George Vrabeck

George Vrabeck is an innovator who has delivered aggressive, profitable growth in diverse industries ranging from sports entertainment and media to financial restructuring. He has built and transformed numerous businesses, unlocking their full potential by leveraging international markets, unique intellectual property opportunities, and new consumer segments.

Early in his career, he was a CPA at Ernst & Young and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley & Company. Later, Vrabeck led a dramatic turnaround of a newly public business on the verge of bankruptcy brought on by the professional baseball strike. As President and CEO, he expanded the product line with leading sports and entertainment licensors, including the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, NASCAR, Sony, Paramount, Fox, and Universal. Two years later, he leveraged that entity to acquire one of the largest private publishing companies in the entertainment industry.

In 2001, he founded his own consulting firm to lead the execution of complex ventures, growth initiatives, and strategic alliances. As an innovator in digital and viral media, Vrabeck led the first Hispanic social networking site and semi-professional league for soccer enthusiasts in California, a program that engaged Mexican soccer professionals and teams with Hispanic communities and players in the U.S. He also initiated and negotiated the largest multi-stage media and licensing deal to date in professional wrestling for the biggest star in the history of the WWE, including feature films, TV, apparel, and digital media.

As President and CEO of Primedia’s Consumer Media Group’s largest division, Vrabeck radically repositioned the company’s business strategy and revenue model to establish a digital media franchise. George was subsequently designated as the Company’s spokesperson on media integration, leading interactive Q&A sessions with the corporate board and prominent investors and the financial and business press.

With an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School, Vrabeck is a California Bar Association member and a licensed attorney. He has also served as Adjunct Professor of Strategic Alliances at the Ross School of Business of the University of Michigan.

Education

• MBA University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business
• JD University of Minnesota Law School (1992 — 1995)
• BS Long Island University