Scott Mead
Born
Washington, DC, United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard College (B.A.)
Emmanuel College, Cambridge (M.Phil.)
University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D.)
Occupation(s)Fine art photographer, philanthropist
Years active1980s-present
StylePhotography
SpouseSu Ling (1986)[1]
WebsiteOfficial website

Scott Mead is an American fine art photographer,[2] philanthropist, and investor currently based in London.[3][4][5][6] After an early career in photography, Mead relocated to London in 1988, where as a partner at Goldman Sachs,[7] he became known for overseeing and negotiating large telecommunications and technology mergers.[3][7] In 2000 he was chief advisor[8] on Vodafone's $200 billion buyout of Mannesmann,[2][4] considered the largest corporate takeover in history.[6][7] After joining Apax Partners in 2006,[3] Mead joined the investment group of the Boston Celtics[9] before co-founding Richmond Park Partners (RPP) in 2007.[10]

A photographer, his prints have been included in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition every year since 2011,[11] sans 2021.[12] BBC's Culture Show profiled his work in 2012,[13] and Mead published his aerial photography and philosophy book Above the Clouds in October 2017.[14] His most recent photography book, Equivalents, was published in 2022 with text by Brad Leithauser.[15]

Founder and chairman of the philanthropic Mead Family Foundation,[16] Mead is involved with organizations such as the Tate Foundation,[17] the International Center of Photography,[18] the University of the Arts,[19] The Photographers' Gallery,[20] and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).[21] He has also supported programs at educational institutions such as Phillips Academy,[22] Cambridge University,[23] Harvard University,[24] and University of Pennsylvania Law School.[25] He is on the Harvard Board of Overseers.[26]

Early life and education

Scott Mead[1] was born in Washington, DC.[27] His father, James M. Mead, was a businessperson. With extended family based out of Erie, Pennsylvania during his youth, Mead's grandfather John J. Mead Jr.[1] had been a press journalist[2][28] and photographer[29] for the Erie Times-News, founded and owned by the Mead family.[1] After accompanying his grandfather on assignments as a small child,[27] Mead picked up photography after he was given one of his grandfather's cameras at age thirteen.[29] Mead taught himself how to develop photographs in his parents' basement.[2] He attended high school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts,[1] graduating in 1973.[22] In 1974 he began attending Harvard College.[7] At Harvard he majored in American history and literature,[19] also focusing on the visual arts under professors such as William Eggleston.[29] Mead graduated cum laude[1] with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1977.[24] After receiving the Harvard Scholar award that year to attend Cambridge University,[16] in 1979[19] he graduated Cambridge's Emmanuel College with a Master of Philosophy.[16] Mead subsequently received a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania law school[1] in 1982.[19]

Business career

1980s-2003: Goldman Sachs

Early in his career Mead worked at First Boston Corporation[30] and moved to Goldman Sachs in New York in 1986[19] as vice president in their corporate finance department,[1] before being transferred to London in 1988,[3] where he became a Goldman Sachs managing director and later partner.[19] At Goldman Sachs he soon took on the roles[7] of chairman of the global telecoms, media, entertainment and technology group[6] and the head of European Privatizations,[19] advising several major deals.[3][6] In 1999 he was Goldman Sachs' chief negotiator[8] and advisor for Vodafone's takeover of the German telecom group Mannesmann.[4][23][31] The value of the acquisition neared $200 billion,[2] considered the largest in history.[6] He also advised Vodafone on its $66.5 billion takeover of Airtouch Communications.[6] During his time with Goldman Sachs, he oversaw mergers and transactions totaling approximately $500 billion.[19] After retiring as a partner[6] and managing director from Goldman Sachs in 2003,[19] he ran and managed his own private equity activities, advised a group of "blue-chip" companies,[6] and focused on philanthropy.[5]

2006-present: Apax and RPP

Mead joined a group of investors around 2006 who had purchased the Boston Celtics. After management made substantial investment in new talent and coaching, in 2008 the team won the NBA play-offs.[9] From October 2006[3][6] until September 2008 Mead was a senior advisor[19] at Apax Partners, serving as chairman of the company's global technology and telecommunications advisory board.[5][6]

In 2007 Mead co-founded Richmond Park Partners (RPP) in London,[10] taking on the role of president.[21] The company initially focused on financial services and telecom clients in Europe and the Middle East.[32] Since 2012[27] he has devoted much of his time to photography.[19][27]

Arts career

Mead minored in visual studies at Harvard, studying under photographers such as William Eggleston[29] and Emmet Gowin in the mid-1970s.[27] Among other projects, around this time he "used a complex photography technique to shoot a series of black and white photographs capturing rural New England" circular format.[30] In 2009, Mead rediscovered old prints and negatives from his student years in his attic,[2] and began re-immersing himself in photography.[27]

In 2010, 25 of Mead's images from 1974 to 1977,[11] many of them never printed before,[27] were displayed at a London solo exhibition titled Looking Back[11] at Mayfair gallery Hamilton's,[4][20] with all funds donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.[27] Prints from the exhibit and other works were afterward selected for inclusion in the 2011 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and Mead also had prints selected for the Royal Academy summer exhibition in 2012,[27] 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.[11] In 2012 the BBC Culture Show program profiled his work,[13] and Mead published the book Looking Back afterwards, featuring prints from his twenties.[27] In October 2017 the aerial photography and philosophy book Above the Clouds was published by Prestel,[14] with prints from the book exhibited in January 2018 at Hamiltons.[33] His most recent book, Equivalents was published by Prestel in late 2022. The book, inspired by William Eggleston, features paired nature photographs, with text by Brad Leithauser.[15]

Boards and philanthropy

Mead created The Mead Family Foundation[20] in 1996,[19] also assuming the role of chairman.[17] After Great Ormond Street Hospital in London cured his infant child of leukaemia, Mead became a long-term supporter[11] and board member of the institution.[19] He has also endowed the Great Ormond Street Hospital's GOSH Arts program, where patients are immersed in the arts during often difficult treatments, potentially resulting in a more positive outcome.[34] Mead has also been on the board of visitors of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.[35]

Mead has spearheaded a number of educational initiatives, and he backed and co-founded London's Notting Hill Preparatory school in 2003.[23] He has been a board member of Usher's New Look Foundation, which provides training and mentorship to disadvantaged children,[23][36] and he joined the UK advisory board of Room to Read in 2009.[19] He remains involved in all of his alma maters, including Phillips Academy,[22] Emmanuel College,[37] Cambridge University,[36] and Harvard University.[24] Mead founded the Mead International Fellows Program,[30] and in 2008 he established the "Scott Mead '77 Family Head Coach" endowment to support the Harvard Men's Tennis team.[38] A benefactor fellow at Emmanuel College,[39] he was the creator and benefactor of the University of the Arts London's Mead Fellowships, which provides grants to students in the arts.[40] He is also the creator of the Mead Fellowship at University of Pennsylvania Law School.[25]

He is also involved in various athletic and arts organizations. He joined the executive committee for the Tate Foundation,[17] and is on the Tate's acquisition committee.[41] Also on the global advisory council of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA),[21] he has also been a member of the trustees of Queens Club.[41] Since 2011[19] he has been a trustee of the International Center of Photography in New York,[18] and he joined the rector's council of the University of the Arts London in 2012, and its court of governors in 2017.[19] Furthermore, he was chairman of the board of trustees[20] of The Photographers' Gallery in London from 2013[19][20] until 2016.[19] He was elected to the Harvard Board of Overseers in 2022.[26]

Selected exhibitions

  • 2010: Looking Back - Solo exhibition / Hamilton's Gallery, London - 25 of Mead's prints from 1974 to 1977 were exhibited[11]
  • 2010-2011: The PhotoVoice Auction of Exceptional Photographs - Group show - Mead's print “Three Barns” and “Untitled” exhibited and sold as part of the auction to benefit PhotoVoice[11]
  • 2011-2012: The Art Show - Group show / Park Avenue Armory, New York - His print “Evening Light” was exhibited, followed by "Untitled (Umbrellas on Beach)," with the show organized by the Art Dealers Association of America to benefit Henry Street Settlement[11]
  • 2011-2017: Summer Exhibition - Group show / Royal Academy of Arts, London - various photograph prints selected, most recently "Journey into Blue" and "Autumn”[11]
  • 2018: Scott Mead: Above the Clouds - Solo exhibition / Hamilton's Gallery, London - several prints[33]
  • 2019–2020, 2022-2023: Summer Exhibition - Group show / Royal Academy of Arts, London[12]

Books

  • 2010: Looking Back by Scott Mead (self-published 1st edition)[42]
  • 2017: Above the Clouds by Scott Mead (Prestel)[14]
  • Equivalents (Prestel; 2022)[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Edward S. Mead Married in Erie To Su Ling Chan". New York Times. New York City, New York. September 21, 1986. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 La Roche, Julia (December 10, 2012). "A Former Goldman Heavy-Hitter Rediscovered His 20s After Finding Gorgeous Photos In His Attic". Business Insider. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sorkin, Andrew Ross (October 6, 2006). "Merger Banker Is Joining Apax After a Hiatus". The New York Times. New York City, New York, United States. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mychasuk, Emiliya; Terazono, Emiko (September 17, 2010). "Mead in the lens". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Saigol, Lina (October 5, 2006). "Apax lures Mead for his global telecoms expertise". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Saigol, Lina (October 5, 2006). "Apax recruits ex-Goldman banker". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Das, Babi (June 4, 2002). "Goldman Partner Shuns Beaten Path". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Kearns, Paul (April 4, 2007), The Value Motive: The Only Alternative to the Profit Motive, John Wiley & Sons, p. 93, ISBN 9780470319802, retrieved January 5, 2017
  9. 1 2 "Not all investors are a basket case". The Telegraph. June 19, 2008.
  10. 1 2 Company Overview of Richmond Park Partners LLP, Bloomberg
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 selected exhibitions, scottmeadphotography.co.uk, retrieved January 3, 2017
  12. 1 2 "Scott Mead Photography 2023
  13. 1 2 Scott Mead The Culture Show, The Culture Show, July 18, 2012, retrieved January 3, 2017
  14. 1 2 3 Mead, Scott (October 2, 2017), Above the Clouds: Scott Mead (Hardback), Prestel, retrieved January 3, 2018
  15. 1 2 3 Author Scott Mead; Equivalents on Dec. 6, 2022 (US); Nov.15, 2022 (UK); Prestel Publishing, ISBN 978-3-7913-8655-3
  16. 1 2 3 The Mead Fellowship in Economics, Emmanuel College - Albert Hammond - Feb 2, 2011 -ezine
  17. 1 2 3 "Membership of the Tate Board's Councils and Committees". The Tate. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014.
  18. 1 2 "International Center of Photography Board Elects New Trustees" (PDF). International Center of Photography.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Scott Mead, LinkedIn, retrieved January 3, 2017
  20. 1 2 3 "Global Advisory Council". WTA.
  21. 1 2 3 "Charter Trustee: Scott Mead '73". Andover. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014.
  22. 1 2 3 4 "Mead mixes profits and philanthropy". E Financial News. March 28, 2011.
  23. 1 2 3 Harvard Global Advisory Council (PDF), Harvard University, 2015, p. 4, retrieved January 3, 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  24. 1 2 Our Global Initiatives, retrieved January 2, 2017
  25. 1 2 "[Seven alumni elected to the Board of Overseers https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/05/seven-alumni-elected-to-the-board-of-overseers-six-to-haa/]," The Harvard Gazette, May 26, 2022
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 biography, scottmeadphotography.co.uk
  27. ↑ "US photographer Scott Mead on giving back to Great Ormond Street". www.spearswms.com. May 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  28. 1 2 3 4 "Now they're targeting the silver-spoon brigade". The Telegraph. August 12, 2010.
  29. 1 2 3 Scott Mead's Work Accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition - Amanda Lisin - August 21, 2011
  30. ↑ "Schlussspurt ohne Scott Mead". Manager Magazin Online (in German). June 9, 2004.
  31. ↑ Schäfer, Daniel (January 6, 2013). "Compass Advisers to merge with RPP". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  32. 1 2 Scott Mead - Above the Clouds, Hamiltons, retrieved January 3, 2017
  33. ↑ Wrathall, Claire (October 13, 2017). "Exploring the palliative power of art". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  34. ↑ "MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors 2011-2012" (PDF). Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  35. 1 2 "UK Advisory Board". Room to Read. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010.
  36. ↑ Thanking Donors (PDF), 2011, retrieved January 5, 2018
  37. ↑ "Harvard announces Scott Mead '77 Family Head Coach for Men's Tennis". Harvard Gazette. September 18, 2008.
  38. ↑ "emmanuel 2011 REVIEW" (PDF). Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  39. ↑ Mead Scholarships and Fellowships, London, United Kingdom: University of London
  40. 1 2 "International Center of Photography Board Elects New Trustees" (PDF). Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  41. ↑ Mead, Scott (2010), Above the Clouds: Scott Mead (Hardback), Abe Books, retrieved January 3, 2018
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