STRAUSS GOES TO UGO
March 22, 2000
BMG Entertainment President/CEO Strauss Zelnick and investor Eric Dillon have joined the board of UGO Networks, Inc., parent company to UnderGroundOnline.
UGO is an entertainment destination site for active males in the 18-34-year-old demo, featuring the "Wasssssuuuuup?" chat room.
Zelnick and Dillon/Flaherty Partners LP's Dillon, a founding investor/advisory board member in both Amazon.com and Avenue A, join the group of six board members who collectively serve as strategic counsel to UGO on all areas of prospective and current businesses.
“We’re pleased and privileged to have Strauss and Eric on board. Both bring an outstanding amalgam of skills to all their endeavors,” said UGO Founder/Chairman Joe Robinson. “With their additions, the board has a fabulous mix of business, technology, entertainment and corporate governance expertise which will serve us well as we continue our phenomenal growth and expansion. And we just gained a marvelous chef for our annual summer barbecue.”
UGO CEO/President J Moses noted that Zelnick has had much success managing and developing creative organizations. “This extensive experience, as well as the fact that, in BMG, Strauss heads a $4.6 billion music and entertainment company with operations in 53 countries, will impact greatly on UGO and our focus on the aggressive creation, aggregation, and acquisition of the best in imaginative and innovative content. And he's promised to introduce me to Clive Davis."
Dillon’s addition to the Board, Robinson said, “affords UGO tremendous opportunities as we expand our network. Eric is a master at strategic development and identifying and evaluating potential sources of financing and partner relationships, particularly on the West Coast. The man can sucker senior citizens into giving up their life savings better than anyone I've ever seen.”
Zelnick said that his decision to join the UGO Board was a natural extension for him. “The Internet is not just the future of the entertainment industry... It is right here, right now and UGO is the dominant force in this revolution. UGO’s management team, with its tremendous vision and foresight, have crafted and implemented a powerful, growth-facilitating business strategy and savvy cutting-edge marketing strategy, both of which reflect ingenuity and an acute understanding of trends. And not one of them even knows who the hell NSYNC is.”
UGO's other board members include Global Retail Partners principal Yves Sisteron and former Sorod Fund Management exec and current Five Points Capital Inc. Founder and Managing Partner Paul McNulty.
