Mark D. Ein is an investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, who has created, acquired, invested in and built a series of growth companies across a diverse set of industries over the course of his 30-year career. During this time, Mr. Ein has been involved in the founding or early stages of six companies that have been worth over one billion dollars and has led over $1.8 billion of private equity, venture capital and public company investments.
Mr. Ein was the Chairman and CEO of Capitol 1, 2, 3 and 4. Mr. Ein is currently Chairman of the Board of Lindblad Expeditions (NASDAQ:LIND), a global leader in marine expedition travel and a private sector thought leader on environmental conservation, and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Nesco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:NSCO), a leading provider of specialty rental equipment to the electric utility, telecom, and rail end-markets. Previously, Mr. Ein was the Vice-Chairman and Co-Founder of Two Harbors Investment Corp (NYSE:TWO), one of the largest residential mortgage REITs that today has a market capitalization of approximately $4.0 billion that was formed through a merger with Capitol 1, and Vice-Chairman of Cision (NYSE:CISN), the leading provider of cloud-based software for the communications and PR industries that was formed through a merger with Capitol 3. He is also a member of the board of Soho House Limited, one of the leading private members clubs in the world with houses across the globe.
Mr. Ein is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Venturehouse Group, LLC and Leland Investment Co., holding companies that create, invest in and build growth businesses in a range of industries. Among the current majority-owned companies in the portfolios are Kastle Systems, LLC, the country’s leading provider of building and office security systems acquired in January 2007 and VSGi, a nationwide provider of videoconferencing solutions acquired in 2001. Mr. Ein is Chairman of both companies.
Mr. Ein is the Founder and Owner of the Washington Kastles WTT franchise that has won the league championship six of its eleven years since its founding and set the record for the longest winning streak in US pro team sports history winning 34 straight matches from 2011 through 2013. In September 2018, Mr. Ein founded the Washington Justice esports franchise in the Overwatch League bringing the premier global esports league to the greater Washington, DC region. Also, in 2018, Mr. Ein acquired the Washington City Paper, the renowned weekly paper serving the Washington, DC metropolitan area since 1981. In 2019, Ein took over management and operation of the Citi Open in Washington, DC, one of the five largest tennis events in the U.S. and one of only five major tournaments in the U.S. featuring players from both the ATP and WTA Tours competing simultaneously.
A native of the Washington area, he actively supports many community, charitable and cultural organizations and currently serves on the boards of the DC Public Education Fund (as Chairman since 2010, the Fund has raised $130 million of philanthropic support for DC Public Schools), the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, DC College Access Program (DC-CAP), and DC Policy Center (Co-Founder). He formerly served on the Board of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) from 2012-2018 (serving as a Vice President of the Board from 2016-2018). Mr. Ein has been a member of the World Economic Forum since 2016, and the Gridiron Club, the oldest and one of the most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, DC.
He has won numerous awards including the Washington Business Hall of Fame, Washington DC Business Leader of the Year from the Chamber of Commerce in 2011 and 2019, the Jefferson Award (the nation’s highest honor for public service), Washington Business Journal Top Corporation for Philanthropy (Small Companies), Washington Business Journal Power 100, Entrepreneur of the Year Awards from Ernst and Young and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). In September 2009, Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty presented Mr. Ein with the Key to the City, highlighting his Washington Kastles success on the court and, “for their commitment to the District’s communities and our youth.”
Prior to starting his firm, Mr. Ein worked for The Carlyle Group, Brentwood Associates and Goldman Sachs. He received his BS in Economics with a concentration in finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from The Harvard Business School.