courtesy of mike zabik
Variety has certainly added spice to Mike Zabik’s day-to-day life. On the professional side, the RedBird Capital Partners principal sits on two boards — On Location Experiences, the NFL hospitality creation; and Zenith Shipping, which owns a fleet of 13 vessels.
“The two companies could not be any more different,” Zabik said.
And when Zabik returns home after a long day of working on Super Bowl parties and freight logistics, he’s greeted at the door by 2-year-old twins, who keep the Zabik house jumping.
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Zabik’s experience in the credit market and private equity helped him land a job with RedBird, Gerry Cardinale’s startup fund, in 2014. It was admittedly a risky time to make a move from the Chicago-based Ares Management to RedBird in New York, where he was the fund’s fourth employee.
His wife was pregnant with the twins and she had to quit her job in Chicago to accommodate the move to New York. Once they settled in New York, Zabik’s father and grandfather died after bouts with cancer. “Any one of those things would be incredibly stressful,” Zabik said. “But to have all of that happen in two years was pretty overwhelming.”
All the while, Zabik, as Cardinale’s top investment professional, was helping RedBird build a portfolio of nine companies, including On Location Experiences, the partnership with the NFL and Bruin Sports Capital. Zabik was instrumental in structuring the deal, establishing the senior leadership team, constructing a business plan and integrating subsequent acquisitions that grew On Location from 30 employees to 300.
Zabik, during the last 30 months, also began training for triathlons and used fitness as his “release during a very trying time in my life. … I like the triathlons because you’re not doing the same thing every day. The long runs and bike rides give me a chance to clear my head and think. Now I’m hooked on it.”
— Michael Smith
mike zabik
redbird capital partners | principal
Age: 32
Where born: Dearborn, Mich.
Education: Indiana University (B.S., business, accounting and finance majors)
Family: Wife, Kathryn; children, twins Pierce and Celia (2)
What do you know now that you wish you’d known at age 20: Relationships are everything. Play for the long ball.
Profession other than your own you’d most like to attempt: Sports agent.
Cause supported: Cycle for Survival. My father and grandfather both died of cancer in a two-week period two years ago. Cycle for Survival is a
partnership between Equinox and Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Guilty pleasure: Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Person in the industry you’d most like to meet: Ari Emanuel.
I am one of the best I know at … : Recognizing the strengths and skills of the teams around me. I am surrounded by talented people and learn a lot from all of them.
The sports industry needs to do a better job of … : Understanding the strengths of and benefits of true collaboration.
You’d be surprised to know that I … : Have two tattoos.
