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Sharon Fordham is an American Broadway theatrical producer, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and angel investor.
Sharon is a producer of Jill Santoriello's Broadway musical adaptation of 'A Tale of Two Cities' opening for preview on August 19, 2008, at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in New York.
In addition to her work as a Broadway producer, Sharon is an angel investor and Principal of The Fordham Group, an early investment company focusing on investments in the technology area. [1]
Previously, she was CEO and board member of WeightWatchers.com, Inc., Recently, WeightWatchers.com was bought by the licensor, Weight Watchers International.
Prior to her time as CEO of WeightWatchers.com, Sharon held several executive positions at Nabisco, including President of Global e-Business, President of the LifeSavers Company (Nabisco subsidiary) and Senior Vice President of marketing for Nabisco's flagship division, the Nabisco Biscuit Company.
While at Nabisco, Sharon pioneered the emerging advertising genre of "advergaming", with the launch of Nabisco's gaming web sites, Candystand.com and Nabiscoworld.com.
Sharon earned a bachelor's degree from Douglass College at Rutgers University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Altria Group, Inc. is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and medical products in the treatment of illnesses caused by tobacco. It operates worldwide and is headquartered in Henrico County, Virginia, just outside the city of Richmond.
The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $426 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and private credit. It is one of the largest mega-funds in the world. In 2015, Carlyle was the world's largest private equity firm by capital raised over the previous five years, according to the PEI 300 index. In the 2024 ranking however, it had slipped to sixth place.
Private equity (PE) is capital stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public. In the field of finance, private equity is offered instead to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the companies. In casual usage, "private equity" can refer to these investment firms rather than the companies that they invest in.
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strategic partners, hedge funds. As of December 31, 2023, the firm had completed more than 730 private equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total enterprise value. As of December 31, 2023, assets under management (AUM) and fee paying assets under management (FPAUM) were $553 billion and $446 billion, respectively.
Henry Roberts Kravis is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of KKR & Co. Inc.
Lazard Inc. is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It is the world's largest independent investment bank, with principal executive offices in New York City, Paris and London.
TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments. The firm invests in a range of industries including consumer/retail, media and telecommunications, industrials, technology, travel, leisure, and health care. TPG became a public company in January 2022, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “TPG”.
The Ambac Financial Group, Inc., generally known as Ambac, is an American holding company. Its subsidiaries provide financial guarantee products such as bond insurance to clients in both the public and private sectors globally. Ambac Assurance is a guarantor of public finance and structured finance obligations. Its common stock and common stock purchase warrants are listed on the NYSE under the symbols AMBC and AMBCW respectively. Ambac is regulated by the insurance commission of Wisconsin. It has its headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
Peter Chernin is an American film and television producer, businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, and technology sectors.
Jason McCabe Calacanis is an American Internet entrepreneur, angel investor, author and podcaster.
CNHI, LLC is an American publisher of newspapers and advertising-related publications throughout the United States. The company was formed in 1997 by Ralph Martin, and is based in Montgomery, Alabama. The company is financed by, and is a subsidiary of, the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA).
Kevin P. Ryan is an American investor and entrepreneur who has founded several New York–based businesses, including Gilt Groupe, Business Insider and MongoDB. Ryan helped grow DoubleClick from 1996 to 2005, first as president and later as CEO. Ryan continues to found and invest in companies through AlleyCorp, a venture capital firm he founded with Dwight Merriman in 2008. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.
An angel investor is an individual who provides capital to a business or businesses, including startups, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Angel investors often provide support to startups at a very early stage, once or in a consecutive manner, and when most investors are not prepared to back them. In a survey of 150 founders conducted by Wilbur Labs, about 70% of entrepreneurs will face potential business failure, and nearly 66% will face this potential failure within 25 months of launching their company. A small but increasing number of angel investors invest online through equity crowdfunding or organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share investment capital and provide advice to their portfolio companies. The number of angel investors has greatly increased since the mid-20th century.
Christopher M. Schroeder is an American entrepreneur, advisor, author, and investor in interactive technologies and social communications.
Peter A. Cohen is the chairman and CEO of Andover National Corporation, a public holding company. He was formerly the chairman and CEO of Cowen Inc., also known as Cowen & Company now TD Cowen. Prior to his current role, Cohen founded Ramius Capital Management in 1994, a $13 billion investment firm, which he merged with Cowen Inc. in 2009. Prior to this, Cohen was the chairman and chief executive officer of Shearson Lehman American Express from 1983 through 1991.
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco is a 1989 book about the leveraged buyout (LBO) of RJR Nabisco, written by investigative journalists Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. The book is based upon a series of articles written by the authors for The Wall Street Journal. The book was made into a 1993 made-for-TV movie by HBO, also called Barbarians at the Gate. The book centers on F. Ross Johnson, the CEO of RJR Nabisco, who planned to buy out the rest of the Nabisco shareholders.
Trish Costello is a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and investor. She is the Founder and CEO of Portfolia, a collaborative equity investing platform. She was named as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2014 by Goldman Sachs and Top Ten Women to Watch in Tech in 2015 by Inc magazine. She is recognized internationally for her pioneering work in educating and preparing venture capital investment partners, through the Kauffman Fellows Program. As the founding CEO and CEO Emeritus of the Center for Venture Education, she led the Kauffman Fellows Program for its first ten years. Costello was on the start-up team of the Kauffman Foundation's entrepreneurship center, where for eight years she directed its efforts in venture capital, angel investing, entrepreneur support programs, and programming to accelerate high potential women entrepreneurs. She played a leading role nationally in obtaining greater financial equity investments in women's businesses and in funding initiatives supporting high-growth women entrepreneurs.
Francesca Hauser is a startup investor and advisor, funding and advising consumer-focused companies such as HelloGiggles, Levo, Mogul, The Wing and Gem&Bolt. Formerly President, Digital for Time Inc.'s Style and Entertainment Group, she is also a philanthropist and advocate for women in business.
David Sculley is an American businessman and former President & CEO of H.J. Heinz U.S.A. (1985–90). In 1996, David joined his brothers to form the private investment firm, Sculley Brothers, with its head office in New York City. He is the youngest brother of John Sculley, former President & CEO of Pepsi and Apple and Arthur Sculley, former head of J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank.
Matthew Pittinsky is an American technology entrepreneur, educator and academic. He is the CEO of Parchment and a co-founder of Blackboard Inc. Pittinsky is also affiliated with Arizona State University as an assistant research professor.