Raul J. Fernandez (born c. 1966 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

) is an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

, investor, philanthropist and strategic partner. He is the Vice Chairman and Owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, as well as a Special Advisor to General Atlantic Partners. In 1991, he founded, took public and later sold Proxicom (NASDAQ: PXCM), an internet development and e-business consulting company, to Dimension Data at a transaction valued at $450 million. Fernandez serves as a Director for Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), GameStop (NYSE: GME), InSite, PerfectSense Digital, SyncThink, URBANEER, and was previously a Director from 2001-2017 and Chairman of the Compensation Committee for Kate Spade & Company before they were sold to Tapestry (NYSE: TPR) in July 2017. He is a current Chairman of the Board for RemoteRetail, and ObjectVideo, a technology company sold to Alarm.com in 2017, and named a 2005 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. Fernandez, a native Washingtonian, is an active philanthropist in D.C. regional nonprofits, focusing his energy primarily on educational reform. In 2000 he co-founded Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP), a philanthropic investment organization based in Washington, DC. Mr. Fernandez is a board member of DC College Access Program (DC-CAP), the DC Public Education Fund, and the Fernandez Foundation, and was previously the Chairman of Fight for Children.

Early life and education

Fernandez grew up in Silver Spring,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

with his family. He is the son of a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n father and an Ecuadorian mother. While a student at St. John's College High School, he attended a Capitol Hill fundraiser for Hispanic Republicans with his father. One of his father's friends introduced him to Congressman

Jack Kemp Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and a professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bu ...

's chief of staff leading Fernandez to a part-time

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

position translating

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

documents. During this time he was given his first

laptop computer A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...

and was his high school yearbook caption read, "Most remembered for being the first to have a computer." Fernandez went on to attend University of Maryland. While attending the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, he continued to work for Kemp. On

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

he worked on

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

and issues involving

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

using

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in cel ...

s and programs he developed to simulate the impact of various tax plans on different income groups. He went on to graduate from the University of Maryland with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1989 before settling in Washington DC.

Proxicom

In 1991, Fernandez left his job at Digicon and founded Proxicom with $40,000. Under his leadership, the company became a top global provider of e-business services for Fortune 500 companies. Proxicom's ultimate success was sealed with the signing of two big clients in the mid90s MCI and

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

. Fernandez met AOL's

Ted Leonsis Theodore John Leonsis (born January 8, 1957) is an American businessman, investor, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and former politician. He is a former senior executive with America Online (AOL), and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Monumen ...

on an airplane on his way back from launching one of the first

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...

Web sites for MCI. The subsequent deals from AOL led to growth, venture investments and the Proxicom's eventual $58.5 million

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

in 1999. In 2000, Proxicom generated more than $200 million in revenue. In late 2000, Proxicom gathered interest from two buyers:

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

and

Dimension Data Dimension Data is a company specialising in information technology services. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company maintains operations on every inhabited continent. Dimension Data focuses on services including IT consulting, technic ...

. A bidding war ensued and Proxicom was bought by Dimension Data. From 2000 to 2002, he served as Chief Executive Officer for Dimension Data North America, and as a Director of its parent company, Dimension Data Holdings Plc, in 2001.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment

Raul is the Vice Chairman and Owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a private partnership which owns the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

’s

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

, the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

’s 2018 Stanley Cup Champion

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

, the WNBA’s

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

, the AFL's Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade, and owns and operates the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. In 2018 it was unveiled that through Monumental Sports & Entertainment this would be the inaugural year for the Wizards District Gaming team, an NBA 2K League team in the esports community, and the Capital City Go-Go, the Washington Wizards NBA G League team. Monumental Sports is also a member of the investment group, aXiomatic, which owns Team Liquid, an eSports Team based in Los Angeles, CA. Monumental Sports also manages the EagleBank Arena on George Mason University's campus, and the Medstar Capitals Iceplex where the Washington Capitals train and practice. The facility houses two NHL-sized ice rinks, a pro shop, administrative offices, event space and media facilities. He continues to expand his work with companies in sports and new ways to watch, as with Kiswe Mobile, a mobile applications company that features multi-camera streaming of sports events.

Current Ventures

In addition to his current involvement with Monumental Sports & Entertainment, he is an active technology investor in disruptive companies across multiple verticals across all growth stages. He is the Chairman of a leading SaaS fashion company, RemoteRetail that is partnered with top brands such as Cosabella and ELOQUII. Fernandez is also an investor in Radius Networks, a leading provider of proximity technology solutions for major retailers, restaurant chains, sports and entertainment complexes. He is a current investor in neurotechnology and brain health analytics company, SyncThink. SyncThink is the developer of the EYE-SYNC technology.. He is an investor in the Professional Fighters League, the world's only major mixed martial arts league. In addition to traditional professional sports teams, Fernandez has invested in the top team in eSports, Cloud9, a North American eSports team out of Los Angeles. Through his experience with investing and advising the Kate Spade & Company, he also advises and has invested in, and Bedrock Manufacturing, the parent of two American brands, Shinola and Filson.

Philanthropy

Mr. Fernandez, a native Washingtonian, is an active philanthropist in D.C. regional nonprofits, focusing his energy primarily on educational reform. In 2000 he co-founded Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP), a philanthropic investment organization based in

Mr. Fernandez is also the Chairman of Fight for Children, and a board member of DC College Access Program (DC-CAP), the DC Public Education Fund, and the Fernandez Foundation.

Ties to government

In 2001, Fernandez was appointed to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He also led the Information Technology Analysis Team for

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Gov.

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th governo ...

's Commission on Efficiency and Effectiveness.

External links

Bio at Object Video

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Raul Living people American chief executives Businesspeople in software American people of Cuban descent American people of Ecuadorian descent National Basketball Association executives National Basketball Association owners National Hockey League executives National Hockey League owners University System of Maryland alumni Washington Capitals owners Washington Mystics owners Washington Wizards owners Year of birth missing (living people) 1960s births