Mark D. Ein is an investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, who has created, acquired, invested in and built a series of growth companies across a diverse set of industries over the course of his 20 year career. During this time, Mr. Ein has been involved in the founding or early stages of five companies that have been worth over $1 billion and has led $650 million of private equity, venture capital and public company investments generating an internal rate of return of over 40%.
Currently, Mr. Ein is Chairman, CEO, Treasurer, Secretary and Director of Capitol Acquisition Corporation 2 (NASDAQ:CLAC), a publicly traded acquisition vehicle that raised $200 million in an initial public offering on May 15, 2013. He is also the Co-Chairman and Principal Shareholder of Kastle Systems, LLC, the country’s leading provider of managed security systems for commercial office buildings. In addition, he is the Vice-Chairman of Two Harbors Investment Corporation, a NYSE-listed (TWO) residential mortgage REIT. Two Harbors was formed through a merger with Capitol Acquisition Corporation, a company that Mr. Ein founded with a $265 million initial public offering in November 2007 and served as its Chairman and CEO until the merger in November 2009. As of December 31, 2012, Two Harbors had a book value of $3.4 billion and total assets of $16.8 billion. Mr. Ein also currently serves on the board of MACH S.a.r.L, the world’s leading financial clearinghouse for the mobile telecom industry, and is Chairman of the Board of VSGi, a provider of videoconferencing solutions. Throughout his career, Mr. Ein has invested in a wide range of other successful growth companies that have gone public or merged into larger companies including XM Satellite Radio, Nextel, American Tower, Cibernet and Matrics. Earlier in his career, Mr. Ein worked for The Carlyle Group, Brentwood Associates and Goldman Sachs.
Mr. Ein is also the Founder and Owner of the Washington Kastles, his hometown’s World TeamTennis (WTT) franchise. After just five years in the league, the Kastles have already captured the coveted King Trophy three times by winning the WTT Championship in 2012, 2011 and 2009. The 2011 team made history by becoming the first team in the 36 year history of the league to complete a perfect undefeated season with its 16-0 record. The 2012 team repeated this feat with a second straight undefeated 16-0 Championship season. The franchise currently has an active 32 match winning streak – the second longest streak in US pro team sports history (behind the 33 game winning streak of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers). The Kastles and Mr. Ein have been often honored for its contributions on and off the court including being named the USTA Mid-Atlantic Section’s 2011 Organization of the Year. The team has been recognized four times by the Mayor of Washington, D.C. and the Washington, D.C. City Council with proclamations of “Washington Kastles Day” in the District of Columbia. In recognition of the team’s first Championship in 2009, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty presented Mr. Ein and the Kastles with the Key to the City, highlighting not only their success on the court, “but for their commitment to the District’s communities and our youth.”
A native of the Washington area, Mr. Ein actively supports many community, charitable and cultural organizations. Through both his professional and philanthropic activities, he is committed to bringing his community together as well as helping those in need with a particular focus on the youth of the city. Mr. Ein has been frequently recognized and honored for his contributions to his community including being named Business Leader of the Year by the Washington DC Chamber of Commerce in October, 2011 and the region’s Entrepreneur of the Year by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in 2009. In addition, Mr. Ein was inducted into the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Hall of Fame in March 2012.
Mr. Ein is currently the Chairman of the Board of The District of Columbia Public Schools Education Fund (DCPEF) which serves to catalyze private sector support for the DC Public School System and that has raised over $90 million of philanthropic funds in just five years. Mr. Ein also serves on the Board of Directors of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), the District of Columbia College Access Program (DC-CAP), International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Executive Committee of the Federal City Council and was appointed by Mayor Vincent Gray to be a member of the D.C. Tax Revision Commission. He previously served on the Boards of Directors of The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the SEED Foundation, The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., The Washington Tennis & Education Foundation and The Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Art as well as the Advisory Board of The Tennis Center at College Park (TCCP), the Steering Committee for the Business Executives for National Security (BENS) DC, the selection Committee for the George J. Mitchell Scholarship program, the Trustees Council of The National Gallery of Art, the Advisory Board of the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund, and the Donor Advisory Group for the FasterCures Philanthropy Advisory Service. He received his BS in Economics with a concentration in finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from The Harvard Business School.