Bobby Sharma

Founder & Managing Partner

Bobby Sharma is the Founder & Managing Partner of Bluestone Equity Partners, an institutional private equity firm focused on the global Sports, Media & Entertainment industry.

A business leader with a global track record of accomplishment across finance, strategy, operations, and law, Sharma has held senior leadership roles at some of the most influential organizations in sports and media. He previously served as Chairman & CEO of investment and advisory firm Blue Devil Holdings, and as a Partner at private equity firm GACP Sports, where he was also Vice Chairman & CEO of portfolio company Soccerex, the world's largest organizer of international football industry conferences.

Prior to that, Sharma was SVP, Global Head of Basketball & Strategic Initiatives at IMG, the premier international sports, fashion, and media company. He led the expansion of IMG’s sports businesses worldwide, including the management of global media rights and the creation and operation of basketball, soccer, and cricket properties – from grassroots programs and academies to national teams and professional leagues, with a focus on major emerging markets such as India, Brazil, China, Turkey, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. His work spanned the development of training and event infrastructure for amateur and professional sports organizations, as well as financial, commercial, and franchise models, and integrated media and marketing plans.

Before IMG, Sharma was VP & General Counsel of the NBA Development League for nearly a decade, helping to establish the National Basketball Association’s first minor league. He oversaw all league and team business, operational, and legal matters, including franchise administration, media, sponsorship, marketing, licensing, tickets, arenas, employment, and compliance. Sharma was responsible for developing and managing all league and team agreements, rules, policies, and procedures, as well as integration of the minor league into the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. He handled a variety of corporate transactional matters for the NBA, WNBA, and the NBA Development League, including joint ventures and other innovative sports transactions involving the acquisition, financing, and operation of franchises across all three leagues. Sharma also led the creation of the NBA’s first international league consulting business unit, expanding the organization’s global reach.

During his tenure at the NBA, the NBA Development League (now NBA G-League) grew from a single-entity with 6 NBA League-owned regional teams, to 16 privately held teams across the country, achieving significant business growth along the way – including quadrupling franchise values; setting record attendance marks and revenues from sponsorship, ticket, and naming-rights sales; broadening media distribution via new broadcast and digital outlets; and reducing key operational costs. In addition, major NBA development goals were attained, including nearly one-quarter of all NBA players and one-half of all NBA referees having NBA D-League experience by the 2010-11 season.

Sharma began his professional career practicing law, including with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City, and earlier served on the presidential campaign staff of former U.S. Senator and Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Bradley.

In addition to various corporate boards, Sharma has served on the Board of Directors for both the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and USA Archery (USAA), and as Chair of the Nominating Committee for USA Table Tennis (USATT) – the National Governing Bodies for their respective sports in the United States, overseeing grassroots through Olympic and professional competition.

A frequent speaker at universities, conferences, and in global media, Sharma was named one of the “25 Most Influential South Asian Executives in the Media & Entertainment Industry” by Korn Ferry in March 2009. In October 2010 he was given the Corporate Counsel Award by the South Asian Bar Association of New York, and, later that year, the Sports Counsel of the Year Award by the Association of Media & Entertainment Counsel. Sharma received the Rising Star Executive Award from Media Partners Global in March 2011, and the Basketball Federation of India Legacy Award in January 2012. In June 2014, he was named one of the “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business” by the Asian American Business Development Center, and in January 2021 he was named “Sports & Entertainment Industry Power Player” by the Sports Business Journal.

Sharma is a graduate of Duke University and Duke Law School, and completed the Harvard Business School executive program on the Business of Entertainment, Media & Sports.