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Max Siegel: Changing Lanes In 2006, Max Siegel was at the top of his game and as president of Zomba Gospel, the most powerful record executive in the gospel music industry, responsible for the direction and promotion of some of the genre’s biggest names including Kirk Franklin, Donald Lawrence, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Andrae Crouch and John P. Kee; and with the release of Marvin Sapp’s Thirsty CD—on which he served as executive producer—he was enjoying one of the biggest successes of his career.
“When you start to see stars developed over the years like John P. Kee, Donny McCurklin, and Yolanda Adams, it was really rewarding because its great music with positive messages and ministries really having a life changing impact on pop culture,” Siegel said. “It’s been completely awesome to watch the industry and its continued growth.”
That why it was so surprising and the industry’s biggest news when, in December of 2006, Siegel announced that he was exiting his post at Zomba to join Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as president of Global Operations, having been tapped by co-founder Teresa Earnhardt to oversee marketing, promotion, sales, sponsorship and distribution for all Dale Earnhardt, Inc. properties including the company’s top-rated motor sports teams, airline, licensing and auto dealership, as well as as the Dale Earnhardt Foundation.
For Siegel, the move marked a return of sorts to sports. He had, after all, become one of the most prominent lawyers in sports in Indianapolis, representing athletes such as Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn and football star Reggie White.
It was a 2003 conversation with White that would spark his interest in NASCAR stock car racing and expose him to the growing sport.
“As I explored that opportunity solely based on his enthusiasm, I found a lot of things about NASCAR were fascinating to me. Even though it’s the second largest sport with 75 million fans, I felt like it was an underdeveloped industry. I felt like it was something that not many people were exposed to or understood, especially the minority community. But it’s a really exciting sport that has a lot of family values and a lot of entertainment value.”
Together with Gwynn and White, Siegel had ambitions to create the first NASCAR team entirely owned by African Americans. However, the effort would ultimately fail after White’s untimely death in 2004. Still, Siegel made contacts with several top-level executives in the sport, including Theresa Earnhardt, owner of Dale Earnhardt Inc., the top motor franchise in NASCAR. During this time, Siegel became fascinated with the sport, and wanted an opportunity to work in the field despite his limited motorsport experience.
“I grew up in Indiana around Indy Car racing, but after I discovered NASCAR, I felt like I could have an impact on that industry and also be a part of something that was really exciting.”
In February of 2007, he would be named president of Dale Earnhardt Inc. Accustomed to operating behind the scenes, Siegel became the public face of a 500-employee operation that was the leading brand in the sport.
“I got to really satisfy a lot of my creative appetite and creativity so it was an awesome opportunity. It allowed me to get to know people in the sport and start my own race team and now have NASCAR as my client.”
In 2009, Siegel started Revolution Racing, the circuit’s only African American owned racing team. With his own team, Siegel looks to diversity the sport and develop talent from previously ignored demographics.
“I felt like to have an influence, you have to own it. So starting Revolution Racing, I wanted to give to women and people of color on the pit crew side as well as the driver side.”
Siegel has produced a reality show for BET chronicling his search for new minority talent. “Changing Lanes,” which will begin airing this summer, is an American Idol-style show that will highlight 10 drivers in NASCAR’s Drive To Diversity program. He sees the program as an opportunity to expose African American audiences to the sport, and inspire minorities and women to get more involved as fans and eventually as participants.
“ Marketing to a diverse audience is really critical to expanding the fan base and even more importantly eventually getting drivers of color and female drivers competing at the highest level of the sport.”
With success in both the sport and entertainment industries, Siegel believes being prepared for each opportunity presented to him and being able to produce results has helped him in each field he has worked in.
“Planning is important, as is following through, having a strong network, having an inner circle that you can trust, and valuing and continuing to foster relationships. Probably the most important thing is developing a real skill of substance so that you can have an impact on the bottom line of the business. It doesn’t matter what industry it is, people who deliver value find opportunities.” On the Money: Oprah, Beyonce Top Forbes' Celebrity 100 List Forbes Magazine's recently released Celebrity 100 list, an annual look at the richest and most powerful actors, actresses, and musicians in the world, has a familiar face at the top. Talk show host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey is No. 1 on the list for the fourth time since 2005. Winfrey earned $315 over the last year and dominated entertainment headlines after announcing she was ending her long-running program to concentrate on her new television network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, that will launch in 2011. The Queen of all media also produced the Oscar-nominated film Precious, and continued to oversee a growing business empire which includes her popular O magazine, a website, radio channel and television specials. Number 2 on the list is music superstar Beyonce, who is building a business empire of her own. On top of her House of Dereon fashion line, endorsement deals, her own fragrance line, and album sales, Beyonce's 93-city world tour grossed over $85 million last year.
Though his image has taken a major hit as news of his extramarital affairs became public knowledge last November, golfer Tiger Woods earned the fifth spot on the list thanks to the continued backing of sponsors Nike, Electronic Arts, and Upper Deck. Other stars of note in the top 20 include Laker star Kobe Bryant, who is 14th on the list, rapper Jay-Z, who is 15th on the list, and Hall of Fame basketball star and commercial pitchman Michael Jordan, who is 20th on the list.
Other noteworthy celebs include The Black Eyed Peas, who are 16th , Tyler Perry at number 25, Lebron James at 28, Floyd Mayweather at 31 , Diddy at number 68 and Venus Williams at 83 .
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On the Money 
