Casey Wasserman
Encyclopedia
Casey Wasserman is an entertainment executive, sports agent executive and owner of the former Arena League football team
, the Los Angeles Avengers
. Born Casey Meyer, he is the son of the Los Angeles socialite
and philanthropist
Lynne Wasserman. Casey's parents were divorced and he took his mother's maiden name
, also the name of his famous grandfather Lew Wasserman
. His sister's name is Carol Ann Leif. He is married to movie music
supervisor Laura Ziffren.
in Political Science
from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). But it was his grandfather, Lew Wasserman
, head of MCA
, whom he claims to be his greatest teacher. The two would have breakfast together every Saturday and Sunday from the time when Casey was a child to the elder Wasserman's death in 2002. The younger Wasserman was quoted as saying, "He was my most valuable resource in terms of information. In broad terms he knew what he wanted to do and I followed in his footsteps." After graduation from UCLA, Casey Wasserman worked as an investment banker
.
of the Arena Football League (AFL), paying about $5 million for the franchise rights, and thus becoming the youngest person ever to own a professional sports team
. Despite his age, he was elected Chairman of the league. In 2002 he negotiated a groundbreaking national television partnership between the league and NBC
television, as well as the collective bargaining agreement with its players. On Saturday, April 18, 2009, Wasserman sent an email to AFL's de facto commissioner informing him of his decision to terminate the L.A. Avengers' membership in the Arena Football League.
, a sports marketing and talent management company, of which he remains CEO.
In 2002, Wasserman acquired the sports marketing and naming-rights company Envision and the action sports marketing and representation firm The Familie, based in Carlsbad, CA.
In 2004, they purchased 411 Productions and a few months later relaunched it as Studio 411, a sports entertainment
film studio. The business was designed to provide financing, obtain sponsorships and arrange distribution in support of original productions.
In January, 2006 Wasserman Media Group acquired the NBA and MLB sports agent business of Arn Tellem
a well-known sports agent who joined Wasserman Media Group as well. Several of Tellem's sports agent colleagues also joined Wasserman Media as part of this deal. Tellem is currently a principal at the company and runs one of the most successful management groups in the business.
In November 2006, the company acquired a leading soccer agency, SFX, in the UK. Through that acquisition, Wasserman represents many of the world's leading soccer players including Steven Gerrard
, Robbie Keane
, Jamie Carragher
, Michael Owen
, Tim Cahill
, Jonathan Woodgate
, Wes Brown
, Scott Parker
, Jack Wilshere
, Park Ji-Sung
, Shay Given
, Tim Howard
and Emile Heskey
.
In June 2007, Wasserman Media Group expanded its consulting and media and property capabilities by purchasing Raleigh, NC-based OnSport.
In early 2011, Wasserman continued its international growth with the acquisition of London-based media rights manager and advisory firm Reel Enterprises.[5]
Wasserman expanded its golf talent roster by acquiring SFX Golf in April 2011.
Visit Wasserman's global site here:
of the Wasserman Foundation, a charitable organization
founded by Lew Wasserman and his wife Edie in 1952. He sits on two of the Motion Picture and Television Fund's three boards of directors - the MPTF Corporate Board and the MPTF Foundation Board. In an April 13, 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times, Wasserman is quoted as having explained that the decision of the MPTF Boards to close its hospital and transfer its elderly long-term care residents would "allow [the MPTF] to thrive for generations."
Football team
A football team is the collective name given to a group of players selected together in the various team sports known as football.Such teams could be selected to play in an against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-star team or even selected as a...
, the Los Angeles Avengers
Los Angeles Avengers
The Los Angeles Avengers was an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009.-History:...
. Born Casey Meyer, he is the son of the Los Angeles socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Lynne Wasserman. Casey's parents were divorced and he took his mother's maiden name
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
, also the name of his famous grandfather Lew Wasserman
Lew Wasserman
Lewis Robert "Lew" Wasserman was an American talent agent and studio executive, sometimes credited with creating and later taking apart the studio system in a career spanning more than six decades...
. His sister's name is Carol Ann Leif. He is married to movie music
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
supervisor Laura Ziffren.
Family background and education
Wasserman obtained a Bachelor of Arts degreeBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). But it was his grandfather, Lew Wasserman
Lew Wasserman
Lewis Robert "Lew" Wasserman was an American talent agent and studio executive, sometimes credited with creating and later taking apart the studio system in a career spanning more than six decades...
, head of MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
, whom he claims to be his greatest teacher. The two would have breakfast together every Saturday and Sunday from the time when Casey was a child to the elder Wasserman's death in 2002. The younger Wasserman was quoted as saying, "He was my most valuable resource in terms of information. In broad terms he knew what he wanted to do and I followed in his footsteps." After graduation from UCLA, Casey Wasserman worked as an investment banker
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
.
Arena Football
In 1998, he purchased the Los Angeles AvengersLos Angeles Avengers
The Los Angeles Avengers was an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009.-History:...
of the Arena Football League (AFL), paying about $5 million for the franchise rights, and thus becoming the youngest person ever to own a professional sports team
Professional sports
Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
. Despite his age, he was elected Chairman of the league. In 2002 he negotiated a groundbreaking national television partnership between the league and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television, as well as the collective bargaining agreement with its players. On Saturday, April 18, 2009, Wasserman sent an email to AFL's de facto commissioner informing him of his decision to terminate the L.A. Avengers' membership in the Arena Football League.
Wasserman Media Group
The same year that he purchased the football team, Casey Wasserman started Wasserman Media GroupWasserman Media Group
Founded in 2002 by Casey Wasserman, Wasserman Media Group is a global sport and entertainment agency headquartered in Los Angeles. Wasserman primarily operates within the disciplines of athlete representation, property sales, action sports, and corporate and property consulting...
, a sports marketing and talent management company, of which he remains CEO.
In 2002, Wasserman acquired the sports marketing and naming-rights company Envision and the action sports marketing and representation firm The Familie, based in Carlsbad, CA.
In 2004, they purchased 411 Productions and a few months later relaunched it as Studio 411, a sports entertainment
Sports entertainment
Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience...
film studio. The business was designed to provide financing, obtain sponsorships and arrange distribution in support of original productions.
In January, 2006 Wasserman Media Group acquired the NBA and MLB sports agent business of Arn Tellem
Arn Tellem
Arn H. Tellem is a sports agent notable for his representation of basketball and baseball players. He is the principal of WMG Management, a part of the Wasserman Media Group headed by Casey Wasserman. Since 2009 he has written a weekly sports column for The Huffington Post...
a well-known sports agent who joined Wasserman Media Group as well. Several of Tellem's sports agent colleagues also joined Wasserman Media as part of this deal. Tellem is currently a principal at the company and runs one of the most successful management groups in the business.
In November 2006, the company acquired a leading soccer agency, SFX, in the UK. Through that acquisition, Wasserman represents many of the world's leading soccer players including Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
, Robbie Keane
Robbie Keane
Robert David "Robbie" Keane is an Irish association football player who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer and captains the Irish national football team....
, Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
, Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
, Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...
, Jonathan Woodgate
Jonathan Woodgate
Jonathan Simon Woodgate is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City in the Premier League.Woodgate started his football career at Leeds United where he established himself in the starting eleven. However, Woodgate was sold to Newcastle United for £9 million in January 2003. He impressed...
, Wes Brown
Wes Brown
Wesley Michael "Wes" Brown is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland. Before joining Sunderland, Brown had spent his entire career at Old Trafford, having joined the Manchester United youth team in 1996...
, Scott Parker
Scott Parker (footballer)
Scott Matthew Parker is an English footballer who plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. He is the FWA Footballer of the Year for the 2010–11 season. He has represented England at every level from under-16 to senior. Uniquely, he won his first four England...
, Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere
Jack Andrew Garry Wilshere is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Arsenal and the England national team....
, Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung
Park Ji-Sung is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. He was also the captain of the South Korean national team until his retirement from international football...
, Shay Given
Shay Given
Séamus John James "Shay" Given is an Irish footballer who plays for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national team as a goalkeeper. He won the PFA's Player of the Year in 2002....
, Tim Howard
Tim Howard
Timothy Matthew Howard is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for English club Everton and the United States national team....
and Emile Heskey
Emile Heskey
Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa as a striker.Born in Leicester, Heskey started his career with hometown club Leicester City after progressing through their youth system, making his first team debut in 1995...
.
In June 2007, Wasserman Media Group expanded its consulting and media and property capabilities by purchasing Raleigh, NC-based OnSport.
In early 2011, Wasserman continued its international growth with the acquisition of London-based media rights manager and advisory firm Reel Enterprises.[5]
Wasserman expanded its golf talent roster by acquiring SFX Golf in April 2011.
Visit Wasserman's global site here:
Other activities
Wasserman also acts as President and Chief Executive OfficerChief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Wasserman Foundation, a charitable organization
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
founded by Lew Wasserman and his wife Edie in 1952. He sits on two of the Motion Picture and Television Fund's three boards of directors - the MPTF Corporate Board and the MPTF Foundation Board. In an April 13, 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times, Wasserman is quoted as having explained that the decision of the MPTF Boards to close its hospital and transfer its elderly long-term care residents would "allow [the MPTF] to thrive for generations."