Donn Davis

Donn Davis
Occupation(s)Founder, chairman and co-owner, Professional Fighters League

Donn Davis is an American venture capitalist and entrepreneur. He is founder, chairman and co-owner of the Professional Fighters League, co-owner of e-sports team Team Liquid and founding partner of the investment firm Revolution LLC.

Career

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After graduating Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1985 and University of Michigan Law School in 1988, Davis went to work for Chicago-based law firm Sidley Austin.[1][2] In 1992, he joined Tribune Media as senior counsel in the law department, handling acquisitions and transactions. At the age of 29, Davis became chief counsel to the Chicago Cubs baseball team, becoming the youngest team attorney in Major League Baseball.[3] In 1995, Davis co-founded and became president of Tribune Media's new investment arm, called Tribune Ventures.[4]

In 1998, Davis joined America Online as senior vice president of corporate development and was subsequently appointed president/COO of the AOL Interactive Properties Group, where he led the internet brands and businesses of AOL.[5][6] In 2005, Davis and AOL co-founder Steve Case launched venture capital firm Revolution LLC, based in Washington, DC, which—as of March 2022—has invested more than $1.5 billion, including notable early investments in Scopely,[7] Zipcar,[8] DraftKings,[9] Sportradar, CLEAR and BigCommerce.[10][11][12]

In 2003, Davis and Case purchased the Miraval Resort and Spa in Tucson, Arizona.[13] In 2004, Davis and Case acquired the majority stake of start-up Exclusive Resorts, and Davis served as CEO of the company from 2005 to 2008.[14] In 2016, Davis, Ted Leonsis and Peter Guber led an investment group that acquired majority ownership of esports team Team Liquid, which has twice won ESPN’s e-sports Team of the Year.[1][2]

In 2017, Davis created and launched a new mixed martial arts company called the Professional Fighters League, which presents MMA in a sports-season format and is broadcast in 160 countries. Davis has since raised $175 million of total capital for the league, including a $65 million financing round in February 2021 with investors Legends Hospitality, Elysian Park Ventures, Knighthead and Ares Management.[15] Davis currently serves as PFL founder and chairman of the board.[16]

Personal life

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Davis married Sharon Bowden in 1994. They have three children and reside in Great Falls, Virginia.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b Almo, Alder (2020-10-29). "Donn Davis' Midas touch turns PFL into gold standard in MMA". Empire Sports Media. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  2. ^ a b Holland, Jesse (2020-10-28). "PFL co-founder and chairman Donn Davis bringing magic touch to the MMA world". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  3. ^ "40 Under 40 - Donn M. Davis". Crain's Chicago Business. 2018-06-16. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  4. ^ Fawcett, Adrienne W. (1997-07-14). "DONN DAVIS: Tribune Ventures". Ad Age. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  5. ^ Eisler, Kim (2007-02-01). "Second Coming | Washingtonian (DC)". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  6. ^ Atkin, Nicolas (2020-08-31). "Pro Fight League chairman Donn Davis talks Chinese expansion". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  7. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (28 October 2020). "Scopely raises $340 million at a $3.3 billion valuation as gaming grabs investors' interest". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  8. ^ Fontevecchia, Agustino. "Zipcar IPO: Raises $174M, Gains 67% To Lead US Markets". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  9. ^ O'Halloran, Suzanne (2021-03-19). "DraftKings and how AOL co-founder Steve Case made a killing". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  10. ^ Medici, Andy. "Why you need to know Revolution's Donn Davis - Washington Business Journal". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  11. ^ Grant, Rebecca (2013-07-17). "Revolution Growth Fund invests $23.5M in Optoro to find unwanted goods a home". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  12. ^ Knapp, Jackson (2018-08-08). "Why a Group of DC Business Leaders Have Launched an MMA League". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  13. ^ Killian, Erin. "AOL founder's new company heads to Costa Rica with luxury resort". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  14. ^ Clausing, Jeri (Aug 12, 2007). "In the Hot Seat: Donn Davis: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  15. ^ Carp, Sam (2021-02-19). "PFL eyes international expansion after US$65m funding round". SportsPro. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  16. ^ Badenhausen, Kurt (2021-08-03). "Legends Partners with PFL, Buys Stake in the MMA League". Sportico.com. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  17. ^ Trompeter, Brian. "McLean Design Firm Puts Key Focus on 'Serial Remodelers'". INSIDENOVA.COM. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
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