Josh Harris credits buying sports teams with showing him importance of communications, social mediaGETTY IMAGES
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment co-Founder JOSH HARRIS is "trying to revamp" his private-equity firm Apollo Global Management of its "cutthroat culture and rough-edged image, which has long been seen as synonymous with the men who founded it 30 years ago," according to Miriam Gottfried of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Former employees describe Harris, who co-founded the firm, as a "micromanager who is known to call people numerous times in a day to discuss a small investment and spend an entire meeting rehashing unresolved questions from his previous one." This approach has "helped to make Apollo an investing giant" with $433B in assets. But now Harris is "trying to modernize" Apollo's corporate structure, creating a "broader shared power arrangement that could one day form the basis of a succession plan." But even those who say that Harris has "made progress on a revamp of the firm’s culture acknowledge his personality is perhaps most reflected in Apollo’s public image -- aggressive, intense and fiercely competitive." Harris said in September, “Some people play golf. Some people play tennis. I work." Harris "credits buying sports teams with throwing him 'into the deep end of the pool' as a public-facing leader." Owning the 76ers has "made a mark on him." Harris: “If you think about a sports team, you’re a steward for a city. Social media and communications are very important. That’s really helped with Apollo in terms of communicating culture, values and what we stand for" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/1).
