MEMORANDUM

Women’s sports are expected to have scored more than $1.28 billion in global revenues in 2024, representing 300% growth in three years, with more than half generated in the U.S.  Although sports is a burgeoning asset class with growing investment banking and institutional coverage, men’s sports receive the lion’s share of investment, attention and profits.  Hence, the opportunity to create a private investment vehicle purposely built to “level the playing field”—to capitalize on a generational shift in women’s sports and raise it to its rightful place in the major leagues.  Today, we are excited to announce Ariel’s newest venture, Project Level.

Project Level seeks to harness the exploding talent, fandom, viewership and media interest in women’s sports by working to accelerate growth through diversified investments and significant ownership stakes.  Our highly curated portfolio will range from professional and emerging sports teams and leagues, to junior and college sports opportunities, along with related businesses that contribute to and directly benefit from the global expansion of women’s sports.  Over time, we expect to generate compelling financial returns by capitalizing on the underappreciated growth and value embedded in women’s sports today.  Our endgame is to elevate women’s sports by fostering strong and sustainable businesses that compete at the highest level.   

Before Ariel launches a new venture, we must be convinced we have the skills and excellence needed to exceed expectations.  Project Level is a perfect fit.  Like many, we love sports and are inspired by athletes and coaches.  And the business of sports is familiar to us.  Over the years, Ariel’s portfolios have held shares of publicly traded sports entities.^[1] As far back as 2011, we initiated a position in Madison Square Garden which was the then owner of the New York Knicks, Rangers and Liberty—and hold shares of spin-off entities, including MSG Sports.^[2]  In 2021, we bought shares of the U.K.-based soccer team, Manchester United, which we still hold.  While many know John Rogers served as captain of Princeton University’s basketball team, they may not be aware that he has been personally invested in the WNBA’s Chicago Sky since it arrived in our city in 2005.  My own sports portfolio has been building in recent years—including investments in the Chicago White Sox, the Denver Broncos, LOVB (League One Volleyball) and the WNBA itself.

We see a tremendous opportunity to bring our experience, relationships and insights to a nascent asset class to drive profits while directly benefitting women and society—a trifecta in our view.  Doing so requires an outstanding leader who combines business expertise with a deep understanding of sports and sports operations.  To this end, we are excited to announce Jason Wright will serve as Project Level’s Managing Partner and Head of Investments.  As our starting quarterback, Jason will spearhead deal sourcing and execution.  He will also oversee due diligence, portfolio management and value creation working alongside experienced investment and business professionals.  Jason will practice a “hands-on” model of investing born from his tenure as President of the Washington Commanders where he ran all business operations and made a lasting impact on the franchise, including helping to facilitate its sale at a record price.  When he joined the Commanders, he was the first Black president in the NFL’s 105-year history.  Prior to the Commanders, Jason was one of the fastest elected partners at McKinsey & Company.  McKinsey followed an impressive 7-year career as a running back in the NFL.  In addition to being a standout on the field, Jason was an Academic All-American student athlete at Northwestern University and earned an MBA with Honors from the University of Chicago.

Jason is a unicorn whose background combines significant business acumen with inarguable sports bona fides.  His football career enables him to deeply understand the athletes who are critical to the success of any sports endeavor.  McKinsey is where strategy meets execution.  From the Commanders, he brings the real-life experiences that can help professionalize business operations, grow revenues and closely manage expenses in women’s sports organizations eager for our strategic partnership.

When it comes to the Fund’s day-to-day business, as Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel at Ariel, Emma Rodriguez-Ayala will be on point, running interference to keep Jason’s focus on the portfolio.  Emma is a superstar who continues to contribute more than any job title could ever reflect.  With two decades in the investment management industry, she most recently gained deep experience across all areas of asset management as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at LGIM America, a $220 billion global asset manager where she oversaw operational risk, legal and compliance.

In addition to co-creating Project Level alongside Jason and Emma and chairing the effort, I will serve as chief fundraiser and head cheerleader as we go to market and principally solicit ultra-high-net-worth families as investors.  And while launching a new venture is both exciting and time consuming, I remain “all in” on the totality of my role as Co-CEO of Ariel.  To that end, I recently streamlined some of my external engagements to underscore my continued commitment and focus on our valued clients and my hard-working colleagues.

We look forward to announcing the addition of another investment professional in the coming weeks.  She will work alongside Asrat Alemu, who recently joined Project Level as a Vice President after working as Jason’s Chief of Staff at the Commanders.  Like Jason, Asrat is an alum of McKinsey where he advised on growth and transformation strategies within the media, sports, retail and private equity industries while also analyzing Gen Z sports fan behavior and exploring the future of college sports.  Born and raised in Ethiopia, Asrat earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University.  Jason and most other members of the Project Level team are expected to work out of our San Francisco office—with New York as a secondary site.

We are also in the process of forming world class Advisory and Corporate Boards that include:

• Beth Brooke, CPA (Director) is the Former Global Vice Chair of Public Policy at Ernst & Young where she was also a member of the firm’s global executive board. Among other endeavors, she currently serves on the board of the New York Times Company as well as the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.  Beth pioneered the seminal research showing a correlation between success in sports and success in life for girls.  More specifically, her work revealed 94% of women in the C-Suite played sports and over half of them played at the university level.
• Lewis Hamilton (Advisory Board) is a seven-time Formula One Champion and the most decorated driver in the history of the sport. Recently signed to drive for the Ferrari F1 team, he is the only Black driver on the track and the only F1 driver to be knighted while still competing.  Lewis is a capsule collection designer for Men’s Dior and the founder of Mission 44 which works to bring minorities and women into F1.
• Queen Latifah (Advisory Board) is a Grammy-award winning, Emmy-award winning and Academy Award-nominated rapper, singer and actress. She currently stars in and executive produces the hit television series “The Equalizer.”  In addition to global fame and numerous accolades, she is a two-time New Jersey state high school basketball champion.
• Cynt Marshall (Director) is the Former CEO of the Dallas Mavericks—the first Black woman CEO in the NBA. During her tenure, she helped launch a new TV partnership and oversaw a stadium upgrade.  In 2023, she helped guide the sale of the franchise.  Before the Mavericks, she served in executive roles at AT&T for 36 years.
• Stella McCartney (Advisory Board) is the named founder of the British fashion house distinguished by its design as well as its focus on sustainability. Her successful activewear collection combines high-performance and high-style—including collections for running, swimming, yoga and tennis.  In 2012 and 2016, Stella designed the Great Britain Olympic and Paralympic team uniforms.  She was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire by King Charles III in 2023.
• Steve Mills (Director) is the Former President of the New York Knicks and former Chief Operating Officer of Madison Square Garden where he oversaw the business operations of the NY Knicks, NHL’s Rangers and WNBA’s New York Liberty. Prior to the Garden, he worked for the NBA for 16 years.  Steve currently serves on the boards of AMC Networks, MSG Sports, Selective Insurance Group and the Ladies Professional Golf Association as well as the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Even before our official announcement today, we have been amazed by the abundance of investment opportunities and will launch Project Level with a “warehoused” deal in hand.  More specifically, Project Level will be a leading investor in the National Women’s Soccer League’s newest expansion team in Denver—a league whose broadcast viewership nearly doubled last year.  We are excited to have been invited to invest alongside an impressive ownership group with deep local ties to a community well-known for its sports enthusiasts.

Ariel’s three investment franchises stand alongside each other:  Ariel Investments with its focus on U.S., international and emerging markets public equities strategies; Ariel Alternatives deploying mature buyout private equity strategies; and Project Level as a sports industry-specific strategy investing across asset classes—including early-stage venture, growth, mature private equity, credit and real estate.  Each entity has its own investment team and investment committee with focused expertise.  All are connected through a shared services model, ensuring they operate within Ariel’s 42-year-old foundation of excellence.

It’s time to play ball.

^[1] Investments made by Ariel Investments on behalf of certain investment funds and accounts for which it serves as investment adviser.  Investments not held directly by Ariel Investments.

^[2] Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation’s (MSG Sports) assets that include the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL) as well as two development league teams—the Westchester Knicks (NBAGL) and the Hartford Wolfpack (AHL).  MSG Sports also operates a professional sports team performance center.