vivek ranadive - sactown magazine 2013.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
THE GAME CHANGERW h e n S a c r a m e n t a n s f i r s t h e a r d V i ve k R a n a d i v é ’ s n a m e t h i s p a s t s p r i n g , i t w a s i n t h e c o n tex t o f a “ w h a l e ” — a n u l t r a - we a l t hy i nve s -to r w h o h a d t h e f i n a n c i a l m i g h t a n d e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l v i s i o n to w r e s t c o n t r o l o f t h e S a c r a m e n to K i n g s f r o m a p r e d a to r y g r o u p i n S e a t t l e t h a t i n c l u d e d o n e o f t h e wo r l d ’ s r i c h e s t m e n . A t t h e t i m e , i t s e e m e d a n i m p o s s i b l e t a s k . B u t w i t h a p o i n t g u a r d l i ke M ayo r Kev i n J o h n s o n ke e p i n g t h e b a l l i n p l ay, R a n a d i v é p r ev a i l e d , a n d i s n ow d e te r m i n e d to t r a n s f o r m t h e K i n g s a n d q u i te p o s s i b l y t h e N B A i t s e l f . T h i s i s t h e s to r y o f w h e r e h e c a m e f r o m , w h a t d r i ve s h i m , a n d w hy b a s ket b a l l —
a n d o u r c i t y — m ay n eve r b e t h e s a m e a g a i n .
B Y A N I T A C H A B R I A P H O T O G R A P H S B Y M A X W H I T T A K E R
SOLD TO THE [email protected]
O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 63
Just that evening, he had convinced the City Council to vote in fa-vor of funding for a new arena that would put $258 million in public
an important step to keeping the Kings, signaling that the city was
there was some trepidation,” he says, about the reality of getting a
his case to the council was that 86 miles away in Atherton, Ranadivé
dressed in the uniform of Silicon Valley success—starched shirt open at the collar, freshly pressed pants, loafers that look both casual
-looking a parking lot full of upscale hybrids, he has the intense and
Despite that toughness, Ranadivé is private to the point of being
-
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-ing to personally guarantee you that this ownership group will do
Johnson knew that with Ranadivé in the lead role, the deal had the
time where two tough visionaries bonded for the common good, for
-tion happen, one that not only keeps a beloved team in its home city, but that promises to fundamentally alter the fate of the place
-brancy and potentially bringing worldwide interest, and invest-
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SACRAMENTO MAYOR KEV IN JOHNSON WAS WALK ING ALONG A BLIGHTED STRETCH OF K STREET AROUND 10 P.M. ON A TUESDAY I N MARCH , JUST AF T ER A TOUGH C I TY COUNCIL MEET ING , WHEN HE GOT A CALL THAT HE BEL IEVES MARKED A “SEM INAL MOMENT ” FOR THE R IVER C I TY. I T WAS V IVEK RANAD IVÉ , THE 56 -YEAR -OLD S I L I CON VAL L EY MOGUL WHO HAD ONLY RECENT LY GONE PUBL IC W I TH H IS I N T EREST I N BUY ING A MAJOR I TY S TAKE I N THE TOWN ’S BE L EAGUERED BASKETBAL L T EAM . JOHNSON HAD BEEN S TREET F I GHT ING FOR MONTHS TO KEEP I T I N SACRAMENTO AND THWART A MOVE TO S EATT L E . THE “HERE WE S TAY” CAMPA IGN HAD BECOME A DEF IN ING PO INT OF H I S L EGACY, W IN OR LOSE .
O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 364 65
Sacramento Kings and the oracle of down-town development is only the latest in a long
bootstraps saga of how he landed on the shores of America with $50 and a dream,
stock trading—a coup that eventually led to building a $1 billion company with a per-sonal stake reportedly valued at about $318 million (a portion of his net worth, which
-
ern-day David, published in a New Yorker article, with Ranadivé cast as the guy who successfully coached his then preteen
-
full of epic escapades and so free of trouble? Ask Ranadivé about the setbacks, the mo-
ments of trepidation, the hard times when worry and fear kept him awake, and while
not address them, he remains determinedly
charisma—it makes the people around him feel like if they follow, they will be part of the
will
Aneel has it tattooed on his wrist, a reminder from when he was a toddler and his dad
that was pounded into the elder Ranadivé by his grandmother—who was a prominent
-tests where her grandchildren would go toe-to-toe against each other—and his own fa-ther, an ex-military man known far and wide
-
ness and determination in Ranadivé, whom
trait—the inability to rest on an achieve-
friend Roger Craig, who is also vice presi-
when he jumped that hurdle to making his dream happen?
own company?
public, its stock price more than doubling
And when it comes to the Kings?-
tory,” he says under the bright lights of the
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and he thought he knew everything, so he
-
more than 800—still with the coveted desig---
-ries is a different Ranadivé—one consis-tently described as resoundingly generous and loyal, a man as driven to do the right
-ing pieces are the reasons he has an almost cultlike devotion from friends and employ-ees who believe he has a higher mission than
he can make the world a better place every
sometimes 10 miles, talking about how to
pocket and clothes too light for New Eng-
-
servants and drivers and a private school favored by international diplomats—one his family helped to found, and that gave out a
his days planning pranks and building model airplanes, whose propellers were fu-
-ber bands to this day, saving them from his
drawer until his housekeeper tosses them
apart watches and transistor radios,” he
book, he balanced a trash can on top of a
alarm clock to the family phone, setting it off if his sister Smita went longer than three
An accomplished athlete, he played cricket and soccer on the beach, a miles-long stretch where the Arabian Sea laps gently on the sand and sunsets draw thousands of specta-
that the mention of it moves him to recite -
his sister Smita Deshpande, who now lives
-
outdoorsman who rode horses, hunted big game (he taught Ranadivé to be an expert
He lives for the fight, for the forward mo-mentum, and he’s not just hungry for it, “he’s starving,” says ex-NFL star and close friend Roger Craig.
Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé leads a group of employees in a cheer at Sleep Train Arena.
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O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 366
considered one of the most dangerous mis--
-fore ultimately crossing into China at 15,000
-
Shortly before Ranadivé came to Ameri-ca, the Captain got in a public dispute with
been an independent country for less than
poor safety record, was a source of national pride and grounding its new planes was not
liberties, shutting down some newspapers and triggering the arrests of thousands of
-
-
Ranadivé remembers waking up and see-
a long-lasting impact on our lives,” says Desh-pande, the emotion of the memory catching
was a very stressful period,” recalls Desh-
--
termined to go, although he never fully dis-
of coming to America ever since listening to
-
these people that were able to take a man, put him in a box and send him 250,000
its currency, the rupee, to be converted into
ongoing legal and political battles, made it
-
convinced him to convert the cash for one semester of tuition, room and board, with
the matriarch of the family, and a woman of deep and loud convictions whom Desh-
-lieved that Ranadivés had an obligation to
family is Kshatriya—born to be warriors
-
stand and to do something when you know
this was one of the principles my grand-
-
reminded Ranadivé not to abandon the old one, to hold on to this centuries-old legacy of standing for something larger than him-
electrical engineering in four years, an ac-complishment that would normally take
-sembly line worker take the trash from his lunch, throw it inside the open panel of a
-
So, based on a tip from a former class-
-
to Qualcomm, the wireless technology gi-
-
Addicott, on a blind date and married her
had deferred it in order to earn enough --
-ished his degree, Ranadivé took a product
returned to California to an apartment in
was unable to see a photo of the baby, but she had knitted a blanket for her grandson
was very close to her, so it was a big deal for me,” he says of her death, describing
-
a hardware engineer, he understood that -
-
piece of information that one generated,
put that information someplace else, it had
-cations talk to each other?
-tem that would run all the core functions of
programs could then all communicate and
--
-puter system that his investors were consid-
desks cluttered with monitors and cords, struggling to combine information from doz-
money, he saw waste—and the perfect situa-
the top executives of the company (later sec-
impressed that he invited Ranadivé to pitch his partners on his idea to streamline data
the elevator to the top of the building and they had this room, which was very fancy,
guys would sit down and have breakfast,”
--
ing, and all of the sudden the door opened
-
The Ranadivés had an obligation to fight for social
justice because of their caste (the Hindu designation of social rank). The family is Kshatriya—born to be warriors and rulers. It is
the caste of kings.
Ranadivé with his beloved grandmother, Tara, in Mumbai in 1975. This photograph was taken on their way to the airport, where Ranadivé boarded a plane to Boston to attend MIT.
Ranadivé with his three children, (from left) Aneel, Andre and Anjali in Maui, where the family has a residence, this past summer
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O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 69
days or weeks to analyze and put togeth-
transformative change for companies like
-
employees and $8 million in annual rev--
uters, decided it would make a good take-
Ranadivé leading it as an independent sub-
at a steep cost—his big idea now belonged
new corporate bosses for four more years,
-
dinner at his home one night, he convinced the chairman of Reuters to let him split off
-nology and focusing on businesses outside
found that you get to do what you want
says Aneel, the eldest of the three Ranadivé kids, who was a teenager when his parents
was on the far side of being a free spirit and my dad was on the opposite side of just kind of trying to be really focused and have
Ranadivé remained involved with his -
eel, who played multiple sports growing up,
of him helping me drill, playing tennis, go-
dad would constantly be pushing me to
with Chris,” she says with unadulterated -
for his arrest after assaulting his girlfriend,
-sioner David Stern had given her at the
star, Anjali has long dark hair, dark eyes and
an honest, youthful spirit that seems like it
with her roommate/manager Chelsea, who, Anjali says, is really good at talking her way
-
the rays of wrinkles around his eyes that
leans back in his chair and intertwines his
-
-
High School Musical. -
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-ing the penguin cages than spending the
Ranadivé has raised his kids with the same sense of intense purpose that was instilled in
-
whether they know it or not, Ranadivé has passed on to them his warrior-prince princi-
when he needs to be tough, but he can also
So it is likely Anjali will be a doctor long -
ing at Kings games—perhaps even at the
-
wrote about for The New Yorker
--
self in front of his little girl, but he really
he was going to coach them, then that
turned over, everyone ran to the other
on every inch of the hardwood—a full-
-
-ernors, comprised of all 30 team owners,
-mento, Ranadivé hosted a gathering at his home with several of his future co-owners and friends that, by several accounts, re-
had a little three-point contest,” says Andy
-
committee (recently, he was taking sugges-
Ranadivé has an indoor half-court in the basement that occasionally doubles as a
Ranadivé downplays any suggestion of
his team by a 22-8 vote, as at least some of
adding that when the Seattle group in-
asked for and we had a very compelling
why it was great for Seattle and why Sac-
And at least one key observer in the meet-
to make representations on behalf of the franchise to meet this obligation or meet
was the person who in effect stood up, if not -
sibility for providing the answers that the
owners, Ranadivé spotted venture capital-
-ing personal, but if it comes up that we win this, then you have my commitment
--
-
(A few months later, however, after vow-
K Street call to KJ was the mythical mo-
Ranadivé: “David Stern and I joked, one day we’ll write an op-era about it—From Maloofs to Mumbai. His title, not mine.”
Ranadivé with Kings advisor and former NBA star Chris Mullin (left) and team GM Pete D’Alessandro at Sleep Train Arena
Ranadivé at his Atherton home with Shaq and Kings minority owner Mark Mastrov
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O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 370 71
ment that he became a contender, the truth is Ranadivé had been making a play for the Kings for some time—keeping it on the
talking about it probably a year before any--
-ing to people and trying to put a group to-gether and talking with the mayor and just getting things organized with the hopes that
Roger Craig also remembers it as going
that out there a year and a half ago,” he
it was public,” but says that as mayor, when
it came to talking to potential buyers, he had
Ranadivé was cautious about playing his
heard so much about him, but not by name
while, but we all sort of respected the pri-
the only person that knows the whole story is -
son who is responsible for the team staying here and for us building a new arena, and us
the start of what could be his greatest leg-
-tails off his coaching experience with his daughter—having the courage and vision to innovate, break molds and champion the underdog—and involves entitled bil-lionaires, worldwide expansion of an all-American sport, and the potential to re-
-
From Maloofs to Mumbai.
the best maintained structure on the aging
at least wants some grass to make it look bet-
with dark leather chairs and nondescript
are canvas prints of photos from the down-town Kings rally—Ranadivé (who had the
-
make it a place where hard work at every -
them from a team where most players were hoping for a trade to one with the pride to
only two father-son head-coaching teams in the history of the league (the other is
-
the grain of sand that works its way into
by building a pearl around it, the way he wants his people to react to his relentless
-thing of beauty and value, it takes an ir-
you step back and look at it in a completely
And Ranadivé is doing things differ-
-
other teams were courting him, so why
-
--
munications director is Red, one of his execu-
-
-
and a half, he completely blew me away,”
-
A good part of what Ranadivé hopes to
-
Ranadivé: “If there is one person who is responsible for the team staying here and for us building a new arena, and us building a global
franchise, it’s Mayor Kevin Johnson.”
Ranadivé and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson are all smiles in Cesar Chavez Plaza on May 23 at a rally that celebrated the NBA’s decision to keep the Kings in Sacramento.
O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 3 73
plus population would love basketball enough to watch, get the apps and con-
understands that there are 300 million--
-
be a huge force in helping us to develop
by nestling fans in little cyber-cocoons of joy,
Vote for your favorite player and
win! Ranadivé will accomplish this by captur-ing data about every person that touches the organization, regardless of if they are court-
are no parking spots left or that the snack bar
analytics, the reason he has been dubbed -
-
to give you something that makes you hap-
Moneyball on steroids,” referenc-
of things like what combinations of players
there are a lot of great insights you can get
-rience of the sport for the younger genera-
the ability to create these instant feedback
for the Kings—a record valuation for an Wash-
ington Post
Ranadivé does not yet know what the arena
-
of building you look upon with wonder, the
-
a futuristic disc-shaped building jutting out onto the bay, as well as other sports facili-
-
Steve Jobs wanted ideas, he went to David -
And he wants to be part of Sacramento—
-
And he believes in this so implicitly,” says
in the underdog, believing in the diamond in the rough and then doing something to
--
town lots have already taken off, with en-terprising developers betting millions that
right when he said that winning the team was just the start—victory celebrations are
-
win this year or even next, will get there
on all this at once because he understands
of retrospect, this myth is being built in real
-
Ranadivé does not yet know what the arena will look like, but … [it will be] the kind of building you look upon with wonder, the kind you tell people you saw. An icon like San Fran-
cisco’s Transamerica building or the Sydney
Opera House.
Ranadivé addresses the crowd at the Kings’ celebra-tory rally in May. Below: A fan at the event shows a sign of appreciation.