School of Business: Executives in Residence Program

Kenneth Brodlieb is chairman of East Hills Auto Group, an automobile franchise consisting of five stores, including a Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram dealership in Greenvale; a Subaru dealership in Roslyn; and three Chevrolet showrooms located throughout Long Island.

Mr. Brodlieb has been a distinguished friend and benefactor of the University for more than two decades. He has established several scholarships at Hofstra, including: The Kenneth and Theodore Brodlieb Distinguished Professorship, the Andrea and Kenneth Brodlieb Endowed Law School Scholarship, The Kenneth Brodlieb MBA Endowed Scholarship and Kenneth Brodlieb Endowed Scholarships. He has also pledged scholarship dollars as one of the lead capital campaign gifts for the Frank G. Zarb School of Business.

Mr. Brodlieb has been a mentor for Zarb students for many years. Currently, he sits on the Frank G. Zarb School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board, and is a past member of the President’s Leadership Council. He attended the Nasdaq closing bell ceremony in honor of Nasdaq and Hofstra’s Minds on the Markets program, which teaches high school students about financial markets. Mr. Brodlieb graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Science degree. He is also a Hofstra parent – his son Timothy graduated with a BBA in banking and finance in 1989.

Areas of Interest: Leadership versus management, starting and operating a small business, retail sales, marketing and entrepreneurship

Robert B. Catell is former chairman and chief executive officer of KeySpan Corporation and KeySpan Energy Delivery, the former Brooklyn Union Gas. His career with Brooklyn Union Gas started in 1958. Following National Grid’s acquisition of KeySpan Corporation, Mr. Catell became chairman of National Grid, United States and deputy chairman of National Grid plc.

He currently serves as chairman of the board of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) at Stony Brook University, New York State Smart Grid Consortium, Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School, Futures in Education Endowment Fund, and the New York Energy Policy Institute’s Advisory Council (NYEPI). Mr. Catell serves on the board of the New York State Economic Development Power Allocation Board (EDPAB), a governmental organization. He also serves on the board of the following not-for-profit organizations: Brooklyn Community Foundation, City College of New York 21st Century Foundation, Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, National Grid Foundation, St. Francis Hospital Foundation, Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation and the New York City Police Foundation. Robert Catell serves on the board of numerous business organizations, including American Vanadium Corp. (AVC), Long Island Angel Network (LIAN), Long Island Association (LIA), National Petroleum Council, the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) and the Water Company, LLC, as well as the advisory board for Advanced Power North America (APNA), CAI Investments, the Center for Urban Sciences & Progress (CUSP), EC Infosystems, Our Energy Policy Foundation, Posillico Inc., SUNY Farmingdale, the President’s Advisory Council at Adelphi University, VNG.CO and the Winthrop Hospital Board of Regents.

Mr. Catell was named the first John J. Phelan, Jr. Fellow of the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business at Adelphi University. He is former chairman of the American Gas Association, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, KEYERA Energy Management Ltd., Long Island Association, Partnership for New York City, Inc., United States Energy Association (USEA), Business Council of New York State, the Advisory Board of the City College of New York’s School of Engineering and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. Mr. Catell is a former board member of the Brooklyn Public Library Foundation, Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Energy Association of New York State, Long Island Foreign Affairs Forum, New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), Brooklyn Law School (member emeritus), as well as the advisory board of HeartShare for Human Services.

Additionally, Mr. Catell is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers, CUNY Business Leadership Council, National Society of Professional Engineers, New York State Society of Professional Engineers and the Society of Gas Lighting.

Robert Catell received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the City College of New York and is a registered professional engineer. He has attended Columbia University’s Executive Development Program and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Areas of Interest: General management, energy and technology Executives

Frederick Davis, Jr. is the tax practice leader at Mitchell & Titus, LLP. He has over 22 years of public accounting experience specializing in servicing public companies, tax-exempt organizations and entrepreneurial businesses. He is a certified public accountant in New York and Maryland.

Mr. Davis primarily focuses on serving clients in the areas of corporate tax, not-for-profit organizations, employee benefit, payroll, accounting and financial transactions. He has a strong background in high-profile issues such as corporate reorganizations, capitalization, accounting methods changes, domestic tax audits and international tax. With his experience in non-profit organizations, he provides clients with valuable insight into the rules with respect to unrelated business income, public support test, functional expenses, program activities, and the mix of non-profit and for-profit activities. He has served as the tax partner on numerous engagements for major non-profits, consumer product conglomerates, energy, insurance, banking, media/entertainment and utilities. Mr. Davis also advises the firm’s employee benefit plan audit group on tax and legislative changes that may affect the firm’s clients.

Prior to joining Mitchell & Titus, Mr. Davis served as a tax partner at former “Big Five” firm Arthur Anderson. He has a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law, a Master of Science in taxation from Long Island University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Hofstra University. He has also completed the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University program titled “Building a High-Performing Minority Business.” Mr. Davis has co-authored several articles for trade publications on various tax topics. His articles have been featured in The Journal of Bank Taxation and Real Estate Weekly, among other publications. Furthermore, Mr. Davis was also admitted to the Bar in New York and New Jersey.

Mr. Davis is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). Mr. Davis serves on the AICPA’s tax practice and procedures committee as well as on NABA’s corporate advisory board. He is also a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Davis is a member of the American Bar Association, New York Bar Association, Metropolitan Bar Association and the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey.

His external activities also include serving as past president of Hofstra University’s National Alumni Organization, as treasurer on the board of trustees for Vision of Hope Development Corporation, a New Jersey community-based, not-for-profit organization, and as treasurer of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Alpha Lambda Chapter. Additionally, Mr. Davis served on the deacon board of the New Hope Baptist Church of Newark, New Jersey, and is the treasurer of One Hundred Black Men, Inc. (New York).

Area of Interest: Tax

Esther Fortunoff-Greene is the CEO of Fortunoff Fine Jewelry. Her 30-year career began in her family’s chain of stores in the New York Tristate area where she was part of the third generation. She was instrumental in transforming Fortunoff into a go-to store for millions of discerning shoppers. Fortunoff, “The Source”, was one of America’s most successful privately held family department stores, founded a century ago in Brooklyn by Esther’s grandparents, Max and Clara.

Esther worked in various capacities alongside her parents, overseeing the jewelry business. As chief jewelry merchant she made numerous trips to the diamond cutting centers of Bombay, Tel Aviv and Antwerp as well as Italy, Thailand and Hong Kong. After the sale of the business in 2005 and subsequent exit of the brick and mortar business in 2009, she relaunched the Fortunoffjewelry.com in 2010 with a seasoned staff to help with online purchases and special requests. Esther continues to buy precious gemstones, diamonds and pearls, and designs and manufactures proprietary jewelry collections. She also works with clients to design custom items or re-style older pieces. Esther is passionate about working with women designers and professionals as much as possible.

An active member of the Long Island community, Esther is a board member of the Long Island Association, The Safe Center, LI, which works with victims of domestic violence and child abuse, and The Fortunoff Video Archive of Holocaust Testimony at Yale University. She is chair of the board of Mabou Mines, NYC, one of America’s oldest avant-garde theatre companies. A graduate of Colorado College, (BA-History), she resides in Nassau County with her husband Joshua.

Fortunoff Jewelry Business

As a granddaughter of the founders of the Fortunoff retail chain, Ms. Fortunoff-Greene grew up in the family business. In 2005 the Fortunoff family sold the chain to two private equity firms, which in 2008 put the chain into bankruptcy. Eager to revive the jewelry business and keep the family traditions and atmosphere of the old Fortunoff stores alive, Ms. Fortunoff-Greene launched the fortunoffjewelry.com e-commerce site in 2010 and opened her retail boutique in 2014. Her staff is composed of former Fortunoff managers and employees, who provide knowledgeable, friendly sales assistance and represent the company’s policy of best quality jewelry at best prices. Ms. Fortunoff-Greene continues to source jewelry from talented international manufacturers and little-known local and women designers. Her store carries some unusual jewelry made from recycled materials. Fortunoff Jewelry’s goal is to always exceed a customer’s expectations in selection, quality, design and service. Ms. Fortunoff-Greene’s goal is to continue to earn her customer’s confidence, as her grandparents did before her.

Areas of Interest: Retail, ethical sourcing, and consumer research

Jeffrey Kraut serves as the executive vice president for strategy and analytics at Northwell Health and as associate dean for strategy for the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, one of the nation's newest medical schools. In addition to coordinating the strategic planning and health policy activities of Northwell, as well as the development of its network of providers through merger, acquisition or affiliated relationships, he is also responsible for data governance and organizing the next generation of business and clinical analytics throughout the Health System.

Often recognized for his skills in health planning, policy and analytics, Mr. Kraut serves as Chair of the NYS Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC). The PHHPC oversees public, health planning, regulatory and Certificate of Need activities in New York State. He has focused on influencing the interoperability and sharing of health data through the development of regional health information organizations and incubating innovation opportunities in pharma/biotech R&D environments. He served as the founding Chair of the Long Island Patient Information Exchange (LIPIX) and was instrumental in its merger with its New York City counterpart, NYCLIX, to form Healthix, the largest RHIO in New York State.

Mr. Kraut is a board member of the American Hospital Association's Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and serves on the Standards Council of the Commission on Accreditation on Healthcare Management Education. He was the recipient of the 25th Anniversary Leadership Award of The New York State Society for Health Planning, an organization of which he served as past president. He serves on various committees of the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) and on the board of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council.

He is also involved in regional economic development and community building activities as a board member of the Long Island Regional Planning Council, Sustainable Long Island and The Brookville Center for Children Services. Mr. Kraut serves as a health policy advisor to the Long Island Index and ERASE Racism.

Prior to joining Northwell, Mr. Kraut served as the Vice President for Policy and Planning at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where he was recruited from the health care consulting group of KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Kraut received an MBA in Healthcare Management from Baruch College/Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.

Neil Smith is a partner with McKinsey and Company. He has more than 20 years experience leading large-scale revenue generation and performance improvement projects, and before that spent 6 years as the Chairman of a manufacturing company.

His manufacturing experience helped Neil develop a unique approach to dramatic profit improvement for CEOs of Fortune 750 companies. This process had its origins in the financial services industry in the early 1990s. As a founder of EHS Partners, Neil was able to demonstrate that techniques learned in banking could be applied even more effectively to other industries, when he led a pioneering project in the transportation industry in 1998. Other successes followed. In 2000, Neil first showed that the techniques could be applied to large companies when he led a hugely successful project at a 23,000-person company. In 2001, the same techniques were used for the first time with a company, which was not only large and global, but could be considered a true industry leader. Working with the CEO and his team, Neil demonstrated that there are huge opportunities in even the best-run companies.

Over the last few years, a number of the companies Neil has worked with are rated among the best in their industry, including: healthcare, banking, food manufacturing, distribution and insurance.

In 2009, Neil left EHS Partners to form Promontory Growth and Innovation, growing the company to revenues in excess of $100 million in just 3 years.

In 2011 and 2012, Neil led the ground-breaking Bank of America New BAC initiative. A project on this scale (90 countries, 300,000 employees) had never been completed before and the announced results were an annual profit improvement in excess of $8 billion a year.

In 2012, Neil wrote his New York Time Bestseller, How Excellent Companies Avoid Dumb Things.

Before buying the food manufacturing company in a leveraged buyout, Neil spent five years with McKinsey & Company, working in New York and London, and helped to build McKinsey's early work in Brazil and Indonesia. In 2017, Neil rejoined McKinsey as a partner in the Recovert and Transformation Services practice.

Before business school Neil was a journalist in London, working with the BBC and the London Sunday Times.

Until recently, Neil served on the International Advisory Board of British American Business, Inc. (the British American Chamber of Commerce). He is a member of a Harvard Business School alumni committee and until recently was Chairman of the U.S. Alumni of the University of Keele.

Neil has an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, where he was the only Knox Fellow. He earned a B.A. (with honors) in Physics and Economics from the University of Keele, England. In 2015, Neil was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (D. Univ.) from the University of Keele.

Neil enjoys rugby, soccer, cricket, and baseball, and collects ancient British coins.

Salvatore F. Sodano is chairman and chief executive officer of Worldwide Capital Advisory Partners, LLC, which provides research and advisory services on corporate finance and investment activities, management, operations and technology matters, in addition to commentary and research on a range of global macro events and regulations. He is also senior advisor to the chief executive officer at Burke & Quick Partners, a position he held from 2012 to present, and where he previously served as chairman of strategy and business development.

Mr. Sodano is vice chairman and a member of the board of directors of Gabelli Securities, Inc., a global asset management firm/broker dealer. He is chairman of the audit committee of the board and has been at Gabelli since 2014.

In January 2015 Mr. Sodano became chairman of the board of directors and chairman of the executive committee and the executive compensation committee of Catholic Health Services, a multi-billion dollar, 23,000-employee healthcare system. He previously served as a member of the board of directors and chairman of the investment committee of Catholic Health Services of Long Island, Inc. Mr. Sodano was appointed chairman of the board of trustees of Catholic Health Services, Eastern Region, and chairman of Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center, St. Charles Hospital and St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in February 2011. His tenure as chairman concluded in April 2012.

Mr. Sodano is the Sorin Distinguished Teaching Fellow at the Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University. He has been a member of the faculty and executive in residence at the Zarb School since June 2005 with academic appointments as a part-time full professor in both the Management and Finance departments. He served as the dean of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business from 2006 to 2010. Mr. Sodano also served as chairman of Hofstra University’s Board of Trustees for the maximum three one-year terms from October 2002 through October 2005. He first joined Hofstra University’s Board of Trustees in 2001. From 2010 until recently, Mr. Sodano also served as a member of the Office of the President as senior executive advisor to the president.

For six years (1999-2005), Mr. Sodano, as chairman and chief executive officer, led the American Stock Exchange (Amex) through some of the most tumultuous times in global capital markets history, including September 11, 2001, ultimately creating a revitalized institution with a strong focus on rebirth, innovation and product development. He directed the complete overhaul of the Amex infrastructure, developed new products, rebranded the over 100-year-old institution and established new relationships with key constituencies. In 2000, while serving as chairman and chief executive officer of the Amex and chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the NASD (then parent of the Nasdaq Stock Market), Mr. Sodano was elected vice chairman of the NASD, a position he held until December 2004. He served as a member of the NASD board of governors from 1999 to 2004. In September 1999, six months after his appointment as acting president, Mr. Sodano was elected Amex chairman and chief executive officer while continuing to serve as chief operating officer of the NASD. Mr. Sodano’s achievements at the NASD were many, including personally overseeing the “Reinvesting for the Future” program, which resulted in ongoing annual savings of approximately $100 million. In 1999 Mr. Sodano was awarded the NASD Chairman’s Award by Frank Zarb, given to the employee who best demonstrated outstanding performance and leadership.

Mr. Sodano was part of the task force to monetize the value of NASD’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Nasdaq. This included starting the process to make Nasdaq a publicly traded company. In addition to participating in all the technical requirements, Mr. Sodano personally made road show presentations to the CEOs of Microsoft, Yahoo and Sun Microsystems, amongst others, ultimately resulting in the private placement of Nasdaq stock. This laid the groundwork for Nasdaq’s future as a publicly traded company. Mr. Sodano also served as chairman and president of Securities Dealers Insurance Company, Ltd., a wholly-owned fidelity bond insurance subsidiary of the NASD, from 1997 to 2004, and as a member of the board of directors of the Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC) from 1999 to 2002. Previously, he was a key executive at Westpac Banking Corporation. Earlier in his career, he held increasingly responsible positions at Bankers Trust Company, Morgan Guaranty International Finance Corporation (JP Morgan) and Price Waterhouse.

Recognized globally for his academic and corporate achievements, Mr. Sodano has also been honored with several appointments and recognitions, including the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2000, the Coalition of Italo-American Associations, Inc. Leadership in Finance and Investments Award in 2001, and the National Italian American Foundation’s Special Achievement in Business Award in 2003. Hofstra University acknowledged Mr. Sodano’s professional achievement with its Alumni Achievement Award in 2000. In addition, Beta Alpha Psi, a national academic fraternity, selected him for its Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2002. Mr. Sodano was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, the national honor society of collegiate business schools, in 2007 and into the William and Kate Hofstra Honor Roll “Hofstra University Hall of Fame” in 2010. In 2013 Mr. Sodano received the Excellence in Teaching Award from The National Society of Leadership and Success Honor Society.

Widely respected for his business perspectives, Mr. Sodano has also been a frequent guest on CNBC, CNN and the Fox News Channel, and has often been quoted in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Financial Times. Speaking regularly, often as a keynoter at leadership forums, his appearances have ranged from The National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to the World New Economy Forum at China’s Great Hall of People in Beijing.

Mr. Sodano received a master’s degree in finance and investments and a bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from Hofstra University.

Areas of Interest: Leadership, corporate governance, board of directors, healthcare, and finance

Frank G. Zarb is a senior advisor to Promontory Financial Group, LLC. He serves as senior advisor to Hellman & Friedman, LLC, and advisor to The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., the NASD and other clients.

Mr. Zarb served as chair and CEO of the National Association of Securities Dealers from February 1997 until November 2000. He served as chair and CEO of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (a NASD company) from January 2000 until February 2001.

Mr. Zarb was chairman, chief executive officer and president of Alexander & Alexander Services, Inc., a global organization of professional advisors providing risk management, insurance brokerage and human resource management consulting services from offices in more than 80 countries, from June 1994 through January 1997.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Zarb was vice chairman and chief executive of The Travelers, Inc. and chairman and CEO of Smith Barney, a Travelers subsidiary, which he joined in 1988. He was named group chief executive on June 24, 1993. Mr. Zarb was elected a vice chairman of The Travelers, Inc. on September 25, 1991.

During his tenure at Smith Barney, Mr. Zarb oversaw international growth in the firm’s diversity and its clientele. His responsibilities at The Travelers included direct management of Primerica Financial Services, American Capital Management Research, RCM Capital Management, and corporate administration and legal functions.

Before joining Smith Barney, Mr. Zarb was a senior partner of Lazard Freres & Co. From 1978 to 1988, he was responsible for a broad range of investment banking activities, focusing on international finance, and acted as financial advisor to governments around the world.

From 1974 through 1977, Mr. Zarb was the senior official for all United States government energy-related activities, serving as executive director of the Cabinet-level Energy Resources Council, administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, and assistant to the president for energy affairs (the “Energy Czar”). He led the nation’s energy response to the first major oil embargo. Prior to these appointments, he had been associate director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1973 to 1974, and served as assistant secretary of labor between 1971 and 1972. He served in various assignments with the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations.

Before entering public service, Mr. Zarb acquired considerable experience in the securities industry where he began his career with Goodbody & Co. in 1962. He served in various capacities for predecessor firms of Shearson Lehman Brothers, as executive vice president of marketing, operations and investment banking, as well as chairman of the executive committee.

He has served as a director on 13 public company boards. He was chairman of Long Island Power Authority, the New York State agency responsible for overseeing the restructuring of the electric power system of Long Island.

In 2003 the governor of New York named Mr. Zarb chairman of the New York State Commission on Education Reform, a bipartisan group of educational, business and community leaders who worked together to reform New York State’s educational system. In 2001 the governor of New York appointed Mr. Zarb to the board of directors of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, an organization charged with overseeing the development of the downtown New York City area following 9/11.

In 1999 the governor of New York named Mr. Zarb chairman of the Nassau County Interim Finance Authority, a body assembled to lead a state effort to turn around Nassau County’s financial crisis.

Mr. Zarb is a member of the board of trustees of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation. He is a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Hofstra University, where he still serves as a board member. Hofstra named its business school after Mr. Zarb.

Mr. Zarb was a member of the Mayor’s Commission on Homelessness in New York City and led the Privatization Task Force of the New York City Partnership. He also served as chairman of the Council for the United States and Italy.

Frank G. Zarb, who earned a BS and an MBA in business from Hofstra University, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by the University and received the school’s Outstanding Scholar Award. The Georgetown University McDonough School of Business also conferred an honorary doctorate on him in 2000. He is an adjunct professor of finance at Hofstra.

He served eight years in the United States Army Reserve and retired with the rank of captain.

Areas of interest: Financial crises and public policy

Hank Ratner has more than three decades of experience holding top executive positions at leading sports, entertainment, media and technology companies. He currently serves as CEO of investment firm and strategic consulting practice Ratner Ventures, which has ownership interests in a broad portfolio of early stage and established global businesses, including ATP tennis tournaments in New York and Atlanta, sports-gaming app company WinView Games, Torque Esports, Frankly Media, the Longines Masters equestrian series in Paris, Hong Kong and Lausanne and the National Lacrosse League’s New York Riptide. Mr. Ratner sits on the Board of Directors of MSG Networks (NYSE: MSGN), Engine Media (TSX-V: GAME), the Garden of Dreams Foundation and GF Sports and Events. He is also on the Advisory Board of North Shore University Hospital and is an Executive in Residence at the Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University.

Mr. Ratner spent nearly 30 years at Cablevision Systems Corporation (Cablevision) and its affiliated companies until the sale of Cablevision to Altice in 2016. During that time, Mr. Ratner served as Vice Chairman of Cablevision, President and CEO of The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) and Chief Operating Officer of AMC Networks (formerly Rainbow Media) where he helped lead each company through unprecedented periods of dynamic and enduring growth. From 2016 to 2018, Mr. Ratner served as President and CEO of Independent Sports and Entertainment, overseeing its transition from Relatively Sports into an integrated sports, media, entertainment and management company representing more than 300 NBA, NFL and MLB athletes.

Mr. Ratner was with MSG from 2003 to 2015 serving as President and CEO from 2009 to 2014 and Vice Chairman the rest of his tenure. While at MSG, Mr. Ratner managed some of the world’s most iconic venues and brands. The portfolio of properties included the legendary Madison Square Garden arena, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, The Radio City Rockettes, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, the Chicago Theater, the Wang Theater in Boston and professional sports teams the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, and New York Liberty. Mr. Ratner spearheaded MSG’s strategic initiatives and acquisitions, including bringing multiple venues such as the Beacon Theatre in New York City and The Forum in Inglewood under MSG management, and securing a ground-breaking marketing partnership with JPMorgan Chase as the company’s first-ever Marquee Partner. In addition, Mr. Ratner oversaw the historic $1 billion transformation of the iconic Madison Square Garden arena, served as alternate governor to the NBA and NHL on behalf of the Knicks and Rangers from 2003 to 2015 and helped create the Billy Joel franchise, a record setting residency at Madison Square Garden. Mr. Ratner also managed the company’s media portfolio, including MSG Network and MSG Plus, two of the nations largest and most award-winning regional sports and entertainment networks, and national music network Fuse.

As Vice Chairman for Cablevision from 2002 until 2016, Mr. Ratner worked closely with the executive team to help set corporate direction, and oversee major business partnerships and negotiations. Mr. Ratner helped guide the company through several strategic transactions, including the acquisition of MSG, securing significant partnerships in various cable networks with Liberty Media, NBC, Fox and MGM, and the spin-offs of MSG in 2010 and AMC Networks in 2011, both now standalone, public companies. Prior to serving as Vice Chairman of Cablevision, Mr. Ratner spent 15 years at AMC Networks in various positions including as Chief Operating Officer overseeing the operations of AMC, IFC, Bravo, WE tv, 10 Fox regional sports networks, two national sports networks, five News 12 regional news networks, Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, and IFC Films, among others.

Mr. Ratner was the founder of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the nonprofit that works closely with all areas of MSG and MSG Networks to positively impact the lives of children facing obstacles. Since its inception in 2006, the Foundation has provided unforgettable experiences for over 375,000 children and their families, with access and interaction with events and celebrities at MSG and its properties. Mr. Ratner was Chairman from the Foundation’s inception in 2006 until 2014.

Mr. Ratner began his career as a corporate lawyer with the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.

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Executives in Residence Program

At Hofstra University’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business, educating students both inside and outside the classroom is our top priority, and the Executives in Residence program is one of the many ways we offer students a comprehensive educational experience.

Executives in Residence