Harry Strauss Zelnick (born June 26, 1957) is an American businessman and lawyer. He is the founder,
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
, and managing partner of
private equity
Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...
firm ZMC, the chairman and CEO of video game company
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993.
The company owns three major Imprint (trade name), publishing labels, Rockstar Games, Zynga and 2K ...
, and the former chairman of media conglomerate
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation was an American multinational media company with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing and television production. It was split from Viacom on December 31, 2005, alongside an entirely new Viacom; both ...
.
Early life and education
Harry Strauss Zelnick was born on June 26, 1957, in Boston into a Jewish family. His mother, Susan Manello (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Strauss), died on October 22, 1967, when Harry was ten years old. He and his siblings were raised by their aunt Elsa (née Strauss) and her husband Allan Zelnick (died in 2013). He grew up in
South Orange, New Jersey
South Orange is a historic suburban Village (New Jersey), village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
.
Strauss Zelnick graduated in 1975 from
Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to:
*Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama)
*Columbia High School (Georgia)
*Columbia High School (Florida)
*Columbia High School (Idaho)
*Columbia High School (Illinois)
*Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...
in
Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's popula ...
and studied
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
and English at
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
from 1975 until 1979, obtaining a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree with honors. During his time at Wesleyan, he was the national
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
director for the Coalition of Independent College and University Students (COPUS). Zelnick simultaneously enrolled at
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
and
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
in 1979, obtaining a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
degree from the former in 1982 and a
Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from the latter in 1983.
Career
In 1983, he started as vice president for television international sales at Columbia Pictures International Television. In 1986, he joined Vestron Inc. as senior vice president of corporate development. He became executive vice president the following year and was promoted to president in 1988, overseeing all managing operations for the company. He quit in 1989 to join 20th Century Fox as president and CEO before leaving that role in 1993 to join
Crystal Dynamics
Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California. The studio is best known for its games in the ''Tomb Raider'', '' Legacy of Kain'', and '' Gex'' series.
Madeline Canepa, Judy Lange, and Dave Morse ...
.
Zelnick is the chief executive officer and managing partner of ZMC, a
private equity
Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...
investment firm based in New York City specializing in
leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is the acquisition of a company using a significant proportion of borrowed money (Leverage (finance), leverage) to fund the acquisition with the remainder of the purchase price funded with private equity. The assets of t ...
s and
growth capital
Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity) is a type of private equity investment, usually a minority interest, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new markets ...
. He founded ZMC in 2001 with a starting capital of . Following an investor-staged takeover of
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993.
The company owns three major Imprint (trade name), publishing labels, Rockstar Games, Zynga and 2K ...
in 2007, Zelnick became the chairman, chief executive officer, and largest single
shareholder
A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...
of Take-Two.
Zelnick was appointed to the board of CBS Corporation in 2018.
In 2021, ZMC purchased a controlling interest in
The Second City
The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has b ...
, a Chicago-based comedy troupe.
Personal life
Zelnick is Jewish. He has four sisters: Karen Davis, Beth Kaufman, Marci Zelnick Rodriguez, and Laurie Zelnick. His brother, Carl D. Zelnick, died in 1995. Zelnick married Wendy J. Belzberg (the daughter of
Samuel Belzberg
Samuel Belzberg, (June 26, 1928 – March 30, 2018) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.
Biography
Samuel Belzberg was born to a Jewish family in Calgary, Alberta