Linda E. McMahon is Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in Stamford, Conn. She also serves on the company’s Board of Directors. Her husband, Vincent K. McMahon, is Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors.
Starting as a regional company in 1982, the McMahons used their business savvy to turn WWE into a global leader in media and entertainment with annual revenues of nearly $500 million. Mrs. McMahon has been widely recognized as one of the entertainment industry’s top female executives, both for her business acumen and her support of a variety of community-based initiatives.
The McMahons began their foray into the live event promotion business in 1979 when they formed Titan Sports. That same year they purchased a little known arena called the Cape Cod Coliseum and began promoting a variety of events from professional hockey to rock concerts to professional wrestling.
In 1980, the McMahons incorporated Titan Sports. In 1982, Titan Sports purchased Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the company founded by Vince’s father. Wrestling was still regarded as a regional enterprise, but with the purchase of Capitol, they had the opportunity to give the company that would become World Wrestling Entertainment much greater geographic coverage and to give the product better positioning as entertainment, not sport.
That broader appeal led to syndication and later to national and international television contracts, concurrent with trademarking and branding World Wrestling Entertainment. Mrs. McMahon negotiated and implemented the first licensing deal in the wrestling industry with a toy company called LJN, which produced the WWE line of Superstar action figures. She also managed the development of WWE publications, and, at the start, wrote most of the articles. This foresight was a harbinger of multi-million dollar business centers for the company.
Today, from global headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Mrs. McMahon oversees and guides the strategic direction of this integrated media company whose content and products are distributed on a global basis via broadcast, syndication and cable television, publications, mobile phones, and the Internet. Ancillary businesses include licensing, merchandising, home video, e-commerce, catalog sales and WWE Studios, which creates a diversified mix of filmed entertainment, including theatrical films, direct-to-DVD movies, and scripted television movies, series and reality programming. In 2007, Mrs. McMahon was named one of Multichannel News’ “Wonder Woman,” recognizing her accomplishments with WWE and as a leader in the U.S. cable television industry.
Under Mrs. McMahon’s leadership, the company continues to grow. In addition to its headquarters in Stamford, WWE has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, London, Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai. In October 1999, the company undertook a successful initial public offering. Today, the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WWE.
In addition to her work in the boardroom, Mrs. McMahon has been instrumental in nurturing WWE’s community and charitable programs. She spearheaded the creation of WWE’s Get R.E.A.L. educational and literacy programs, including the company’s nationwide WrestleMania Reading Challenge in partnership with the Young Adult Services Library Association, the youth division of the American Library Association. She has also led the development of WWE’s Smackdown Your Vote! initiative to encourage more young adults to vote with exceptional results, and received recognition from the major political parties for the program’s success. Partners in that endeavor include the League of Women Voters, the National Association of Secretaries of State, Harvard Institute of Politics, the University of Virginia Center for Politics Youth Leadership Initiative, and Sacred Heart University.
In recognition of WWE’s work to support children over the past 20 years, Mrs. McMahon was appointed in 2005 to The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America National Advisory Council. The Make-A-Wish Foundation, in 2004, awarded WWE its highest honor, the Chris Grecius Award, for WWE’s extensive support of its organization. She is a major supporter of such organizations as the Starlight Foundation Research Foundation and the USO.
The WWE was the recipient of the USO of Metropolitan Washington’s first ever “Legacy of Hope” award for WWE’s extensive support of our troops and the USO’s Operation Care Package program. In 2007, WWE received the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award for its support of deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the company received the GI Film Festival’s Corporate Patriot Award.
She has served as the Honorary Corporate Chair of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, running one of the organization’s most successful fundraising efforts. Mrs. McMahon also was presented the Arthur M. Sackler Award from the Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra for WWE’s support of its arts education program. She has served on the Governor’s Council for the World Special Olympics.
Mrs. McMahon was elected in October 2004 to serve on the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart University of Fairfield, Conn. She now serves on the board’s Executive Committee and chairs its Institutional Advancement Committee.
Born October 4, 1948, and raised in New Bern, N.C., Mrs. McMahon was a high school honor society student who was also fond of basketball and tennis. She and Vince were married in 1966. After graduating from East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., with a Bachelor of Science in French and certified to teach, Linda and Vince moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked as a paralegal at the law firm of Covington & Burling.
The McMahons have resided in Greenwich, Conn., for more than 20 years. They have two adult children who make up the fourth generation of McMahons involved in the business – Shane, Executive Vice President, Global Media, and Stephanie, Executive Vice President, Creative Writing, Talent Relations and Live Events. Also involved in the business is Stephanie’s husband, Paul Levesque, who portrays the WWE’s charismatic Triple H.
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