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Mark Shapiro assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Six Flags, Inc. on December 14, 2005. Shapiro was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Red Zone LLC, a private investment firm founded by entrepreneur Daniel M. Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, in December 2004.
Prior to assuming his role at Red Zone, Shapiro spent 12 years at ESPN, where he bore significant responsibility for many of the sports and entertainment projects and properties that built the television network into one of the world’s strongest brands.
Until joining Red Zone in 2005, he served as ESPN’s executive vice president, programming and production, a position he assumed in September 2002. He was responsible for the development, acquisition, and scheduling of all programming for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD, and oversaw all remote and studio production for ESPN’s domestic and international entities, including the company’s engineering and technical operations.
He served as senior vice president and general manager, programming, from July 2001- September 2002, during which time he was listed as one of Hollywood Reporter’s 35 Promising Executives on the Rise in 2001. In 2003, Shapiro was also named one of the Rising stars in Entertainment Weekly’s annual 101 Most Powerful People in Show Business. In 2004, Shapiro was named to the Sporting News’ Power 100, for the second consecutive year and in 2005 was named to the Sports Business Daily’s Top 40 Under 40 for the third consecutive year. He is the recipient of two Peabody Awards and sixteen Emmy Awards.
Previously, he served as vice president and general manager of ESPN Classic and ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE), responsible for all ESPN Classic and EOE efforts, including creation, acquisition, and production of original proprietary programming for all ESPN networks and distribution platforms. He led ESPN Classic through a period of tremendous growth and programming development including the launch of the network’s signature program, SportsCentury: The Top 50 and Beyond.
Shapiro served as coordinating producer of ESPN’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning SportsCentury: 50 Greatest Athletes series from January 1997 to December 1999. He joined ESPN in September 1993 as a production assistant for the nightly call-in/interview program Talk2, less than a month before the program debuted on ESPN2. In February 1994, Shapiro was promoted to producer.
Prior to ESPN, Shapiro worked in various positions for NBC Sports from 1989-92.
A Chicago native, Shapiro graduated from the University of Iowa with bachelor of arts degrees in political science and communications.
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