Michael Costa
Board Member
Michael Costa is a senior level finance professional with deep experience in media, digital transformations, M&A/strategy and governance.
Michael recently served for nearly 10 years as a member of the Board of Directors of publicly traded media company Scripps Networks Interactive. There, working with the CEO and other board members, he directed the company from the spin off from its legacy newspaper parent to the acquisition by Discovery creating >$6B in value. As a member of both the Audit and Compensation Committees, he successfully advanced major international acquisitions, played a critical role in the CEO succession process, accelerated the transition from control by a family trust thru dual class stock to dispersed ownership and resolved a shareholder activist campaign.
His M&A/strategy expertise is built on 25+ years as a strategic advisor and investment banker during which he initiated, structured and negotiated M&A transactions with a total transaction value of $300B+, including 35+ transactions exceeding $1B. While at Merrill Lynch and then boutique investment bank Cowen & Co., he lead successful advisory efforts in the sale of publicly traded marquee media and tech companies including AT&T Wireless, The Tribune Company and Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal.
After a year as a Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow at Stanford University, Michael successfully pivoted from board member/strategic advisor to multiple large public companies in media and tech to a mentor/investor in start ups in those industries. Over the last three years he has sourced, cultivated and mentored over 50 startups in the digital media, SaaS, gaming and entertainment sectors resulting in several investments with an average capital raise of $1.5mm and a pre-money valuation of $8mm. He is quite active in the NYC Metro area ecosystem for entrepreneurs as a member with New York Angels and Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater NY, a lecturer in SUNY Purchase's Entrepreneurship in the Arts MA program, a Lang Center Innovation Fellow at Columbia Business School and a Leadership Council Member with artificial intelligence company r4 Technologies.
Michael holds a J. D. degree from Harvard Law School and a bachelor's degree from Colgate University. He is a Certified Financial Expert under SEC Rules.
He serves a a member of the Board of Trustees of Dean College where he is a member of the Executive Committee and Chairs the Investment Committee, piloting a near doubling of endowment to $50M and successful restructuring the college’s $25M debt obligations during the Financial Crisis.
