In the spring of 1999 Lincoln Holdings LLC purchased 100% of the Washington Capitals (held in the name of Lincoln Hockey LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lincoln Holdings) and, together with a subsequent purchase, approximately 44% of Washington Sports and Entertainment Limited Partnership (WSELP). WSELP owns 100% of the NBA Washington Wizards, Verizon Center and the Baltimore-Washington Ticketmaster franchise. In 2005 Lincoln Holdings purchased the WNBA’s Washington Mystics from WSELP. Lincoln Holdings has a right of first refusal on the sale of any of the individual teams or other assets, as well as an option to purchase Abe Pollin’s majority interest in WSELP.
All of the current partners of Lincoln Holdings are extremely active in the Washington-area business community.
Ted Leonsis is known as one of the country’s premiere businessmen having held numerous leadership positions at AOL. He is also a professional sports team owner, a film producer, a private-angel investor, an active Board member and a committed philanthropist.
During his 14-year career with AOL, the company enjoyed its greatest periods of growth and financial success. Leonsis now serves as vice chairman emeritus, having stepped down from day-to-day management at AOL on Dec. 31, 2006. He has served as AOL vice chairman as well as president of several business units, including the AOL Services Company, AOL Studios, AOL Web Services, AOL Core Service and the AOL Audience Business.
Leonsis is now the chairman of Revolution Money, an innovative new Web 2.0 payment platform and credit-card service created to transform the financial services industry by drastically altering the economics through Internet-based technology. This new payment platform also generates significant merchant and consumer benefits. Revolution Money, formerly GratisCard Inc., is a subsidiary of Revolution LLC, the investment company created by Steve Case.
In addition to Lincoln Holdings LLC, Leonsis has investments in a large group of web-related companies, including Algentis LLC, Beacon Capital Strategies LLC, Clearspring Technologies, Geneva Acquisition Corp., Mahalo, Mobile Posse, Object Video and Qloud. Leonsis serves on the board of several of these companies as well as PodShow.
Leonsis has recently become involved in filmmaking through conceptualizing and producing "Nanking," a documentary film that made its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Documentary Editing Award. Since that time, the film has been screened at film festivals around the globe, including the Hong Kong Film Festival, where it won the Humanitarian Award, and is already the best-selling documentary in China’s history.
Dick Patrick, along with Ted Leonsis, is one of the original partners in Lincoln Holdings LLC, which was formed in the spring of 1999. A mainstay for the Washington Capitals’ franchise for more than two decades, the owner, president and governor continues to lead the club with his tireless effort and intense desire to continue a family tradition – engraving the Patrick name onto the Stanley Cup.
Patrick, who joined the Capitals prior to the 1982-83 season, guides the team on a daily basis and also serves as the team’s representative to the NHL’s Board of Governors. The former chairman of the NHL Finance Committee, Patrick has been instrumental in the Capitals’ long-term success as a franchise both on and off the ice. Patrick was a leader in the conception and development of the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the team’s state-of-the-art training center and office building that opened in 2006 in Arlington, Va.
Jack Davies was the founder and president of AOL International and now serves on the board of directors of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing and media company. Prior to joining AOL in 1993, Davies was managing director of Citicorp's London-based consumer mortgage business after serving as vice president, Europe, for RCA Records. He began his career at General Electric where he held numerous senior consumer marketing positions. Davies earned an MBA in Marketing (1973) and a BA in Political Science (1972) from the University of Rochester.
Active in philanthropy in the D.C. area, Davies serves on a number of boards including the Board and Executive Committee of Venture Philanthropy Partners. In addition he is on the board of HeadsUp, See Forever Foundation, CharityWorks, The Washington Scholarship Fund and the Maret School. Richard Fairbank is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Capital One Financial Corporation, a Fortune 200 company headquartered in McLean, Va. Fairbank founded Capital One in 1988 based on his belief that information, technology and testing could be used to bring highly customized financial products directly to consumers. Today, Capital One is a broadly diversified financial services company, and the 11th largest bank in the United States, with more than 720 retail locations in New York, New Jersey, Texas and Louisiana and international operations in the United Kingdom and Canada. Capital One offers a wide variety of financial services, including credit cards, auto loans, small business loans, home equity loans, installment loans and deposit and savings products. With 50 million customer accounts and one of the nation’s most recognized brands, Capital One is one of the largest consumer franchises in the U.S.
Under Fairbank’s leadership, Capital One has been a strong believer in philanthropic and community engagement. Capital One supports the work of area programs focused on community redevelopment and youth education, including DC Cares, the DC College Access Program and Junior Achievement. In addition, Fairbank has been recognized for his business leadership, including being named “2006 Banker of the Year” by the American Banker and “Business Leader of the Year” by Washingtonian Magazine. Fairbank holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University.
Raul Fernandez is the CEO of ObjectVideo and brings with him experience as a special advisor to General Atlantic Partners, a multi-billion-dollar private equity investment firm focused exclusively on information technology, process outsourcing and communications investment on a global basis. Fernandez founded Proxicom Inc. in 1991 and turned it into a leading global provider of sophisticated e-business solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Among his previous involvements, Fernandez also served as a legislative assistant to former Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., from 1984 to 1988.
Fernandez, a native Washingtonian, is involved with many philanthropy projects, including serving as a founding member of Venture Philanthropy Partners as well as acting as a board of directors member for various education and medical centers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland.
Michelle D. Freeman is the wife and business confidant of Lincoln Holdings’ beloved partner, Joshua M. Freeman, who died in a tragic helicopter accident in December 2006. She currently represents his estate and equity position in Lincoln Holdings.
Michelle serves on the board of The Carl M. Freeman Companies and has an intimate understanding of the Company and the real estate industry as she worked very closely with her late husband on many company related matters. Michelle is a licensed real estate broker and was a leading sales associate at Sea Colony in Bethany Beach, Del., during the expansion of Sea Colony West in the 1980s and ’90s. Established in 1947, The Carl M. Freeman Companies are the successful developers and operators of award-winning residential and golf communities and neighborhood shopping centers. They also provide a variety of hospitality and property management services, general brokerage home sales, and commercial and vacation rentals, mortgage banking and title services in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Michelle is also chairman and trustee of the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, created in 2007 to honor Josh’s passions and interests. She is also a trustee for the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, which has been providing grants and guidance to nonprofit organizations since 1960. Josh and Michelle were proud to be founding members of Venture Philanthropy Partners and she continues to be involved with this outstanding organization. Michelle is actively involved with the Landon School in Bethesda, Md. She also launched, owns and operates Pilot Properties, a small business that specializes in the building, rental and sales of properties on the Delaware Shore. Michelle is responsible for the management and oversight of the Freeman Family farm, a 500-acre historic property located in Gaithersburg, Md. She is the proud mother of three wonderful children.
Sheila C. Johnson, an impassioned philanthropist, a visionary and an entrepreneur with a flair for business, is CEO of Salamander Hospitality, LLC; president of the WNBA's Washington Mystics; and a partner in Lincoln Holdings LLC. She also serves as a Global Ambassador for CARE, acting as an integral part of the “I AM POWERFUL” campaign, working to build solidarity and create a movement to empower women and girls as catalysts for change in communities around the world.
An avid sponsor of the arts and an accomplished violinist, Johnson dedicates her time to several organizations to help create opportunities for children and young adults to express their creativity. She presently serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of Parsons The New School for Design and sits on the boards of VH1 Save the Music, Episcopal High School, the Curry School of Education Foundation at the University of Virginia and the University of Illinois Foundation. She is also immediate past president of the Washington International Horse Show.
Richard Kay is currently chairman of SENTRILLION Inc., an international border security, identity management and health administration services company. He is the former founder, chairman and CEO of OTG Software, a data storage software company that he founded in 1992. OTG became the leader in online data storage and access. OTG was acquired by Legato Systems in 2002 and Kay remained on the board of directors until the acquisition of Legato Systems by EMC in 2003.
Kay currently serves on the board of directors of Control Point Solutions, the University of Maryland School of Engineering and Imagination Stage. He is a special partner with ABS Capital, a multibillion dollar equity investment firm focused on healthcare, IT and media companies. Kay is also a member of the board of directors of Venture Philanthropy Partners. He and his family work closely with various charities.
Jeong Kim is president of Bell Labs and serves as a professor in the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. His background ranges from being a CEO of a high technology start-up to senior executive of a Fortune 500 corporation. Kim’s early career encompassed computer design, satellite systems design and data communications and included seven years as a nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy. He holds a Ph.D. in reliability engineering from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in technical management from Johns Hopkins University, where he also earned bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science.
Kim currently serves on the boards of In-Q-Tel, the Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland College Park Foundation and Global Internet Ventures. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the NASDAQ Listing and Hearing Review Council and was named one of the 10 most influential Asian Americans in business for 2005 by the US Pan Asian American Chamber.
Mark D. Lerner, representing members of the Theodore N. Lerner family, is a principal owner of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club and a principal of Lerner Enterprises, a North Bethesda, Md., based real estate development, management and investment company founded in 1952 by his father, Ted Lerner. Lerner Enterprises development activity is mainly concentrated in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Some of the company’s major projects include White Flint Mall, White Flint North, Washington Square at 1050 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 20 M Street, SE, The Corporate Office Centre at Tysons II, Dulles Town Center, Fallsgrove Village Center and the Greenbelt Marriott Hotel, among many others. Lerner also has developed, and manages many residential communities in the Washington, D.C., area. In addition, Lerner Enterprises is a partner in Chelsea Piers, a 30-acre sports and entertainment complex located on the Hudson River in New York City.
Lerner and his family have been involved in many worthwhile causes including the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The George Washington University, Georgetown Day School, The Scleroderma Foundation of Greater Washington, Jewish Community Centers of Greater Washington and the District of Columbia, JCC Maccabi Games, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Imagination Stage, ADL In Concert against Hate, YouthAids, Juvenile Diabetes, Junior Achievement, Food and Friends and the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, among many others. He currently serves as a trustee of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, a member of the board of Hillel at The George Washington University and the Advisory Board of Israel Bonds.
George Stamas is a senior partner of the international law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He is a Venture Partner of New Enterprises Associates and the former vice chairman of the board of Deutsche Banc Alex, Brown Inc. A 1973 graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Stamas graduated in 1976 from the University of Maryland Law School and began his career as a special counsel in the Securities & Exchange Commission. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for many years and was previously named by The American Lawyer as one of the leading 45 lawyers in America under the age of 45. Stamas is also a founding board member of FTI consulting (NYSE) and of NexCen Brands (NASDAQ).
Stamas’ civic involvements have included work with the Gilman School, the National Orthodox Leadership 100 Council, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Walters Art Gallery, the de Tocqueville Society of the United Way and University of Maryland Law School. He is also partner and board member of the Baltimore Orioles Baseball Club and co-founded the Washington-Baltimore bid for the 2006 Olympics.
