Bobby Sharma
American investor and sports executive
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bobby Sharma (born in 1973) is an Indian-American investor. He is a former executive and attorney, including at the National Basketball Association where he helped build the NBA G-league, and is currently the founder and managing partner of private equity firm Bluestone Equity Partners.
Bobby Sharma | |
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Photo of Bobby Sharma | |
| Born | 1973 (age 52–53) Dayton, Ohio |
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| Website | bluestoneequity.com |
Early life and education
Sharma graduated from Duke University with a bachelor's degree and earned a juris doctor (JD) degree from Duke Law School.[1][2]
Career
National Basketball Association (NBA) (2002-11)
Sharma worked as an executive and attorney for the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2002 to 2011.[3][4] While there, he helped lead the creation of the NBA’s first minor league, initially called the NBA Development League (or D-League), now known as the G-League. He worked with commissioners David Stern and Adam Silver throughout his tenure at the NBA and oversaw the G-League growing from 6 regional teams in the southeast, to 16 teams across the United States.[3]
IMG & Investment (2011-23)
In 2011, Sharma took on an executive role with IMG Worldwide, as senior vice president, global head of basketball & strategic initiatives.[5][6][4] He was tasked with building professional sports leagues in international markets, starting with a basketball league in India after IMG acquired commercial rights to the sport in the country for 30 years. Sharma considered India as the "largest untapped basketball market in the world.[7][8][9] At IMG Sharma worked alongside famed investor Ted Forstmann, building sports leagues in other international markets including Brazil, Nigeria and China, with sports such as basketball, soccer, and cricket.[3][10][11]
Bluestone Equity Partners (2023-present)
In 2023, Sharma founded Bluestone Equity Partners, a private equity firm.[12][13] The New York City-based firm focuses on deals in the sports, media & entertainment industry.[14][10] Sharma built the firm based on experience and relationships in both the sports and finance industries, including hiring investors from firms such as Blackstone and Apollo Global.[3][10]
Bluestone bought a $30 million stake in PMY Group, which designs and manages digital scoreboards, lighting, and acoustics at sports and entertainment venues.[15] In 2024, the company invested in Volo Sports[16] and RWS Global.[17]