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Born 1964 Ely, Nevada Occupation Founder and Managing Principal, Methuselah Advisors and Methuselah Capital Partners Education Harvard Business School, Columbia University | ||
John chachas interview
John Chachas is an American businessman and investment banker. He is the founder and managing principal of Methuselah Advisors, a New York City-based investment bank and Methuselah Capital Partners, an affiliated investment fund.
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John chachas on creating jobs in nevada
Early life and education
Raised near a family cattle ranch in Ely, Nevada, John Chachas was one of three sons of Gregory and Mary Chachas. His father, Gregory, was the district attorney for White Pine County and managed family business and mining interests. His mother, Mary, was a journalist beginning her career at the Salt Lake Tribune. In high school, he developed an early interest in media and politics and served as an intern for former Nevada Senator Paul Laxalt.
He received a B.A. from Columbia University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Career
Starting his career as a banker at First Boston, Chachas rose to managing director of the firm's Media Group. In 1998, he left the then-renamed Credit Suisse First Boston to join Merrill Lynch for two years. In 2000, he joined Lazard as a managing director and co-head of the firm’s Media Advisory practice in the Americas.
Chachas has served an advisor to media and emerging digital companies. He advised the board on the $18 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications, the Walt Disney Company on its 2006 sale of its ABC Radio business, and the Hearst Corporation on its go-private transaction of Hearst-Argyle Television in 2009 among others.
In 2010, Chachas left Lazard to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate in the Republican primary race in his home state of Nevada. Although he had some early successes, he was not able to secure the nomination.
After the Senate race Chachas returned to New York and founded Methuselah Advisors. Since the formation of Methuselah, he has served as a financial advisor to several of the country’s largest media organizations, including Tribune Company throughout its bankruptcy from 2009 until its emergence in 2012. He advised Journal Communications on its $2.2 billion spin-merger combination with the newspaper and broadcaster, E.W. Scripps. In 2015, Methuselah represented Journal Media Group on its $300 million sale to Gannett.
Through Methuselah Capital Partners he has been an investor or director of San Francisco-based luxury retailer, Gump's, the LA-based TV network Ovation, the Philadelphia-based radio broadcaster WEAZ, and the Tony Award-winning musical, Kinky Boots.
Chachas serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American College of Greece and is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of TurningPoint USA, an American political advocacy group focused on millennial voters. He has appeared as a guest commentator about the media and politics on numerous TV and news shows including CNBC’s Fast Money, Fox Business, and Bloomberg’s Market Makers.
Personal life
John and his wife, Diane, live with their three children in New York and also maintain homes in Deer Valley, Utah and Ely.