with BEST, Principe also serves as the Chief Operating Officer for its parent company, Blue Equity, LLC and is responsible for the operations and management of various business matters pertaining to Blue Equity, as well as the identification and development of new investments and opportunities.
Prior to joining BEST and Blue Equity, Principe held various executive positions in SFX Sports Group, including that of Executive Vice President and as General Counsel. During his tenure with SFX, he was responsible for the agency's business and legal affairs and was actively involved in the operation and management of its practices through his seat on the company's Executive Committee. He oversaw all SFX legal matters, discovered and cultivated new lines of business and created an integrated strategy of growth and development between its divisions.
Through his career, Principe led or played a material role in many of the sports industry's most considerable transactions. Such transactions, which have an aggregate value in excess of $500,000,000, include Black Canyon Productions, Cambridge Golf, Dynasty Sports Group, F.A.M.E., Game Seven Sports Marketing, Greg Norman Productions, ISI, ProServ, SFX Worldwide, Speakers of Sport, Sports Management Group, TCI, Tellem & Associates, The Marquee Group and Worldwide Football.
Principe's success in the mergers and acquisitions of these companies, combined with his operational and management experience, qualifies him as a leading authority in the industry. As such, he is a frequent lecturer and panelist and has been named to the Sports Business Journal's prestigious "Forty Under 40" list.
A member of the New York Bar and the Sports Lawyers Association, Principe is a graduate of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri. As a Robert & Mary Welborn Scholar, he obtained his Juris Doctor in 1995. Principe received his Bachelor of Arts from Washington University, and graduated, cum honore, in 1992. He and his wife reside in Brooklyn, New York with their two daughters.
Jason Charney
Senior Vice President, Collegiate Properties
Jason Charney is one of the top most authorities in management and marketing for collegiate and professional coaches. Prior to joining BEST, Charney served as Senior Vice President at Game Seven, the company he co-founded in 2003. During his time at Game Seven, he and partner Brooks Downing established one of the top collegiate events of the year — The Hartford Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.
His experience at Nelligan Sports Marketing, working for such Big East powerhouses as University of Louisville and DePaul University, helped Charney develop his expertise in event marketing. Over the past five years, he has expanded into client representation throughout the college sports industry and has worked with such coaches as Rick Pitino, Bobby Petrino, Steve Kragthorpe, Tubby Smith, Tom Crean, Andy Kennedy and John Pelphrey.
Charney earned his BA in Journalism (’94) and Master’s in Sports Administration (’95) from Indiana University. He is married with two daughters.
Dan Cramer
Executive Vice President, Experiential Properties
Dan Cramer joins BEST with 20 years of experience in the sports marketing and event business. He is acknowledged as one of the builders in the event business with his creativity and vision. Cramer is unique in that he has a sports and financial background. He is passionate about the event business and the promotion of health and fitness for young people. Cramer was the architect in designing a media rights revenue model that has been successfully used over the years. He was the innovator of the 3v3 soccer game that is currently being played by thousands of players and is considered one of the best skill development games. Kick It 3v3 soccer has become one of the largest grassroots tours in the world.
Prior to joining BEST, Cramer was the CEO for Team Championship International. Here he grew the successful tours of Hoop It Up (3on3 basketball), Let It Fly (4on4 football) and Kick It (3v3 soccer) to garner national attention with millions of participants and spectators. Before this, Cramer was a principal at Summit Sports and Events and helped grow the event business from 1 event to over 125. He later sold the company to Host Communications.
Cramer began his sports marketing career with the advent of Cramer Productions, a television production company. He has worked as a play-by-play commentator and color analyst for many different sports. Prior to entering the sports business, Cramer worked for an international accounting firm and played professional basketball in Europe. He is a member of the Dutch Basketball Hall of Fame and scored 50 points in a single game while playing basketball for the University of Denver.
Cramer graduated with a BSBA degree with a major in accounting from the University of Denver. He was a CPA and Senior Audit Manager for KPMG-Denver and KPMG-Holland. Cramer currently serves as the President of the Friends of Denver Basketball at his alma mater. He is active in youth sports and is the President of Jefferson County Youth basketball.
Donald Dell
Group President, Television, Tennis & Events
No history of professional sports could be complete without a chapter devoted to the contributions of ProServ Founder and Chairman, and Group President of Blue Entertainment Sports Television, Donald L. Dell. In fact, the history of tennis, particularly the sport’s Open era, might as well be a chronology of Dell’s career in sports marketing and management, and television.
In 1968 and 1969, Dell had just captained the United States Davis Cup team to its second consecutive World Championship. The team’s players, however, faced an uncertain future as tennis was turning into a professional sport -- the beginning of “Open Tennis”. Two players who would dominate the game for much of the next decade, Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith, turned to Dell, an accomplished Washington D.C. attorney, asking him to further their opportunities in the sports marketplace and represent them in their future professional careers.
At the time, Dell had become fascinated with the growth potential of sports, and recognized athletes’ need for sound career management. He also anticipated the need of major corporations for assistance in developing effective sports marketing programs. Soon thereafter Dell founded ProServ, which quickly assumed a leadership role in the sports marketing industry. ProServ’s success led to its being acquired in 1999 by SFX as an integral part of the SFX Sports Group which was recently
acquired in 2006 by Blue Equity, Inc., and is now known as BEST – Blue Entertainment Sports Television.
Over the course of his career, Dell has developed some of the most significant and longest-lived partnerships between sponsors and sports properties. He has negotiated nearly one billion dollars in sponsorships and endorsements throughout his illustrious career, including the 2001 FedEx Naming Rights deal with the Washington Redskins (“FedEx Field”), over $205 million, the largest in NFL history. He currently oversees and distributes many of SFX and SFX Television’s properties including the French Open, The U.S. Open, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, the Boston Marathon and 20 ATP tennis telecasts on Fox Sports Net.
Dell also served as a trial lawyer with Hogan & Hartson and as a political aide to Robert F. Kennedy. He attended Yale University, the University of Virginia Law School and received an Honorary Doctorate from St. John’s University.
In 1989, Dell published Minding Other People’s Business, a book chronicling many of his experiences and lessons learned from his career working for and with clients. In August 2009, Dell's second book Never Make the First Offer (Except when you should) was published, which desbribes anecdotally (and his life's experiencres) in a deal-making story. Dell currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and as an adjunct professor in Sports Law at the University of Virginia School of Law.
Brooks Downing
Executive Vice President, Collegiate Properties
Brooks Downing brings to BEST more than 20 years of experience in media, public relations, marketing and business management with a primary emphasis in collegiate sports. Prior to joining BEST, he partnered with Jason Charney to create Game Seven Sports Marketing, a boutique agency specializing in events and client management.
A graduate of the University of Kentucky with a BA in Telecommunications, Downing has become one of the nation's foremost experts in public relations and marketing, and is a luminary in the areas of corporate partnerships and event management. While a member of the University of Kentucky athletics department, he managed all publicity efforts for the nations' winningest college basketball program, while also overseeing the day-to-day management of the home basketball games at historic Rupp Arena. Downing served as Sports Information Director for both Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith as the Wildcats played in three consecutive National Championship games, winning two NCAA titles. During his tenure at UK, Downing was honored with seven national publication awards, served on a variety of panels throughout collegiate sports and was a public relations committee member for the Southeastern Conference.
Thanks to his many successes at the national level, Downing is considered one of the most networked individuals in all of college sports. Those relationships have paid significant dividends for the Collegiate Division as it has increased its stable of top-notch clients tremendously since 2007. He and Charney are considered two of the foremost experts in collegiate athletics when it comes to negotiating contracts, developing a coaches brand through marketing and endorsement opportunities or creating charitable endeavors whereby their clients can utilize their respective prominent platforms for preferred causes.
Previously, Downing served as the Sports Information Director at the Kentucky High School Athletic Association after launching his career as an editor and producer for Hall of Fame broadcaster Cawood Ledford. Active locally, he serves as Vice Chairman of the Lexington Area Sports Authority Board and as Vice Chairman of the hugely successful Get Healthy Kentucky Bluegrass State Games.
He and his wife Cassie have twin daughters.
Sam Duvall
Vice President, Tennis
Sam Duvall currently serves as Vice President for BEST Tennis. He is responsible for recruiting, contract negotiations, and marketing for the BEST Tennis division.
Duvall began his career in 2005 as an intern at SFX and has quickly risen to his current position. He works in the Washington D.C. office with mentor and BEST Group President Donald Dell. Duvall has signed and personally manages 12 ATP and WTA players, including rising stars John Isner , Denis Kudla , Melanie Oudin and Eugenie Bouchard . Duvall also works closely with BEST Tennis President John Tobias on the accounts of Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Sam Querrey.
Duvall holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Bates College and a minor in Economics. Duvall was a 2-year captain on the nationally-ranked men's tennis team.
Dan Fegan
President, Basketball
Dan Fegan is one of the top NBA player agents and brings nearly 20 years of experience in the sports industry to BEST. He has negotiated over $1 billion in player contracts since 2003. Fegan is credited with pioneering the one-year opt out which enhanced player’s salaries by more than $100 million in just one year. He also initiated the innovative sign-and-trade provision which is considered a groundbreaking victory for the National Basketball Players Association over the NBA.
Fegan represents many of the top athletes in the NBA including Shawn Marion, Nenê, Jason Richardson, Yi Jianlian, Jason Terry, Anderson Varejao and Troy Murphy.
Fegan graduated from Yale University Law School and is licensed to practice law in the state of California. In addition to his work with top NBA clients, he has served as an adjunct law professor at Pepperdine University School of Law.
Lee D. Galkin
General Counsel
Lee Galkin is BEST's General Counsel, a position he has held since BEST's inception. In such capacity, Galkin is responsible for the overall legal and business affairs of BEST, including drafting, negotiating, analyzing, and reviewing of all types of agreements on behalf of BEST, its clients, properties, and events. Examples of this are agreements in the areas of endorsement and licensing, corporate consulting and hospitality, event sponsorship and management, television production and distribution, employment matters, and the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Galkin also acts as BEST's "compliance officer", ensuring that its agents are registered as Athlete Agents with those states that require such registration.
In addition to his role with BEST, Galkin also serves as counsel for its parent company, Blue Equity, LLC., in which capacity he handles much of the legal affairs stemming from Blue Equity and its portfolio of companies and real estate properties, including The Voice Tribune, Nurses Now International, Seccíon Amarilla, Louisville's historic Landmark, Republic and Molee Buildings, and the Midlands project.
Prior to joining BEST and Blue Equity, Galkin served as Associate General Counsel for SFX Sports Group in New York City, where he was responsible for much of the day to day legal affairs within SFX and the television division of its parent company, Live Nation (formerly Clear Channel Entertainment). During this time, he also served as Production Counsel for Spike TV's "Pros vs. Joes" television series.
A native of New England, Galkin received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1994 from Emory University in Atlanta and is a cum laude graduate of Suffolk University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. He is member of the New York and Massachusetts Bars, is an authorized house counsel in the State of Florida and resides in South Florida with his wife and their three daughters.
Byron Irvin
Vice President, Basketball
Irvin began his playing career at the University of Missouri, where he successfully led his team to a top five national ranking, the Big 8 Tournament Championship and the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. After graduating from Missouri with a Bachelor’s degree in History, Irvin was a first-round selection of the Portland Trailblazers in 1989. After playing with the Trailblazers and Washington Bullets in the NBA, and overseas in Spain, Israel, Argentina and Greece, Irvin returned to the U.S. where he coached for two years in the professional minor leagues.
Stu Lash
Vice President, Basketball
As Vice President of Basketball, Stu Lash serves as counsel and mentor to clients, represents their interest in contract negotiations, coordinates NBA draft preparation, and scouts potential clients.
Prior to joining BEST Basketball, Lash served as Director of Basketball and Business Affairs for Levien Sports Representation (LSR) where he represented several clients and oversaw the daily operations for multiple divisions. Lash was also heavily involved with mentoring players, assessing individual player needs and providing personal service for athletes and their families. During his time with LSR, Lash provided basketball analysis on current news and events within the NBA for Fox Sports Rocky Mountain Television.
Before joining LSR, Lash was the Scouting Coordinator for the Denver Nuggets for the 2002-2006 seasons. While with the Denver Nuggets, Lash was involved with game preparations, on-court player development, free agent evaluations, and draft war-room decisions.
Mr. Lash earned his B.S. in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts in 1999 while serving as Team Manager for the basketball team for two years. Upon graduation, Lash spent three years with the renowned Five-Star Basketball Camp. Through out his tenure with Five-Star, Lash oversaw all coaching and athlete participation, and served as motivational speaker for high school basketball events.
Stu and his wife, Rebecca, reside in Denver, Colorado.
Michael Lawson
Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Prior to joining BEST, Lawson was with Nelligan Sports Marketing (NSM) for five years and served as General Manager of their Ball State University, Marquette University and Middle Tennessee State University properties. Additionally, Lawson provided oversight to NSM’s Horizon League, Indiana State and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay properties. While holding that position, Lawson managed to double revenue and sales on all properties within the first year, and in many cases sales tripled or quadrupled. Lawson began his career with NSM at its University of Louisville property. Lawson has also held positions in the athletic department at the United States Military Academy at West Point as well as with the Cincinnati Reds and Cyclones.
Lawson has negotiated some of the biggest long-term sponsorship deals in college sports where he has developed an ongoing working relationship with the largest corporations in the country.
A graduate and former scholar-athlete at Indiana State University, Lawson also received a Masters degree from the University of Louisville.
Jeff Newman
Senior Vice President, Events
Jeff Newman brings over 16 years of experience in the creation, planning, organization and execution of major sporting events. Newman began his career in sports working for the Georgia State Olympics before being hired by Donald Dell at ProServ, Inc. in 1995 as a Tournament Associate for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Just four years later, he became the youngest Tournament Director within the ATP Tennis Tour worldwide and still currently holds that distinction. During Newman's tenure as Tournament Director, tournament profits have increased seven-fold, ticket sales have jumped by over 70%, and over $1.5 million dollars have been raised for the Washington Tennis &Education Foundation programs which assist at-risk youth.
Other events within Newman's portfolio include: Tennis- Champions for Charity, Rock-n-Racquets, Andy Roddick's "My Ride" Tour, Andre Agassi Celebrity Tennis Challenge, Davis Cup and Fed Cup Semifinals (Washington, DC), TD Waterhouse Cup, AT&T Tennis Challenge; Golf- ADT Golf Skills, Exelon Golf Invitational, GOLF MAGAZINE Amateur Challenge; Volleyball- AVP Louisville Open, Miller Lite King of the Beach; College Basketball- BB&T Classic; Running- Sallie Mae 10K; Olympics- Georgia Games (state Olympics); Ice Skating- Olay presents Ice Wars; TV Production- The Superstars.
Newman currently resides in Bethesda, MD with his wife and two sons. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Marketing. Newman is also a Founding Member, Board of Director and Treasurer for Books, Bears & Bonnets, Inc. - a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children and adults cope with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses by bringing caring gifts, thoughts and information to people fighting for their lives.
Lon Rosen
President, Entertainment
Lon Rosen brings more than 20 years of experience in the sports and entertainment industry to BEST. In addition to his representation of broadcasters, hosts and other entertainment personalities, Rosen also focuses on television production, new media ventures and sports consulting for BEST.
Prior to joining BEST, Rosen served as Vice President and Agent for the William Morris Agency's Sports Marketing division. Rosen began his career as an intern with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, before being promoted to Director of Promotions for the Lakers, Kings and the Los Angeles Forum Special Events. From there, he moved into sports representation. Among the athletes and entertainers he has worked with are NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, magician and entertainer David Blaine, John Saunders from ABC/ESPN, Matt Vasgerian from Fox Sports and the MLB Network, and boxing sensations Floyd Mayweather and Sugar Ray Leonard.
Over the years Rosen has worked in many areas of the sports industry. He founded the sports marketing company, First Team Marketing, in 1987 and headed Endeavor talent agency's marketing and new media division.
Rosen holds a Bachelor's degree from USC.
Joel Segal
President, Football
Joel Segal’s background as a lawyer provides his clients with an invaluable mastery of contract law and negotiation. His extensive experience in negotiating numerous contracts under the current rookie and veteran salary caps is impressive. His contract philosophies have been chronicled on national television and in print. Segal has represented numerous 1st Round top NFL draft choices since 1992, including eight since 2001, and has negotiated over one billion dollars in player contracts. He was also named 14th most influential agent among all major sports by Sports Business Journal in 2006 and 2008.
Notable, are the recent record-setting player contracts. For example, over the last years Segal has set the record for highest paid player in NFL history at four different positions: Wide Receiver (Antonio Freeman), Safety (Darren Sharper); Quarterback (Michael Vick) and Running Back (Reggie Bush). The 2004 contract for Michael Vick set the record for biggest contract in NFL history and the largest fully-guaranteed bonus in NFL history and the recent 2006 Rookie contract for Reggie Bush set the record for highest paid RB in NFL history and highest contract in Saints team history.
In addition to his work with top NFL clients, Segal serves as an adjunct law professor at Hofstra University School of Law in New York.
Dennis Spencer
Executive Vice President, Television
Dennis Spencer has been in the sports television industry for over 25 years. During that time, he has worked in virtually every area of sports television and received numerous accolades and awards.
He began his career in professional tennis as the first road manager and publicity director for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). While there, he co-founded International Tennis Weekly and championed many innovations that are still part of the sport today.
As senior vice president for ProServ Television, Dennis developed the first wave of advertiser-supported sports television and was the executive in charge of production for numerous award-winning specials and series including A Hard Road to Glory (Emmy and Freedom Foundation); Sports Probe, SportsWoman, Countdown to 88 and The Year in Sports (ACE); Joe Louis, Heavyweight (Image); Dravecky: Courage and Grace (Evangelical Film of the Year) and Rubinstein Remembered (New York Film Festival and Golden Eagle).
ProServ Television later joined Clear Channel Entertainment, where Dennis oversaw the SFX Television division as Senior Vice President. Throughout this career, Dennis has employed his international expertise to work with many of the top sporting events and leagues including the US Open Tennis Championships, NBA, Tour de France, NCAA Final Four, International Baseball Association, United States Olympic Committee and the Boston Marathon. He continues to work with many of these properties today.
Dennis graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in speech from Greenville (Ill.) College. He is married with three sons. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Heart of a Champion Foundation and on the March of Dimes Sports Luncheon committee.
Aylton Tesch
Vice President, International Basketball
Aylton Tesch brings an extensive amount of international knowledge to BEST basketball. Tesch is certified with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and is involved with recruiting and promoting basketball services to potential and existing clients. Tesch is involved in each and every aspect of athlete representation, including contract negotiation, client advising and fulfillment of client services.
Tesch began his playing career at Middle Tennessee State University where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Tesch played professionally for ten years winning three national championships in Brazil (1999, 2000 and 2004). Tesch was a member of the 1999 Brazilian National Team which won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg.
John Tobias
President, Tennis
John Tobias is regarded as one of the top young executives in the professional sports marketing industry. In 2005, Tobias was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 30 sports industry executives under the age of 30. He has also been recognized by the Sports Business Journal as one to the top "up and coming" leaders in professional sports.
Tobias' seven years of experience in sports marketing began with Pro Serv and industry legend Donald Dell. Over the course of several acquisitions, Pro Serv became SFX and now BEST (Blue Entertainment Sports Television) where Tobias quickly rose up the corporate hierarchy. In 2006, Blue Equity, LLC, purchased the SFX Tennis representation practice from Clear Channel Entertainment and is when Tobias became an equity share holder. Tobias served as Vice President from 2007-2009 at BEST Tennis, and in March of 2009 was promoted to President.
Tobias has personally represented the likes of top tennis stars Mardy Fish, Mike & Bob Bryan, Sam Querrey, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki and Anna Chakvetadze. He has also spent several years playing a key assisting role on the all-encompassing Andy Roddick account and in 2005 began working with 5-time Grand Slam Champion Justine Henin. During the course of his successful career at Pro Serv, SFX Tennis and now BEST, Tobias has negotiated hundreds of contracts for clients on both the ATP and WTA tours.
Tobias holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of California at San Diego where he currently serves on the athlete alumni council. While at UCSD, he was a member of the men's basketball team and earned recognition among the University's top student athletes. In addition, Tobias was named to the UCSD Dean's list on multiple occasions. He is currently a registered athlete agent/representative in multiple states around the nation, and is also a registered NFLPA Contract Advisor and works closely with BEST Football President Joel Segal on a variety of projects.