Ted Leonsis
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Theodore "Ted" J. Leonsis (born 1957 in Brooklyn, New York[1]) is a long-time AOL executive holding numerous leadership positions in his 15-year tenure. He is also a professional sports team owner; Chairman of Clearspring Technologies and Revolution Money; a film producer; a private-angel investor; an active Board member; and a committed philanthropist.
Now serving as AOL's Vice Chairman Emeritus, Ted is also the Chairman of Clearspring Technologies, the leading provider of cross-platform widget services, as well as Revolution Money, an innovative new Web 2.0 payment platform and credit-card service. Revolution Money, formerly Gratis Card Inc., is a subsidiary of Revolution LLC, the investment company created by Steve Case.
Ted is the founder, chairman and majority owner of Lincoln Holdings LLC, a sports and entertainment company that holds ownership rights in several Washington, DC entities including 100% of the NHL's Washington Capitals and the WNBA's Washington Mystics. Lincoln Holdings also owns approximately 44% of Washington Sports and Entertainment Limited Partnership (WSELP), which owns the NBA's Washington Wizards, DC’s Verizon Center and the Baltimore-Washington Ticketmaster franchise.
In addition to Lincoln Holdings LLC, Ted has investments and/or sits on the board of directors for several companies including: Algentis LLC; AnimalAttraction; Beacon Capital Strategies LLC; Bridgevine, Inc.; Capitol Acquisition Corp; Geneva Acquisition Corp; GridPoint; Launchbox Digital; Mahalo.com; MediaBank; MobilePosse; ObjectVideo; PodShow and Qloud.
Ted is a recent film producer having conceptualized and produced Nanking, a documentary film that serves as a powerful, emotional and relevant reminder of the heartbreaking toll war takes on the innocent as it tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the early days of World War II. "Nanking" made its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival where it was awarded the Documentary Editing Award. The film, directed by the Academy Award-winning team of Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, also received the Humanitarian Award at the Hong Kong Film Festival, was named one of the top five documentaries by the National Review Board, and is currently the best-selling documentary in China's history. It had its U.S. theatrical release on December 12, 2007 by THINKFilm, and will air on HBO after its public run.
While at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Ted coined the phrase "Filmanthropy" to describe a new category of filmmaking that sheds light on important issues around the world, activates discussion, as well as new volunteers and new funds, to benefit a social cause. Ted is the producer of "Kicking It," another example of Filmanthropy, which debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. "Kicking It" will be distributed by ESPN and Netflix, as well as in theaters via Liberation Entertainment.
Ted is a committed philanthropist and is very involved with numerous charities including Best Buddies, Hoop Dreams, See Forever Foundation, YouthAIDS and others through the work of the Leonsis Foundation.
Early in his career, Ted was the founder of several new media companies including Redgate Communications Corporation, a pioneering new media company that in 1993 was the first company acquired by AOL. He was also the founder of six personal computer magazines, authored four books and worked on the introduction of the IBM PC and the Apple Macintosh. He co-invented a very successful board game called "Only in New York," and served as a marketing executive with Harris Corp and Wang Laboratories.
He once served as mayor of Orchid, FL. Among his many honors, Ted has been named Washington's Businessman of the Year, a Washingtonian of the Year, one of the 20 most influential people in sports, one of America's most creative executives and a top 10 entrepreneur of the year. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, and later, Lowell, MA, he now lives in McLean, VA, and Vero Beach, FL, with his wife and two children.
