Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Bobby Sharma
American investor and sports executive From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Bobby Sharma (born in 1973) is an Indian-American investor. He is a former executive and attorney, including at the National Basketball Association where he helped build the NBA G-league, and is currently the founder and managing partner of private equity firm Bluestone Equity Partners.
Remove ads
Early life and education
Sharma graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree and earned a juris doctor (JD) degree from Duke Law School.[1][2]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
National Basketball Association (NBA) (2002-11)
Sharma worked as an executive and attorney for the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2002 to 2011.[3][4][5] While there, he helped lead the creation of the NBA’s first minor league, initially called the NBA Development League (or D-League), now known as the G-League. He worked with commissioners David Stern and Adam Silver throughout his tenure at the NBA and oversaw the G-League growing from 6 regional teams in the southeast, to 16 teams across the United States.[3][4]
IMG & Investment (2011-23)
In 2011, Sharma took on an executive role with IMG Worldwide, as senior vice president, global head of basketball & strategic initiatives.[6][7][5] He was tasked with building professional sports leagues in international markets, starting with a basketball league in India after IMG acquired commercial rights to the sport in the country for 30 years. Sharma considered India as the "largest untapped basketball market in the world.[8][9][10] At IMG Sharma worked alongside famed investor Ted Forstmann, building sports leagues in other international markets including Brazil, Nigeria and China, with sports such as basketball, soccer, and cricket.[3][11][12]
Bluestone Equity Partners (2023-present)
In 2023, Sharma founded Bluestone Equity Partners, a private equity firm that launched its inaugural $300 million fund in a single closing with institutional investors.[6][13][14][15] The New York City-based firm focuses on deals in the sports, media & entertainment industry.[16][11] Sharma built the firm based on experience and relationships in both the sports and finance industries, including hiring investors from firms such as Blackstone and Apollo Global.[3][11]
Sharma’s first Bluestone investment was in July 2023, a $30 million stake in Australia-based PMY Group, which designs and manages technology like digital scoreboards, lighting, and acoustics at major sports and entertainment venues around the world, in leagues such as Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and Major League Soccer, including Citi Field, SoFi Stadium and AT&T Stadium.[17] In 2024, Sharma led several other firm investments, including in Volo Sports, the largest organizer of social and recreational sports in the United States, such as basketball, soccer, softball, and pickleball, and in RWS Global,[18] an entertainment design and production company with clients ranging from Broadway shows, theme parks, and cruise lines, including Carnival and Disney.[19]
Remove ads
Philanthropy
Sharma serves on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of NY & NJ.[20] He has also served on the boards of the United States Tennis Association,[21] USA Archery,[22] and as the chair of the nominating committee for USA Table Tennis.[1]
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads