RAINE - Key Persons
Abheek is an Associate at Raine.
Abheek graduated from Columbia University in 2020 with a B.A. in Financial Economics with a concentration in Political Science.
Adeline is an Associate at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Adeline worked in the corporate development team at CJ ENM for 2 years. Prior to CJ ENM, Adeline was with J.P. Morgan Investment Banking team in Singapore for 3 years. She holds a Bachelor's in Business from Yonsei University.
Job Titles:
- Senior Principal
- Senior Principal at Raine Ventures
Aditya is a Senior Principal at Raine Ventures, previously spending 3 years on the growth equity and advisory side of the business at Raine. Aditya brings extensive experience and a deep network of relationships in e-commerce, consumer brands and retail and has spent time at Raine leading the firm's efforts in such spaces. Most notably, Aditya led Raine's growth equity investment in HeyDay, advised on Arrive's merger with FlashParking and advised on Blackstone's acquisition of Vungle. He has also worked on Raine Ventures' investments into Talkshoplive and Barn2Door. Prior to Raine, Aditya helped scale two startups in the e-commerce and consumer brands space, most recently leading Strategic Finance at Shift (NASDAQ: SFT), an online marketplace for used vehicles, and previously working in business development at CircleUp, a marketplace for high-growth consumer brands. Aditya also brings experience in consumer-focused investment banking from Lazard Frères, where he worked in the firm's Consumer & Retail M&A group in New York. Aditya graduated summa cum laude from Connecticut College with a B.A. in Economics & International Relations.
Adonis is an Associate at Raine. He joined the Firm in 2022 and is based in Raine's Paris office.
Prior to joining Raine, Adonis was an Associate in investment banking at Bank of America, where he primarily covered French media and telecom infrastructure companies.
Prior to Bank of America, Adonis had various experiences including private equity internships at Blackstone and Carlyle.
Adonis graduated from HEC Paris in 2019, where he received a Grande Ecole diploma with a major in International Finance.
Akash is an Associate at Raine. Prior to joining Raine, Akash worked with the Investment Banking team at Allegro Capital in Mumbai, India.
Akash graduated from Indian Institute of Management (Calcutta) with a Post Graduate Diploma in Management in 2015. He also completed his Bachelors & Masters in Technology from Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) in Aerospace Engineering.
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Analyst
- Vice President
- Vice President, Senior Research Analyst - Next - Gen Communications
Akshay Bhatia is a Vice President and Senior Research Analyst - Next-Gen Communications at Raine. Previously, Akshay worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as an equity sell-side research analyst covering the U.S. machinery, multi-industrial and internet/eCommerce sectors. At BofA Merrill Lynch, Akshay had primary and support coverage across much of the Internet sector.
Akshay has a B.S. in Finance and International Business and a minor in Government from Georgetown University.
Alex is an Analyst at Raine.
Alex graduated cum laude from Yale University in 2022 with a B.A. in Economics and a certificate in Energy Studies.
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations
- General Counsel
Alicia is an Associate at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Alicia worked in the Strategic Advisory group at PJT Partners, where she focused on M&A, capital raising and strategic advisory mandates. Prior to PJT Partners, Alicia worked in Corporate Development at Houston Grand Opera and as a Technical Project Manager at Belvedere Trading.
Alicia has a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Computer Science from the University of Chicago and an M.B.A. from London Business School.
Alix is an Analyst at Raine.
Alix graduated from HEC Paris where she received a Master's Degree in International Finance. She also holds a Master's Degree in Engineering from École Centrale de Lyon.
Amir Javaid is an Associate at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Amir was an early employee at a New York-based FinTech startup focused on providing inventory financing to companies in the CPG space. Amir began his career with Houlihan Lokey in the Financial Restructuring Group.
Amir graduated from the Wharton School with a B.S. in Economics and earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Amy is an Analyst at Raine.
Amy graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022. She received a B.S. in Business Economics with concentrations in Finance and Marketing, as well as a minor in Cinema Studies.
Andrea is an Associate at Raine.
Andrea graduated cum laude from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2017. She received a B.S. in Economics with concentrations in Management and Marketing.
Andrew is an Associate at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Andrew worked at Jefferies in the Real Estate, Gaming, and Lodging Group where he focused primarily on M&A and capital raising transactions in the Gaming sector.
Andrew graduated from University of Virginia with a B.A. in Computer Science and a B.A. in Economics.
Job Titles:
- Company Secretary
- Compliance Officer
- Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India
Anirudh serves as a Compliance Officer and Company Secretary at Raine. He manages the corporate secretarial, legal and compliance functions for Raine's India office.
Prior to joining Raine, Anirudh was part of the Legal and Compliance team at Morgan Stanley, where he handled corporate secretarial compliance and restructuring activities of group entities. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Anirudh worked at Tata Realty and Infrastructure Limited, where he managed Board and Committee meetings, issuances and listings of debt securities and the incorporation of a JV entity.
Anirudh started his career at Reliance Infrastructure Limited in 2015, where he supported the due diligence exercise for various corporate actions, including a prospectus filing for a public issuance of InvIT, stock exchange disclosures, pre and post shareholder meeting compliance and the compliance management of group companies.
Anirudh is a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He graduated with a B.Com and received his Bachelor of Law from Mumbai University. He received his Master of Business Law from the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru.
Ari is a Vice President at Raine.
Ari focuses on the firm's principal and advisory assignments with companies across the sports and entertainment sectors. He has worked on a variety of transactions including Chelsea FC's sale to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, MSG Entertainment's acquisition of MSG Networks, Fremantle's sale of Ludia to Jam City, and Endeavor China's acquisition of Mailman Group. Ari is actively involved in Raine's investment in Voi where he serves as a board observer. Prior to joining Raine, Ari worked at J.P. Morgan.
Ari graduated from Emory University with a B.B.A. and has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Senior Research Analyst - Next - Gen Communications
- Vice President, Senior Research Analyst at Raine Next - Gen Communications
Arjun is a Vice President, Senior Research Analyst at Raine Next-Gen Communications, covering global TMT public equities. Previously, Arjun worked on Nomura's proprietary trading desk, Angel Lane Principal Strategies as a Senior Analyst covering Global Healthcare. Prior to Angel Lane, Arjun was the Senior analyst at YYC Capital Management, a healthcare focused long/short equity hedge fund. He joined the fund pre-launch to lead the build-out of its research and operational infrastructure. While at YYC, Arjun generated bottom-up investment recommendations by identifying positive fundamental changes likely to cause a deviation from consensus views. The YYC team was consolidated into Angel Lane.
Arjun graduated from New York University with a B.A. in Economics.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Digital Entertainment Executive
Barry Cottle is an experienced digital entertainment executive. He has built and led multiple mobile and online ventures at global, market-leading companies. His entire career has been focused on creating and operating high-engagement, high-performance products and services at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and entertainment, including interactive online/TV offerings, mobile game free-to-play franchises, virtual reality, and cross-platform game play capitalizing across both real-money and free-to-play experiences.
Since 2018, Barry served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Light & Wonder (previously Scientific Games), joining the company in 2015 as Chief Executive Officer of Scientific Games Interactive. Barry successfully led the company through the challenges of the pandemic and transformed the organization from a highly leveraged holding company to a leading provider of cross-platform games.
Before Light & Wonder, Barry served as Vice Chairman of Deluxe Media while also serving as Senior Vice President of Technology at MacAndrews & Forbes, Deluxe's parent company. At Deluxe, he helped drive digital innovation, including Deluxe's launch of virtual reality in June 2015.
As the former Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Vice President of Zynga, Barry led corporate and business development, distribution, strategic partnerships, advertising sales and operations, publishing, social casino and real money gaming. At Zynga, Barry led key deals with Facebook and Hasbro, oversaw one of the most successful Zynga mobile launches (Hit It Rich), launched real money gaming in the United Kingdom in partnership with Bwin, and scaled the ad sales business to #1 market share for digital games.
Barry also served as Executive Vice President of Electronic Arts' (EA) Interactive division for five years, where he grew EA's mobile and online game division. He transitioned EA Mobile from a U.S.-centric feature phone business to worldwide leadership in free-to-play games across mobile and Facebook - launching some of the top games in the marketplace today, including FIFA, NFL Madden, and The Sims.
Earlier in his career, Barry served as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Quickoffice; Chief Operating Officer of Palm; and Senior Vice President of Disney TeleVentures, a division of The Walt Disney Company dedicated to creating interactive online/TV experiences.
He graduated summa cum laude from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Services and Mathematics. He also earned an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Bella is an Analyst at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Bella worked on the investment banking team at Morgan Stanley Hong Kong. She graduated from Guanghua School of Management at Peking University in 2021 with a Bachelor's in Finance.
Ben is an Associate at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Ben worked at Goldman Sachs in the Alternative Investment & Manager Selections (AIMS) group. In this role, Ben was responsible for manager selection and due diligence of public equity strategies.
Ben graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economic History and earned an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Bill Nelson is a Director of Finance at Raine. Prior to joining Raine, Bill began his career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers within its Financial Services practice.
Bill received his B.S. and Masters in Accounting from the University of Illinois. He is a Certified Public Accountant in New York.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Venture Capital Partner
- Venture Partner at Raine Ventures
Blair is a Venture Partner at Raine Ventures. Prior to Raine Ventures, Blair was a portfolio manager at Golden Gate Capital where he was co-head of a $2.0 billion credit opportunities fund investing primarily in the technology, industrial and retail sectors. Prior to Golden Gate, Blair was a private equity investor with Texas Pacific Group and Bain Capital. At each firm, Blair was responsible for sourcing and executing investments across a range of industries.
Blair has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.
Blake is an Analyst at Raine.
Blake graduated summa cum laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2023. He received a B.S. in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Behavioral Economics.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Partner
- President
- Senior Advisor
Brandon is President and Chief Operating Officer at Raine. Prior to Raine, Brandon founded and was the senior operating officer of Serengeti Asset Management LP, a multi-strategy investment advisor based in New York City with in excess of $1 billion in assets under management. During his tenure at Serengeti, Brandon was an active member of the investment team, managing sector- and strategy-specific portfolios as well as the firm's private investment opportunities. He also managed the launch of four different funds and numerous other investment vehicles, and was responsible for overseeing all of the operations of the firm. Prior to joining Serengeti in 2007, Brandon was a practicing attorney at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP from 1999 to 2007. While at Cleary Gottlieb, Brandon gained significant experience in complex mergers & acquisitions and structured securities transactions and financing arrangements, representing and advising a wide variety of investment banking and corporate clients. He dealt with myriad cross-border international securities laws and complex corporate and capital market transactions, and gained expertise in both SEC-registered and private securities offerings. Brandon is on the board of directors of Foursquare, Imagine Entertainment, RCX Sports, Firebird, and is Chairman of the Board at Olo, all portfolio companies of Raine.
Brandon has a B.A. from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, a B.S. from The Wharton School and a J.D. from Columbia University where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
Brett is a Partner and Head of M&A at Raine where he is responsible for the firm's global Mergers and Acquisitions practice. At Raine, and during his career, Brett has initiated and executed mergers and acquisitions, strategic advisory assignments, investments and financing transactions for many of the world's leading and emerging media and technology companies.
Prior to joining Raine, he was in the Technology, Media and Telecom and Mergers and Acquisitions groups at Goldman Sachs where he focused on media and technology companies and worked on public and private M&A, initial public offerings and other strategic and financial advisory transactions. Prior to this, Brett worked in the Media and Telecom group at Citigroup within the Investment Banking division. Previously, he acted as director of business development for Digital Club Network (an early digital music venture), founded and published a regional newspaper, and worked in the marketing group of Miller Publishing. Brett is on the board of directors of RCX Sports, a Raine portfolio company.
Brett has a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Senior Advisor
Brooks is a Managing Director at Raine and helps lead the firm's efforts in the entertainment and content sectors.
While at Raine, Brooks has advised clients on a number of strategic and growth transactions, including the sale of the Roald Dahl Story Company to Netflix, the sale of The Infatuation to JP Morgan Chase, CJ ENM's investment into Skydance, the formation of the film & TV studio Picturestart, the creation of BET+ with Tyler Perry Studios, capital raises for Endeavor, and the formation of Endeavor China.
Prior to joining Raine, Brooks worked in the Investment Banking group at Morgan Stanley as well as the Motion Picture & Television departments at WME. Brooks received a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University and an M.B.A from The Marshall School of Business at The University of Southern California.
Cara is an Analyst at Raine.
Cara graduated from Columbia University in 2023. She received a B.A. in Economics and Computer Science.
Catherine is an Analyst at Raine.
Catherine graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022 with a B.A. in Economics.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Senior Advisor
Chris is a Managing Director at Raine.
While at Raine, Chris has executed numerous investments and advisory assignments, helping clients and portfolio partners develop and execute on their growth strategies through a variety of engagements across Raine's technology, media and telecom verticals. Chris is involved in Raine's growth equity investments and portfolio companies, including helping to lead Raine's activities in Televisa-Univision, and PubNub (where he serves on the board of directors). Notable advisory assignments include the proposed $21 billion merger of WWE and UFC; the $188bn merger of Sprint and T-Mobile and SoftBank's subsequent $20 billion stake sale; the proposed $40 billion sale of ARM to NVIDIA; the development and execution of Endeavor's corporate strategy, including 20+ M&A transactions (including its acquisitions of On Location & OpenBet, and its divestiture of Endeavor Content), capital raises at both its parent and China subsidiary, and IPO advisor on Endeavor's initial public offering; advising SoftBank on the restructuring of WeWork; advising the MSG Entertainment Special Committee on its proposed merger with MSG Networks; helping formulate Fandango's international expansion strategy and resulting acquisitions of Ingresso and Cinepapaya in Latin America; and advising Starz's Special Committee on its sale to Lionsgate.
Prior to joining Raine, Chris worked in the Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Investment Banking Group at Citigroup, where he worked on key media and telecom M&A and financing transactions, including Sprint's sale to SoftBank, Sprint's acquisition of Clearwire and Providence's acquisition of HSE24.
Chris has a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.
Colin Neville is a Partner at Raine and joined the firm at its inception in 2009. Colin leads Raine's sports practice, overseeing its principal investing and advisory efforts in the space.
Colin has helped lead Raine's investments in DraftKings, Olo, Premier Lacrosse League, Beachbody, Zumba Fitness and Jagex. He has worked on a variety of advisory assignments across the global sports landscape, including the sale of Chelsea Football Club, the sale of the UFC to Endeavor, City Football Group's sale of minority interests to Silver Lake and China Media Capital, DraftKings' combination with Diamond Eagle and SBTech, Joe Tsai's acquisition of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center, Fanatics capital raise from the NFL and MLB, Steve Ballmer's purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers, the acquisition of Inter Miami CF, the sale of DC United, FC Cincinnati's sale of minority interest to Meg Whitman, WME's acquisition of IMG and Flash Entertainment's purchase of a minority stake in the UFC. Colin works extensively with leagues and teams, as well as technology, data services and media companies across the sports landscape.
Colin is on the board of directors of Olo. In 2022 and 2016 Sports Business Journal named Colin a recipient of its Forty Under 40 Award for 2023. In 2015 the M&A Advisor recognized Colin as a 40 Under 40 Emerging Leader in the Dealmaker Category.
Prior to joining Raine, Colin worked in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a focus on TMT. He has a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and is a former Division 1 athlete.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Venture Advisor
Dalia Kodi - Chief Compliance Officer
Dalia is the Compliance Director at Raine. Dalia oversees and manages the compliance program for the Firm's London office and its investment banking advisory business.
Prior to joining Raine, Dalia was the Compliance Manager at Robert W. Baird's London office, where she was responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the compliance program across the firm's investment banking and private equity business. She has also worked at Moelis & Company, providing compliance and legal support across their EMEA offices.
Dalia received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Kent.
Daniel is an Associate at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Daniel worked in the Global Investment Opportunities Group at J.P. Morgan's Private Bank. Daniel was responsible for absolute return idea generation and private investment due diligence for his family office clients.
Daniel graduated from Northwestern University with B.A.'s in Economics and Piano Studies and earned an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Daniel is an Associate at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Daniel worked at BofA Securities in the Industrials Group, focusing on M&A and capital raises for companies in the Industrial Technology and Logistics sectors.
Daniel graduated with honors from the University of Michigan in 2020 with a B.A. in Economics and minor in History. He also received a minor in Business from the Ross School of Business.
Danny is an Associate at Raine.
Prior to joining Raine, Danny served on the Strategy and Development team at The New York Times Company, focused on the Times's subscription business and product strategy. He began his career in management consulting, where he worked on engagements in the life sciences, media, and utilities sectors.
Danny graduated cum laude from Harvard College and received an M.B.A. with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was named a George F. Baker Scholar.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Senior Advisor
Dara is a Managing Director at Raine.
Since 2015, Dara has been involved with over $13bn of gaming transactions. At Raine, notable transactions include Caesars' sale of Playtika to Shanghai Giant Network Technology, Churchill Downs' sale of Big Fish Games to Aristocrat, CCP Games' sale to Pearl Abyss, and Epic Games' 2018 $1.25bn capital raise. Dara also helped lead a number of Raine's gaming investments including Huuuge Games (HUG:WSE) and Games24x7.
Dara formerly served as the Director of Finance and Corporate Development at Epic Games. In this role, she was involved in the acquisitions of Tonic Games, RAD Game Tools, and Psyonix, Epic Games' investment in Manticore, and several multi-billion dollar private capital raises. Dara started her career at McKinsey & Company.
Dara has a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Darren is an Analyst at Raine.
Darren graduated from Yale University in 2022 with a B.S. in Statistics & Data Science. Prior to joining Raine, Darren worked at Needham & Company in the Equity Research Division where he focused primarily on the technology sector.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Founder at Back Nine Ventures
David Levy currently serves as the Founder at Back Nine Ventures, LLC, his recently formed sports consulting and investing firm. Prior to Back Nine, David served as President of Turner, offering content to audiences in sports, entertainment, news and children's programming and advertising solutions to some of the most valuable brands in the world. In his capacity as President, David oversaw Turner's portfolio of domestic entertainment, sports, kids and young adult networks and businesses, including TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, Bleacher Report and Turner Sports. He also led Turner's two domestic revenue divisions - ad sales and distribution. During his 30-year tenure at Turner, David assumed executive oversight for increased investment in original premium content across the portfolio, and in 2018, Turner programming was nominated for 33 Emmy Awards.
Levy was instrumental in deepening and expanding Turner's media rights and defining Turner Sports via its association with premium sports content, brands and events, including the NBA, Major League Baseball and the PGA Tour. He negotiated a variety of multi-faceted agreements, each representing a significant change extending beyond traditional television rights. In 2010, Levy orchestrated a landmark NCAA Division I Men's Basketball deal, partnering with CBS for multi-media rights, including exclusive televised rights to the 2014 Final Four and National Championship Game in 2016. This marked the first time in the event's history that these key games were televised by a cable network. In 2017, under Levy's guidance, Turner added to its portfolio of premium sports properties by acquiring rights to UEFA, including UEFA Champions League, Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. All were launched on B/R Live, the company's direct to consumer offering.
Levy also led a significant expansion in digital media and new businesses designed to grow Turner's portfolio. In 2012, he spearheaded Turner's efforts in acquiring the Bleacher Report, a leading online multi-sport destination. In 2015, also under Levy's leadership, Turner purchased a majority stake in streaming video pioneer iStreamPlanet, expanding capabilities to offer live events and cultivate future digital opportunities. Adding to the mix, in 2016, Turner launched ELEAGUE, a new professional esports league created in partnership with WME/IMG, and FilmStruck, the company's first U.S. domestic subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service. It quickly followed in 2017 with Boomerang, its second SVOD offering. Additionally, David supported strategic investments in Refinery29 and Mashable, and championed new business alliances with Snapchat and Twitter.
David has been the recipient of multiple awards for his professional achievements, including being elected to the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2012 and being named in 2018 by Sports Business Journal as one of the most influential executives over the past 20 years. In 2016, JDRF, a research and advocacy organization funding type 1 diabetes, honored Levy and his wife, Niki, with the organization's annual Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Davis is an Analyst at Raine.
Davis graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago in 2021 with a B.A. in Economics with Specialization in Business Economics.
Elsa Hu - Managing Director
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Senior Advisor
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Senior Advisor
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Senior Advisor
Job Titles:
- Investor Relations and Fundraising Analyst
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Managing Partner, Raine Ventures
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Associate General Counsel
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Investor Relations and Fundraising Managing Director
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer - Management Company
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Managing Partner, Next - Gen Communications
Job Titles:
- Investor Relations and Fundraising Vice President
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Senior Advisor
Courtney is a Raine Venture Advisor at Raine Ventures and is based in the firm's San Francisco office.
Courtney joined Raine at its inception in 2009 and was part of the founding team of Raine's venture capital group. Her responsibilities include evaluating investment opportunities, sourcing new deals, and working with existing portfolio companies. Courtney is on the board of directors of The Sill and Knock Knock Games.
Prior to joining Raine, Courtney worked in the Media & Communications group at UBS Investment Bank in New York.
Courtney graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia and holds a B.S. in Commerce.
Renee Risher - Chief Compliance Officer
Job Titles:
- Associate General Counsel
Job Titles:
- Senior Legal Operations Manager