Endeavor
With 10 to 20 deals in the pipeline at any given time, not even humdingers such as forming TKO Group or taking Endeavor private can stop Mark Zhu from moving on to the next one.
Zhu, who leads strategy for Endeavor and TKO Group Holdings, directs the group at both companies that develops goals for corporate development, venture investing and targets for mergers and acquisitions. They execute the deals “from soup to nuts,” Zhu said.
The past year was a major one for Endeavor because it not only went private, but also set up the deal to spin off UFC and combine it with WWE in a new publicly traded company, TKO. The TKO stock had dropped below its IPO price for months but is up 30% this year and has risen back above the $102 initial price offering for the first time.
“2023 was a year of a lot of change and big deals from my vantage point of corporate development and M&A,” said Zhu, also noting the sale of IMG Academy to a private equity firm as another major deal last year.
The breadth of businesses under the Endeavor umbrella provides a steady flow of ideas and inspiration for corporate development and M&A deals to stay ahead of the competition, he said.
“The first thing I really benefit from is having a set of leaders that I work with in Ari Emanuel, Patrick Whitesell and Mark Shapiro, who have insatiable curiosities and they’re always thinking about what’s next and what’s interesting, and I drink from a fire hose of opportunities because of that,” said Zhu, who formerly worked at Silver Lake Partners, a key financial backer of Endeavor. “Add on to that we have these representation businesses and WME talent and the IMG sports rights businesses that also bring to bear a lot of different opportunities … so it’s drinking from that fire hose of opportunities and trying to rank the order of what’s interesting and starting to invest against that.” — Adam Stern
Mark Zhu
Executive Vice President, Strategy, Endeavor Group Holdings and TKO Group Holdings
Age: 35
Born: Nanjing, China
Education: University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, B.S., finance and statistics
Family: Spouse, Vicky; child, Esmae (2)
Advice to my 20-year-old self: To “stop and smell the roses” and to “enjoy the journey rather than focusing on the destination.”
How I deal with stress in the workplace: Go for a walk with my wife.
Apps I use most: Microsoft Outlook, Amazon Audible.
First social media platform I signed up for: Facebook.
Person in sports business I’d most like to meet: Roger Goodell.
Most pivotal decision in my career: To leave Silver Lake Partners and join Endeavor.
Sports business leaders should be more mindful of … : Change is the new constant (i.e., influx of institutional capital, upstart leagues/sports, streaming/fraying of cable bundle, death of amateurism, etc.).
The most pressing issue facing my generation is … : Climate change.
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