Mark Stanford Oldman (born January 5, 1969) is an American entrepreneur, wine expert, and author of several books on wine. He has been described as "one of the wine world's great populizers" and "one of the wine world's great showmen." He regularly appears at food and wine festivals as well as corporations and institutions, and teaches a course on entrepreneurship for Stanford University.

Early life

Oldman was born in the

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of a pediatrician and a psychologist. He was raised in Martinsville, New Jersey. In high school, he served as president of the National Honor Society and a member of the wrestling team. Oldman received his B.A. and M.A. in English from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

, where he graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

and was initiated into the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He also received a J.D. from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

, where he won the Hilmer Oehlmann, Jr. Prize for excellence in writing. He founded and served as president of th
Stanford Wine Circle
a popular campus club hosting tastings with California winemakers. Oldman serves or has served on five major boards of Stanford, including its top governing body, the Stanford University Board of Trustees. As Stanford Trustee, he served as chairman of the board's Special Committee on Investment Responsibility (SCIR).

Career

Internship expert

After graduating from college in 1992, Oldman and friend Samer Hamadeh conceived of and co-authored ''America's Top 100 Internships'', published by the Princeton Review imprint of

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. The book profiled the internship opportunities at such companies as Intel, Boeing, the ''Wall Street Journal'', Walt Disney Studios, Rolling Stone, and MTV. In 1994, book made the Boston Globe's best-seller list. In 1995, Oldman and Hamadeh wrote ''The Internship Bible'', also published by Random House. The book saw 17 editions published between 1995 and 2005.

Vault.com

In 1997, Oldman and Hamadeh founded Vault.com, a media company that provides career information by industry and by

Fortune 1000 The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies ranked by revenues, as compiled by the American business magazine '' Fortune''. It only includes companies which are incorporated or authorized to do business in the United States, and fo ...

company, as well as rankings of companies and firms. He served as president of Vault.com until its sale in 2007 to a

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm. Along with

Hamadeh Hamadeh ( ar, حمادة) or Hamadé or Hamada is a common Arabic surname. Hamadeh may refer to: * Ali Hamadeh (born 1974), American tennis player of Lebanese origin * Anas Hamadeh (born 1989), Jordanian swimmer *Sam Hamadeh, American media entrepr ...

, Oldman won Crain's "Top Entrepreneur's" award and was included on the Silicon Alley 100 list of influential tech executives.

Wine and food media

Oldman was lead judge in the PBS television series '' The Winemakers'', filmed in

Paso Robles Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its ho ...

wine country in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He contributes to several lifestyle magazines, including ''Bloomberg'', ''Departures'', ''Maxim'', ''Travel & Leisure'', ''Inc''., and ''Wine Enthusiast''. Oldman wrote a wine column and chose the wine picks for the magazine ''

Every Day with Rachael Ray Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968) is an American cook, television personality, businesswoman, and author. She hosts the syndicated daily talk and lifestyle program ''Rachael Ray'', and the Food Network series '' 30 Minute Meals''. ...

''. He has been the wine expert for Williams Sonoma, and wine columnist for the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

. In 2005, he wrote ''Oldman’s Guide to Outsmarting Wine'' (

Penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...

), which is currently in its 11th edition and is published in Japan, Belgium, and in four volumes in France by Editions Solar. The book boils the basics of wine down to 108 concise chapters. It won the Duboeuf Best Wine Book Award for 2005 and was named a finalist for Best Wine Book at the Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards. In 2010, Oldman released ''Oldman's Brave New World of Wine'' (

W.W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton An ...

), which profiles over 100 lesser-known wine types that are worth exploring. It includes interviews with Hilary Swank,

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...

, Matthew McConaughey,

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

, Ludacris, Geddy Lee,

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

, and other high-profile wine lovers. It won the Duboeuf Best Wine Book Award for 2010 and was named an Apple iTunes “Best of Book of the Year”. In 2016, he published ''How to Drink Like a Billionaire'' (

Regan Arts Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional of ...

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

), which details insider methods to obtain the best value bottles and master wine in restaurants, shops, and at home. It won the 2017 IACP Cookbook Award in the Drinks category and the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for World's Best Wine Book. Oldman regularly hosts "Wine for Billionaires" tastings at his home in Manhattan. Robert Mondavi Winery recently kicked off its 50th Anniversary Celebration with a wine tasting dinner at Oldman's Wine Sanctuary. In response to the lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Oldman in 2020 launched an ongoing series of virtual wine tastings, classes, and winemaker interviews from his Wine Sanctuary in New York. Titled "Mark Oldman Virtual Wine Tastings," they are frequently subscribed to capacity on Zoom and include such subjects as "Hidden California Wines," "Sparkling Substitutes," and "War of the Celebrity Wines." They have garnered attention from media such as ABC News, the ''New York Post'', and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Personal

Oldman is a noted art collector, with interests in Walton Ford, William Eggleston, Wayne Thiebaud, Harland Miller, and Vija Celmins. Stanford University named the Graduate Lounge of its Art & Art History building for him.

Bibliography

*''America's Top 100 Internships''. New York: Random House. 1995-2002. . *''The Internship Bible''. New York: Random House. 1996-2005. . *''The Job Vault.'' Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1998. . *''Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms''. New York: Vault. 2002. . * * *

Awards

* Georges Duboeuf Best Wine Book of the Year Award, 2005. * Georges Duboeuf Best Wine Book of the Year Award, 2010. * Gourmand International Cookbook Award, Best Drinks Education Book in the U.S., 2016. * International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Award, Best Book for Wine, Beer, & Spirits, 2017. * Gourmand International Cookbook Award, Best Drinks Education Book in the World, 2017.

References

External links

*
Stanford Pathfinders interview on SiriusXM RadioWall Street Journal profileBusiness Insider profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldman, Mark 21st-century American businesspeople Wine critics Stanford University alumni Stanford Law School alumni 1969 births Living people American male writers Stanford University faculty Stanford University trustees American technology company founders International Association of Culinary Professionals award winners