Don Leeds was born into a long line of artists and originally trained as an artist himself, attending the School of Visual Arts in New York and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He went on to spend most of his 40-plus year business career focused on the media and marketing industries, serving as both a high-level creative and business executive, entrepreneur, and deal-maker. As an investment banker or senior corporate executive, he has either led or participated in approximately 100 completed transactions in various sectors of the media and other industries, exceeding $1 billion in aggregate value.
During the 1990s was a Managing Director at Veronis Suhler, the premier merchant bank and private equity firm serving the communications, media, publishing, and broadcasting industries. There he either led or participated in approximately 70 completed transactions ranging in value from a few million dollars to over $600 million. Don has also served as a senior executive and member of the Board of Directors of public companies in the entertainment and media industries, including Network Event Theater and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (publisher of the “Grand Theft Auto” videogame franchise).
More recently, Don represented Bungie Studios, spearheading their spinout negotiations with Microsoft Game Studios. Bungie is best known for creating and developing the phenomenally successful “Halo” videogame franchise. The successful conclusion of that deal made Bungie once again a privately held, independent video-game studio. Don was also a consultant to the founders of the record-breaking videogame franchise, “Call of Duty.”
Don continues to consult and participate in a range of transactions and is best known among his clients and peers as a highly creative and innovative problem solver, who knows how to strategically plan, manage, and close complex transactions. In the art world he is a partner with Peter Falk in Private Art Transaction Alliance, LLC.
