David Isaacs is a media and technology entrepreneur and TV/live event producer best known as a cofounder of the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Early life and education

Isaacs was born on May 20, 1966, in

Washington DC ) , 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, ...

where his father was a reporter and editor for the Washington Post and his mother was a high school English teacher. After Isaacs graduated from The Blake School in Minneapolis, MN, he attended Harvard University where he graduated with honors degrees in Economics and Law.

Career

Bertelsmann & Semaphore Entertainment Group

After law school, Isaacs began work for Bertelsmann AG in Germany and then with its US subsidiary BMG Music While helping form BMG Ventures, he began working with Semaphore Entertainment Group, a joint venture subsidiary focused on pay-per-view concerts and events, and its CEO

Bob Meyrowitz Robert "Bob" Meyrowitz is the co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background In 1973, Meyrowitz was a founder of D.I.R. Broadcasting and a creator of the syndicated radio series, the King Biscuit Flower Hour. In the late 198 ...

. Isaacs joined SEG in 1992 where he became Chief Operating Officer.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship

In November 1993, SEG launched

The Ultimate Fighting Championship ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship'' (later renamed ''UFC 1: The Beginning'') was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on Novembe ...

. As a co-founder and executive producer, Isaacs was involved with almost every aspect of building the new sport. Isaacs’ oversight was integral to keeping the UFC alive when it faced some of its most difficult challenges in the mid and late 1990s, including moving the entire live event (including the fighters, production and the famed

Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A ''regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, wh ...

) in one day from Niagara Falls to Dothan, Alabama, when New York State issued a last minute ban.

Zilo Networks

Isaacs left the UFC in 1999 to co-found (with SEG’s head programmer

Campbell McLaren Campbell McLaren (born June 18, 1956) is an American entrepreneur and media executive. He is the co-creator of the UFC. ESPN said he is the 10th most influential person in UFC history and that "his influence on the promotion cannot be overstated ...

) and serve as CEO for the nation’s largest college television network, Zilo Networks. Zilo became well known for its innovative transmedia programming and for leveraging the prank series Get $tupid to help launch CollegeHumor.com (later acquired by IAC).

Recent Start-Ups & Productions

After selling Zilo to Sirk Productions in 2008, Isaacs has founded, run and advised multiple media/entertainment companies backed by top firms in the venture capital (

Greycroft Greycroft is an American venture capital firm. It manages over $2 billion in capital with investments in companies such as Bird, Bumble, HuffPost, Goop, Scopely, The RealReal, and Venmo. Greycroft was founded in 2006 by Alan Patricof, D ...

, Sutter Hill Ventures, and

Jerusalem Venture Partners Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) is an international venture capital firm founded in 1993. The fund specializes in investments in startup companies, focusing on digital media, enterprise software, semiconductors, data storage and cyber securit ...

) and entertainment ( Skybound) industries. In addition, Isaacs has executive produced noteworthy series and events including: the world’s first giant robot battle ( MegaBotsvs. Suidobashi) for

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...

, The Walking Dead Escape live event tour, The College Music Awards, The Extreme team College Games, The Off the Hook Comedy Tour, and BET’s reality series Iron Ring. (one of the highest rated premieres in the network’s history). Late January 2019 he began his role as Chairman of the Advisory Board for the expanding Football League known as the American 7s Football league ( A7FL).

Personal life

Isaacs resides in Santa Monica, CA, with his wife and daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaacs, David Living people 1966 births American chief executives Harvard University alumni People from Washington, D.C.