Through his long and accomplished career in the entertainment, media and sports industries, Rich Battista has distinguished himself as a proven Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman/Director with significant experience and success operating, building, and revitalizing large-scale multiplatform companies, often within the nexus of media, content and technology. As a CEO, Rich transformed and sold two multi-billion dollar publicly traded companies in Time Inc. and Gemstar-TV Guide. He also conceived of, built, and operated several highly valuable cable network businesses during his 18-year career within various Fox entertainment and sports divisions.
Rich currently serves as a board chairman/director, advisor, consultant and investor within media and technology and is also producing for film and television.
Career Highlights
5x CEO including three publicly-traded companies, with two multi-billion dollar exits.
Former CEO of public company Time, Inc. (20+ brands including TIME, PEOPLE, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, etc); led sale of company for $2.8 billion in 2018.
Former 18-year executive at Fox Entertainment, culminating in oversight as President of the multi-billion dollar national sports and entertainment cable networks group which included 10+ networks such as FX, National Geographic Channel, Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Deportes and Fox Sports International.
Former CEO of public company Gemstar-TV Guide International; led turnaround of company and its sale for $2.3 billion in 2008.
Current Executive Chairman of ADWEEK, the leading multi-media platform covering the advertising and marketing industry.
Current Executive Chairman of Wave Sports + Entertainment, a content and digital media company targeting the Gen Z audience and partners with the Kelce brothers on the #1 sports podcast, New Heights.
Current Board Member of Main Street Sports Group, the owner of FanDuel Sports Network, the nation’s leading multiplatform provider of local professional sports; and RB Media, the world’s largest audiobooks publisher.
Current Advisory Board Member to several companies, including Meow Wolf, a leading immersive experiences company and MutualMarkets, an AI-powered co-marketing platform company.
Former CEO of two leading production companies, Imagine Entertainment and Mandalay Sports Media.
Harvard MBA degree, Georgetown University undergraduate degree.
Began career as a real estate investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley.
Founder and Chairman of the Georgetown Entertainment & Media Alliance (GEMA), an alumni networking organization comprised of 6,000 Georgetown alumni media and sports professionals.
In 2015, received Georgetown’s John Carroll Award, the University’s highest alumni honor.