Media Industry Conversations: Mark Shapiro

Mark Shapiro (President and COO, Endeavor and TKO)

When: Monday, February 10, 2025 - 5-6:15pm CT
Note: Speaker sessions are subject to change based on evolving guest schedules.

Please join us for a Q&A session where we discuss Mark Shapiro's career trajectory, his roles and responsibilities, and his views on the current state of the media industries.

To RSVP, please fill out this form. This MIC will be in-person only in DMC 2.106. 

Speaker Biography

Mark Shapiro serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Endeavor (NYSE: EDR) and TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO). He has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Endeavor since April 2023 and as President of Endeavor since December 2018, and became a Director of TKO on September 12, 2023.

Endeavor is a global sports and entertainment company, home to many of the world’s most dynamic and engaging storytellers, brands, live events and experiences. The Endeavor network specializes in talent representation through entertainment agency WME; sports operations and advisory, event management, media production and distribution, and brand licensing through IMG; live event experiences and hospitality through On Location; full-service marketing through global cultural marketing agency 160over90; and sports data and technology through OpenBet. Endeavor is also the majority owner of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company comprising UFC and WWE.

Prior to joining the company in 2014, Shapiro was CEO of Dick Clark Productions (dcp), managing its day-to-day operations while developing and producing high-quality entertainment programming for traditional and digital media. Previously, Shapiro served as Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, where he energized and re-invented the Six Flags brand as the world’s largest regional theme park company. Shapiro began his career at ESPN, where he oversaw both production and programming and led the creation of sports and entertainment properties that helped build ESPN into one of the world’s strongest multi-media brands, earning 16 Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards during his tenure. 

Shapiro currently serves as a member of the board of trustees of Equity Residential (NYSE) and a member of the board of directors for EverPass Media and Fifth Season. He also serves as the Chairman of Captivate Network, a privately held digital media company co-owned by the Gannett Company. Shapiro previously served as a member of the board of directors of Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE), Frontier Communications Corporation (Nasdaq), Papa Johns International, Inc. (Nasdaq) and Bright Lights Acquisition Corp., formerly a public special purpose acquisition company.

Additionally, Shapiro is a minority owner of the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), the MLS franchise that debuted in 2018. 

Shapiro was awarded the Excellence in Sports Journalism Award from Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society in 1999 for his work at ESPN, and in 2003 was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s Rising Stars. In 2004, he ranked among the Top Ten in Sporting News’ Power 100 for the second consecutive year before being named to Sports Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2016, Shapiro was named to Variety’s New York Power List and by Broadcasting & Cable as Sports Executive of the Year. In 2021, Sports Business Journal named him to its “Most Influential: Dealmakers” list. Recently, Shapiro was named to Variety’s Variety500 list as one of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry, as well as to Sports Business Journal’s Most Influential: Dealmakers and Disrupters list.

Shapiro is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is based in New York.