Michael J. Cramer, Esq. 11513 Firethorn Ct. Austin, TX. 78732 512-471 2430 (office) 817-798-2301 (cell) [email protected] [email protected]
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Marquette University Law School Milwaukee, WI Juris Doctor 1978 The University at Albany, The State University of New York Albany, NY Graduate School of Public Affairs, MPA program (30 credits earned) 1975 Bachelor of Arts, History and Political Science (Cum Laude) 1974
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Academic
University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Moody College of Communication July, 2010------Present Founding Program Director and Senior Lecturer, The Texas Program in Sports and Media
New York University New York, NY August, 2007- July, 2010 Clinical Associate Professor ♦ SCPS Preston Robert Tisch Center Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management The Tisch Center offers both Graduate and Undergraduate degrees and programs in Sports Business and Sports Management. Attached is a listing of duties, functions and accomplishments while at the Tisch Center.
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
• Michael J. Cramer and James M. Swiatko, Did Major League Baseball Balk? Why Didn’t MLB Bargain to Impasse and Impose Stricter Testing for Performance Enhancing Substances? 17 Marq. Sports L. Rev.29 (2006)
• Presented on the Business of Sports, Sports Development and Sports Law to various Business Schools, Law Schools and civic and professional organizations including Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business; Marquette University Law School and the National Sports Law Institute; The Sports Business Journal Conference on Discretionary Spending; The World Conference of Sport Panel on Real Estate Development and Sports Facilities. Also presented to various civic and real estate development groups on mixed use developments and, on behalf of the hospitality side of the Tisch Center, presented on leadership to the annual the Asian- American Hotel Association.
Business\Legal Experience
C. Dean Metropoulos and Company (CDM) Greenwich, CT June, 2004 –Present Partner Hostess Brands, LLC EVP and CAO and Director April, 2013- Present Pabst Brewing Company Senior Vice President and Director June, 2010--Present Pinnacle Foods Group, Inc EVP and CAO June, 2004---April, 2008
♦ CDM, through various other entities other than those noted above, owns, operates and invests in several other privately held companies in the container shipping, real estate and entertainment businesses in which I also serve as an officer and director.
***************************** Southwest Sports Group, Inc., Southwest Sports Realty, Inc. Dallas, TX June 1998 – June 2004 President, COO, and Investor
Texas Rangers Baseball Club and Dallas Stars Professional Hockey Team President
♦ Southwest Sports Group (SSG) and Southwest Sports Realty (SSR) (n\k\a as Hicks Sports Holdings) were privately held entities. The principal shareholder in each was Thomas O. Hicks, former Chairman of Hicks, Muse, Tate, & Furst ( n\k\a HM Holdings) a Dallas based private equity firm.
♦ Southwest Sports Group owned and operated several professional sports teams and related businesses and facilities, and Southwest Sports Realty was involved in development of several parcels of real estate anchored by sports facilities.
♦ SSG and SSR developed three of the largest mixed use developments in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area – the downtown Dallas Victory site in partnership with Ross Perot, Jr., the 200 plus acre site surrounding Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, and the 75 acre site in Frisco, Texas. The latter development is the site of a Double A minor league stadium opened in 2002 that was designed and developed in partnership with Mandalay Sports and Entertainment and the City of Frisco Economic Development Corporation. It also contains, among other assets, an Arena, two sheet ice skating facility and a state of the art training facility for the Dallas Stars. This was also a Public\Private partnership between SSR and the City.
♦ SSG designed, built and operated seven 100,000 sf ice rinks (StarCenters) developed and financed through Public\Private partnerships with several municipalities around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. The Texas Rangers designed and built a state of the art spring training facility in Surprise, AZ which was intended to be the centerpiece of a major municipal development.
♦ SSG owned and operated a local over-the-air television station in Dallas, a television post- production company, and was a partner with Fox Sports and Colorado Studios in a major mobile television business known as Lone Star Mobile.
C Dean Metropoulos and Company (CDM) Greenwich, CT 1988 – June 1998 Partner International Home Foods, Inc (IHF: NYSE) Parsippany, NJ EVP and Member, Board of Directors The Morningstar Group, Inc. Dallas, TX (MSTR: NASDAQ) EVP and Secretary Ghiardelli (Chocolate) Holdings, Inc. San Francisco, CA (Privately Held) EVP, Secretary, and General Counsel Stella Foods, Inc. (Privately Held) Green Bay, WI EVP, Secretary, and General Counsel LBI Holdings, Inc. (Privately Held) West Haven, CT EVP, Secretary, and Member, Board of Directors
♦ CDM is a Greenwich based investment and management company. CDM partnered with various private equity firms (The Invus Group, Hicks, Must, Tate and Furst, John Childs Partners, JPMorgan Capital Partners and, recently, as to Hostess, The Apollo Group) to purchase and operate the above and previously noted companies. From 1987 to the present, CDM has acquired more than 70 companies which were integrated into the above and previously noted companies and other “platforms”.
Private Practice of Law Milwaukee, WI 1978 - 1988 Associate and later Partner ♦ Represented primarily small businesses, practiced management labor law and business litigation and negotiated the purchase or sale of various businesses.
♦ Admitted to all state and federal courts, State of Wisconsin, US Tax Court, US Circuit Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit, and many other state and federal courts throughout the United States.
Board Memberships Board of Director member for several privately owned companies.
CHARITABLE / COMMUNITY SERVICE/ FUNDRAISING
Marquette University Law School Milwaukee, WI 2007-Present Advisory Board Board member
National Sports Law Institute, Marquette University Milwaukee, WI 1998-Present Board Member and later Chairman
The University of Texas at Arlington School of Business Advisory Council Arlington, TX 2003 - 2004 Member
The Mike Modano Foundation Dallas, TX 2001 - 2004 Chairman
SMU Athletic Forum Dallas, TX 2000 - 2004 Board Member, later Chairman
City of Arlington, Texas Chamber of Commerce Arlington, TX 2000 - 2004 Board Member and later Chairman (The Chamber was responsible for economic development for the City of Arlington)
The Texas Rangers Foundation and The Dallas Stars Foundation Arlington, TX 1998 - 2004 Chairman
Wisconsin National Multiple Sclerosis Society Milwaukee, WI 1978 - 1985 Board Member and later Chairman
National Multiple Sclerosis Society New York, NY 1980 - 1983 Member, Chairman’s Advisory Council
Event Chairman for: Shoes for Orphan Souls campaign with Buckner Orphan Care International, and Gladney International, Habitat for Humanity, Hedge Funds Cares/Kidnet Foundation, and The Silver Spurs annual benefit for children’s cancer research.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
♦ Received various community service awards.
♦ From the National Sports Law Institute:
The Joseph O’Neill Award for distinguished service to the industry (2007)