AEG’s Timothy Leiweke named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 Winner in the Media, Entertainment & Communication category
Palm Springs, 15 November 2009 – Timothy J. Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG, was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national winner in the Media, Entertainment & Communications category. Now in its 23rd year, the awards recognize leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment as they create and build world-class businesses.
Leiweke was honored for growing AEG into a multibillion-dollar global sports and entertainment empire. Leiweke was honored at the Entrepreneur Of The Year® gala in Palm Springs – the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Awards were given in nine additional categories. All Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® winners were selected by an independent panel of judges from approximately 400 regional award recipients.
Los Angeles-based AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, employs 15,000 people worldwide, operates 52 major sports complexes, convention centers and venues, and is the second-largest live entertainment company in the world.
Redefining Sports Entertainment
At age 23, Timothy Leiweke was already the assistant general manager of the St. Louis Steamers with the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He cut through fan apathy and injected local interest into the team by developing a unique marketing and entertainment culture. His innovations, including theatrical lighting, music and special effects are now standard among professional sports teams.
A year later, he was the youngest general manager in professional sports history when he joined the MISL’s Baltimore Blast. He climbed the management ranks with various teams in the league, and also held executive roles in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
His career took a turn in 1995, when Leiweke was hired as president of the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings. The team was coming out of bankruptcy and key to its renewal was getting a new arena. Despite opposition from key political leaders, little community support and no funding from the city, he got the Staples Center off the ground. Besides securing additional tenants such as the NBA’s LA Lakers and LA Clippers, Leiweke completed the project by relying on sponsorship and naming rights deals, the sale of luxury suites and club seats, the creation of other new revenue streams and the first-ever asset-backed privatization scheme for such a venue. That was the start of AEG.
AEG grows beyond the arena
The business model Leiweke developed for the LA Kings evolved into AEG’s business model with the creation and touring of live programming, including sports teams and performing acts, on a worldwide basis. AEG is also involved in the development of unique properties all over the world.
These properties include LA Live, a $2.5 billion sports, entertainment and residential district in the heart of Los Angeles. AEG transformed London’s failed Millennium Dome into Europe’s state-of-the-art music and sports venue. When AEG built the O2 World Arena in Berlin, it sparked a social renaissance in the city. AEG has now turned its attention to China, where it will be developing up to 12 arenas in partnership with the NBA and Australia.
Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national finalists in Media, Entertainment & Communications category
In addition to Leiweke, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® national finalists in the Media, Entertainment & Communications category are: Craig Malloy, CEO and co-founder of LifeSize Communications, Inc. of Austin, Texas, the global leader in high definition video communications; Polina Braunstein, president and CEO of San Diego-based Quake Global, a leading manufacturer of satellite modems for the trucking and heavy equipment industries; and Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) of Carlsbad, CA, which produces innovative satellite and other digital communication products.
Overall Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 National Winner
Tom Adams, president and CEO of Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST), was named the Overall Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 national winner.
Video and Photos
To view video clips of all the Entrepreneur Of The Year® winners, please visit the Ernst & Young YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/ErnstandYoungGlobal. Photos of the winners are also available by request.
Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year® awards are pleased to have the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and SAP America as national sponsors.
About Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year®
Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.
About Ernst & Young's Strategic Growth Markets Practice
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