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Raul Fernandez (entrepreneur)

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Raul J. Fernandez
Born1966 (age 57–58)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • investor
Title

Raul J. Fernandez (born c. 1966 in Washington, D.C.) is an entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist and strategic partner. He is the founder of the website and internet services developer Proxicom and vice chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment.


Career

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Fernandez was born circa 1966. He founded Proxicom, an internet development and consulting company, in 1991. Fernandez is the vice chairman of Monumental Sports & Entertainment,[1][2] as well as a Special Advisor to General Atlantic Partners.[3][4][5] Fernandez also serves on the board for Broadcom,[6] of DXC Technology,[7] GameStop,[8] and was previously a Director from 2001-2017 and Chairman of the Compensation Committee for Kate Spade & Company before they were sold to Tapestry in July 2017.[9] He is a current Chairman of the Board for RemoteRetail,[10] and ObjectVideo,[11][12] a technology company sold to Alarm.com in 2017, and named a 2005 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.[13]

Fernandez, a native Washingtonian, is an active philanthropist in D.C. regional nonprofits, focusing his energy primarily on educational reform. In 2000 he co-founded Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP), a philanthropic investment organization based in Washington, DC. Mr. Fernandez is a board member of DC College Access Program (DC-CAP), the DC Public Education Fund, and the Fernandez Foundation, and was previously the Chairman of Fight for Children.

Early life and education

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Fernandez grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland with his family. He is the son of a Cuban father and an Ecuadorian mother. While a student at St. John's College High School, he attended a Capitol Hill fundraiser for Hispanic Republicans with his father. One of his father's friends introduced him to Congressman Jack Kemp's chief of staff leading Fernandez to a part-time intern position translating Spanish documents. During this time, he was given his first laptop computer and was his high school yearbook caption read, "Most remembered for being the first to have a computer."[14]

Proxicom

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In 1991, Fernandez left his job at Digicon and founded Proxicom with $40,000. In late 2000, Proxicom gathered interest from two buyers: Compaq and Dimension Data. A bidding war ensued and Proxicom was bought by Dimension Data.[15]

From 2000 to 2002, he served as Chief Executive Officer for Dimension Data North America, and as a Director of its parent company, Dimension Data Holdings Plc, in 2001.[16]

Monumental Sports & Entertainment

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Fernandez is the vice chairman and a limited partner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, a sports and venue management company that owns the Washington Capitals of the NHL, the Washington Wizards of the NBA, and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.[17][18][19]

Other ventures

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Fernandez is an active technology investor in disruptive companies across multiple verticals across all growth stages. He is the Chairman of a leading SaaS fashion company, RemoteRetail[20] that is partnered with top brands such as Cosabella[21] and ELOQUII. Fernandez is also an investor in Radius Networks, a leading provider of proximity technology solutions[buzzword] for major retailers, restaurant chains, sports and entertainment complexes. He is an investor in the Professional Fighters League, the world's only major mixed martial arts league. In addition to traditional professional sports teams, Fernandez has invested in the top team in eSports, Cloud9,[22] a North American eSports team out of Los Angeles.

References

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  1. ^ "Digital Locations Selects Ampsy as Social Geofencing Partner". Business Insider. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  2. ^ "Laurene Powell Jobs is buying a big stake in Wizards, Capitals sports empire". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Henderson, Tom (May 16, 2018). "Urbaneer provides downtown living space solutions in Grand Rapids". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  4. ^ Heath, Thomas (July 27, 2017). "What the mega-rich tell their kids about money". Financial Review. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  5. ^ Hall, Gina. "Broadcom unveils 11 nominees for Qualcomm's board in first move toward hostile takeover". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  6. ^ "Raul Fernandez | Board Member | Broadcom Inc". investors.broadcom.com. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "DXC Technology Adds David Barnes and Raul Fernandez to Board of Directors". DXC Technology. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "GameStop Appoints Raul Fernandez and Lizabeth Dunn to Board of Directors | Gamestop Corp". news.gamestop.com. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  9. ^ Hall, Gina. "Broadcom unveils 11 nominees for Qualcomm's board in first move toward hostile takeover". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  10. ^ "RemoteRetail | About the team behind 100% remote customer engagement". RemoteRetail. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  11. ^ Zaczkiewicz, Arthur (March 6, 2018). "Futuristic Tech Trends Can Boost Brand Loyalty And Personalization". Footwear News. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  12. ^ Alaimo, Dan. "Cosabella conversions jump 30% with personalization tech". Retail Dive. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  13. ^ "The World Economic Forum Selects ObjectVideo a Technology Pioneer for 2005". Business Wire. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  14. ^ "Raul Fernandez '84 Shares Lessons Learned". St. John's College High School. February 28, 2014. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  15. ^ Journal, David PringleStaff Reporter of The Wall Street (May 15, 2001). "Dimension Data Ends Series of Deals With $448 Million Purchase of Proxicom". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "Raul Fernandez joins Dimension Data's board of directors". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  17. ^ Henderson, Tom (May 16, 2018). "Urbaneer provides downtown living space solutions in Grand Rapids". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  18. ^ Heath, Thomas (July 27, 2017). "What the mega-rich tell their kids about money". Financial Review. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  19. ^ Hall, Gina. "Broadcom unveils 11 nominees for Qualcomm's board in first move toward hostile takeover". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  20. ^ Zaczkiewicz, Arthur (March 6, 2018). "Futuristic Tech Trends Can Boost Brand Loyalty And Personalization". Footwear News. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  21. ^ Alaimo, Dan. "Cosabella conversions jump 30% with personalization tech". Retail Dive. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  22. ^ Elliot, Eric (April 3, 2018). "10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT RAUL FERNANDEZ". Dingman Blog. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
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