Michael Zilkha

Last updated
Michael Zilkha
Born1954 (age 6970)
Alma mater Lincoln College, Oxford
Occupationentrepreneur
Known forco-founder, ZE Records
Spouses
(m. 1983;div. 1990)
  • Cornelia "Nina" O'Leary
Children1
Parent(s) Selim Zilkha
Diane Bashi
Relatives Khedouri Zilkha (grandfather)
Ezra Zilkha (uncle)
Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester (stepfather)

Michael Zilkha (born 1954) is a British-born entrepreneur, the co-founder of ZE Records.

Contents

Early life

He was born in 1954, the son of Selim Zilkha, the founder of Mothercare, one of the UK's largest retail chains (and the grandson of Khedouri Zilkha, a banker) and Diane Bashi. His parents had divorced by 1962, when his mother married the British politician Harold Lever (later Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester). [1] He was educated at Westminster School and Lincoln College, Oxford. [2] [3]

Career

In 1978, he co-founded ZE Records with Michel Esteban, which he co-owned until 1986. From 1986 to 1998, he was co-owner and executive vice president of Zilkha Energy, and from 1998 to 2005 president and co-owner of Zilkha Renewable Energy, until it was bought by Goldman Sachs in July 2005 and renamed Horizon Wind Energy, and co-owner of Zilkha Biomass Energy. [2]

In 1998, Zilkha and his father sold the Houston-based Zilkha Energy to Sonat for $1 billion, which in turn was later acquired by El Paso Corporation, of which the Zilkhas became major shareholders. [4]

In 2019, Zilkha inaugurated Ze Books, described as a new small press that will publish "literary mix-tapes from visionary writers, artists, and musicians". [5] Inaugural authors included Glenn O'Brien, Jonathan Wells and Mary Gaitskill. [6]

Personal life

In 1983, Zilkha married the singer Cristina Monet-Palaci. [3] They divorced in 1990.

He is married to Cornelia "Nina" O'Leary, a descendant of Hugh Roy Cullen, and they have a son. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Hattersley</span> British Labour Party politician, author and journalist (born 1932)

Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley, is a British politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. A member of the Labour Party, he was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook for over 32 years from 1964 to 1997, and served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Williams</span> British politician and academic (1930–2021)

Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from 1974 to 1979. She was one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981 and, at the time of her retirement from politics, was a Liberal Democrat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Cullen (politician)</span> New Zealand politician (1945–2021)

Sir Michael John Cullen was a New Zealand politician. He served as the 16th deputy prime minister of New Zealand, also as the minister of Finance, minister of Tertiary Education, and attorney-general. He was the deputy leader of the Labour Party from 1996 until November 2008, when he resigned following a defeat in the general election. He resigned from Parliament in April 2009, to become the deputy chairman of New Zealand Post from 1 November 2009 and chairman from 1 November 2010 until leaving the role in 2016. On 6 March 2020 he announced that he had resigned from the Lakes and Bay of Plenty district health boards, respectively. At the same time he also announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 small-cell lung cancer, which had also spread to his liver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Meacher</span> British politician (1939–2015)

Michael Hugh Meacher was a British politician who served as a government minister under Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Tony Blair. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Oldham West and Royton, previously Oldham West, from 1970 until his death in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Sheldon, Baron Sheldon</span> British politician (1923–2020)

Robert Edward Sheldon, Baron Sheldon PC was a British Labour Party politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashton under Lyne from 1964 to 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reg Prentice</span> British politician

Reginald Ernest Prentice, Baron Prentice, PC was a British politician who held ministerial office in both Labour and Conservative Party governments. He was the most senior Labour figure ever to defect to the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cristina (singer)</span> American singer (1959–2020)

Cristina Monet Zilkha, known during her recording career simply as Cristina, was an American singer and writer, best known for her no wave recordings made for ZE Records in the late 1970s and early 1980s in New York City. She "was a pioneer in blending the artsiness and attitude of punk with the joyful energy of disco and pop.... [which] helped pave the way for the massive successes of her contemporaries, like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, and anticipated the rise of confrontational but danceable alt-pop acts..." in a mode that was at once "campy, self-aware, and infectious."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester</span> British barrister and politician

Norman Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester, PC was a British barrister and Labour Party politician.

Manchester Cheetham was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

Robert Kenneth Litherland, known as Bob Litherland, was a British Labour politician.

Leslie Maurice Lever, Baron Lever, GCSG was a British Labour politician. He was Member of Parliament for Manchester Ardwick from 1950 to 1970, when he retired. Subsequently, he was given a life peerage as Baron Lever, of Ardwick in the City of Manchester on 10 July 1975.

The 1979 Manchester Central by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 27 September 1979 for the British House of Commons constituency of Manchester Central.

Michael Peter Skelly is a Houston renewable energy and infrastructure developer and entrepreneur. He is the former Democratic candidate for Texas's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. From 1999 to 2008, he served as the chief development officer for Horizon Wind Energy, which by 2007 had become the second-largest wind farm developer and third-largest wind farm owner in the United States. Skelly cofounded and served as president of Clean Line Energy Partners, an independent developer of high voltage direct current, long-haul transmission lines until 2018. Skelly's work at Clean Line is detailed in the book, "Superpower: One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy" by Wall Street Journal Energy reporter and Pulitzer Prize finalist Russell Gold. Skelly is CEO of Grid United, an independent transmission development company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Beckett</span> English author, journalist, biographer and contemporary historian

Francis Beckett is an English author, journalist, biographer, and contemporary historian. He has written biographies of Aneurin Bevan, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. He has also written on education for the New Statesman, The Guardian and The Independent and is the editor of Third Age Matters, the national magazine published by the University of the Third Age. Beckett has been described as "an Old Labour romantic" by Guardian associate editor Michael White.

Selim Khedouri Zilkha was an Iraqi-born British entrepreneur, who founded Mothercare, one of the UK's largest retail chains until it was put into administration in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Evans (British politician)</span> Welsh Labour Co-op politician, MP for Islwyn

Christopher James Evans is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Islwyn since 2010. He is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Reynolds</span> British politician (born 1980)

Jonathan Neil Reynolds is a British politician who is currently serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade. A member of Labour Co-op, he has also been Member of Parliament (MP) for Stalybridge and Hyde since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZE Records</span> Record label

ZE Records was a New York–based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban, and closed in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Kane</span> British Labour politician

Michael Joseph Patrick Kane is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wythenshawe and Sale East since 2014. He is a member of the Labour Party.

References

  1. "Stock Photo - Mar. 15, 1962 - LABOUR MP MARRIES IRAQI HEIRESS: Harold Lever, 48, Labour MP for Manchester's Cheatham, Division, today married". alamy. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Executive Profile Michael Zilkha". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 New York Media, LLC (23 April 1984). New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. pp. 54–57. ISSN   0028-7369 . Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. Perin, Monica (27 April 2003). "Wind energy visionary flies under the radar". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. Maher, John (July 9, 2019). "Michael Zilkha Launches ZE Books". publishersweekly.com. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  6. "Ze Books catalogue". zebooks.com. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  7. "Roy Henry Cullen". legacy. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  8. Pugh, Clifford (22 March 2015). "Anna Wintour's stormy Houston weekend: Big River Oaks wedding, luncheon gossip & not a hair out of place". CultureMap. Retrieved 24 November 2015.