TOM PICH PHOTOGRAPHYDavid Moross, Founder, Chairman & CEO,
Falconhead Capital
Professional
What I Like …
An insight: Never take anything for granted, especially your competition.
An influential person in my career: Mark H. McCormack.
An out-of-the-box idea: Build an institutional investment fund that focuses on sports businesses.
A timeless idea: Great companies are always built by great people.
A business deal: Not Your Daughter’s Jeans.
A sports facility: Cowboys Stadium. (Thank God I didn’t have to pay for it.)
A sports event: Wimbledon (with Gavin Forbes, of course!)
A strategy: Back an idea, understand the risks, support the company and generate a significant return.
A hire: Peter Englehart, CEO, Competitor Group.
A brand: Google.
A trend: Endurance sports for exercise (triathlon, running, cycling, etc.)
An innovation: Sportvision’s 1st and 10 line (one deal that unfortunately got away from me years ago).
A pro league or team business initiative: Regional sports networks.
An idea or invention I wish I had thought of: Facebook.
A FANTASY JOB: What I do every day: professionally invest in sports, leisure and lifestyle companies.
What I Like About …
Sports business: What’s the entertainment business today? Movies, music and … sports!
The future (or direction) of sports business: Globalization is here to stay. Digital delivery is key.
Sports media: Digital growth will surprise even the most skeptical critics.
Sports technology: More speed, more bandwidth, more online viewing.
Sports fans: The fans’ passion is recession-proof.
My job: Managing people a lot smarter than me.
What I’d Like To …
Change: Have an NCAA Division I football playoff.
Change in what I do: Work fewer hours!
See: America become debt free.
See more of in sports: More U.S. sports aired and watched abroad.
See less of in sports: Self-centered athletes claiming they are not role models.
See more of in sports business: Financial institutions return to their glory days as sponsors.
See less of in sports business: Less management egos driving decisions.
See different: More focus on wealth creation for the people and by the people; less government intervention in American business.
Eliminate: Racism at all levels on and off the field.
What I Don’t Like …
Pet peeve: Not showing up on time.
In sports: The Texas Longhorns losing.
In business: My portfolio companies not delivering on their promises!
Personal
What I Like …
That would surprise those who know me: I am in the Wisden Almanack book of records for cricket!
About myself: Losing one’s hair is overrated!
Heroes: My parents.
Players: Vince Young, Chris Johnson, Rafael Nadal, Dustin Johnson.
Teams: Texas Longhorns.
City: New York City.
Memento: My school rugby “cap”: key accomplishment when you played rugby at Rugby School.
Time of year: Summers in the South of France. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat brings back many childhood memories.
Music: Alternative rock.
Books: “The Rum Diary,” by Hunter S. Thompson.
Chores: Walking our dog, Dash, in Central Park.
Trips: Shooting doves in Cordoba, Argentina.
Movies: “Snatch.”
TV: AMC’s “Mad Men.”
Concerts: The Wall, Roger Waters … wow!
Artist: Francis Bacon.
Food: Tuna carpaccio at Le Bernardin Restaurant, New York City.
Dessert: Lemon tart.
Drink: 1982 Lafite Rothschild.
Scent: Premier Figuier by L’Artisan (of course used by my wife, Cindy).
Cars: Aston Martin DB9.
Singer: Jamey Johnson.
Quote: “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.” — Sir Winston Churchill.
