Max Siegel

Max Siegel delivering the "State of the sport" address at the USATF National Meeting in 2014

Max Siegel is a corporate CEO, president, entrepreneur, entertainment executive, multicultural activist and attorney with experience managing many sports and entertainment properties. He is the owner of Rev Racing, a development racing team in NASCAR for minority drivers. Siegel has over twenty (20) years of experience in the sports, entertainment and media industries as a senior executive, attorney and executive producer. He has had a wide variety of business experiences, having overseen small partnerships as well as companies with as many as 500 employees and budgets in excess of $250M. In addition, Siegel has experience working with national governing bodies for nearly 20 years. Siegel has 3 kids with his wife Jennifer:Max jr., Matthew, and Madeline.

Education

Siegel attended the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. Shortly thereafter, Siegel returned to his alma mater where he later became a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. Siegel continued his pursuit of higher education by serving adjunct professorships in Sports & Entertainment Law (Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis) and Law of the Music Business (Seton Hall University, Newark, New Jersey).

Professional career

USA Track and Field

Most recently, USA Track & Field selected Siegel to serve as CEO, President and Chair of the organization. Siegel’s acceptance of the position marks the fourth CEO in the organization’s history. He assumed the role as CEO on May 1, 2012.

Max Siegel Inc.

Siegel owns Max Siegel Inc. (“MSI”), a sports, marketing, entertainment, and media holding company. Through MSI he works with brands to meet lifestyle, entertainment and diversity needs in different industries. The divisions of Max Siegel Inc. include Revolution Racing, LLC, a NASCAR sanctioned, and minority owned race team; and Image Dei Music group, an urban inspiration label joint venture with Universal Music Group. Some of MSI’s literary, television and film properties, include the BET series, “Changing Lanes,” the Harper Collins book, “Know What Makes Them Tick: How to Negotiate Almost Any Situation” and “Wendell Scott Documentary: A Race Story” (ESPN Documentary).

To date, Siegel has taken on a variety of business ventures as owner of MSI. Siegel was involved with NASCAR’s “Drive for Diversity” program, which received media coverage and produced the first minority driver to win on NASCAR’s top developmental racing circuit. Through his passion for racing, Siegel became the owner of his own race team called Revolution Racing. He led a multi-million dollar sales initiative that acquired Sprint, Sunoco, Goodyear, Freightliner and the U.S. Army as sponsors for his team. Additionally, Siegel has obtained media coverage through his role as a producer for “Changing Lanes” on BET Networks (2010) and “Wendell Scott Documentary: A Race Story” that aired on ESPN (2011).

Dale Earnhardt Inc. ("DEI")

Siegel became the highest-ranking African American executive in NASCAR when he became President of Global Operations at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (“DEI”), one of the sport’s leading franchises. While at DEI, Siegel oversaw the entire organization including competition, marketing, sales, sponsorship and distribution for all DEI’s properties including motorsports teams, licensing, promotion, business development and the Dale Earnhardt Foundation.

As President of Global Operations, Siegel presided over a multi-million dollar race team acquisition (Ginn Racing) and completed full integration of 250 employees into Dale Earnhardt Inc. Siegel was also responsible for selling over $80M in sponsorship sales.

Rev Racing

Siegel is the owner of Rev Racing, a development program in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Whelen All-American Series that is actively involved in the Drive for Diversity program designed to increase minority involvement in auto racing. The team was founded in 2009 and has fielded cars for many minority drivers, notably Sergio Pena, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Kyle Larson.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment/Zomba Label Group

Siegel held dual titles at Sony BMG serving as both Senior Vice President of Zomba Label Group and President of Zomba Gospel. As Senior Vice President of Zomba Label Group, Siegel served as part of the executive team that oversaw the careers of stars such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Usher. While serving as President of Zomba Gospel, he helped develop the careers of gospel greats such as Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond and Donnie McClurkin. Siegel was the leader of one of the most profitable divisions in the Sony BMG system.

Warner Music Group/Tommy Boy Records

Tommy Boy was an independent record label joint venture with the Warner Music Group. As President of Tommy Boy Gospel and Sr. Vice President of Tommy Boy Music Group, Siegel was fully responsible for the Gospel division. He supervised direct reports including VP & General Manager, VP Marketing, VP Promotions, VP Sales, and SVP of A&R. Some of Siegel’s tasks included managing the creative process with developing artists as well as the retail and consumer marketing plan creation and execution for all artists. Throughout his term as Chief Executive Officer for the entire music company, the company produced award-winning albums from artists such as Kim Burrell, Tonex and Vicki Winans.

SCA Sports and Entertainment

SCA Sports was a national sports and entertainment agency representing clients in contract negotiation, business and marketing matters for their professional sports and entertainment careers. Siegel served as the Chief Executive Officer and founder of a national sports and entertainment agency representing professional athletes, teams, entertainers, coaches, and leagues. Some of SCA’s clients included Reggie White (NFL Hall of Fame); Tony Gwynn (MLB Hall of Fame); Ron Hunter (IUPUI Coach); David Tate (Indianapolis Colts); Ricky Gutierrez (Houston Astros); and Louis Lopez (NY Mets).

Baker and Daniels

As both an Associate Attorney and Law Clerk, Siegel served a diverse group of clients, including corporations and production companies; coaches, athletes, and entertainers; labels; and foundations. In addition, Siegel represented sports organizations such as USA Gymnastics, USA Skiing, USA Swimming, Seattle Mariners and the Goodwill Games in legal, business and industry matters.

Press/Media

Siegel has appeared on Oprah, NPR’s Tavis Smiley, ABC’s Good Morning America, ESPN, and CNBC. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, Black Enterprise, Billboard Magazine, Gospel Truth Magazine and Gospel Times Magazine, among others.

In addition to his many media appearances, Siegel gained further media experience by serving as the creator and producer of “Changing Lanes” on BET Networks (2010) and Executive Producer of “Wendell Scott: A Race Story” documentary on ESPN, (2011). Siegel continued to explore different facets of the media industry after becoming the author of “Know What Makes Them Tick: How To Negotiate Almost Any Situation” published by Harper Collins.

Professional Associations

Siegel is a member of the American, National, Indiana, and New York Bar Associations, Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Sigma Pi Phi and Kappa Alpha Psi.

References