What we know about William Chisholm, the Celtics' new owner
According to the Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Chisholm is a lifelong Celtics fan with an “encyclopedic knowledge” of the team.
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The Celtics’ ownership group has agreed to sell the franchise to a consortium led by William Chisholm, managing director and co-founder of Symphony Technology Group, for $6.1 billion.
Chisholm is a Dartmouth College graduate and a native of Georgetown. He co-founded the California-based STG in 2002.
Chisholm played soccer at Dartmouth — his son, Will, attended his father’s alma mater and played soccer from the Big Green from 2016-19 — and graduated in 1991. Chisholm received his MBA from the Wharton School, the acclaimed business school at the University of Pennsylvania.
According to the Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Chisholm is a lifelong Celtics fan with an “encyclopedic knowledge” of the team. Though STG is based on Menlo Park, Calif., Chisholm owns a home on Nantucket and intends to buy a home in Boston.
Chisholm’s early business career was centered around early-stage technology investing as well as investment banking, before moving into private equity.
Before co-founding STG, Chisholm was a co-founder of the Valent Group, a venture capital and risk consulting firm. He also spent time with Boston-based Bain & Company, one of the “Big Three” management consulting companies.
STG manages more than $10 billion in total assets. In 2023, STG closed on its seventh (and largest) fund, raising $4.2 billion.
Chisholm also sits on the board of directors of a number of companies, including Dodge Data, Cadmium, and CAI software.
Chisholm’s group would be the 15th to own the Celtics. Here’s a rundown of each of the franchise’s owners:
- Boston Garden-Arena Corporation (1946-50): Walter Brown succeeded his father as manager of Boston Garden and took out a mortgage on his home to found the Celtics. Initially, he operated them as a subsidiary of the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation.
- Walter Brown and Lou Pieri (1950-64): Brown bought the team from his own corporation to put it under his name and brought Pieri, owner of the Providence Steamrollers, on as a minority owner.
- Lou Pieri and Marjorie Brown (1964-65): Pieri was a minority owner until Brown died and left the majority of shares to Pieri and Brown’s widow, Marjorie.
- Marvin Kratter/Knickerbocker Brewing Company, subsidiary of National Equities (1965-68): Real estate developer Marvin Kratter bought the franchise for $3 million.
- Ballantine Brewery, subsidiary of Investors Funding Corporation (1968-69, 1971-72): The private corporation bought the franchise for $3 million, sold it a year later, and bought it again in 1971.
- Trans-National Communications (1969-71): Trans-National and company president Woody Erdman purchased the Celtics for $6 million — twice what it sold for a year prior. TNC and Erdman attempted to use profits from the Celtics to cover the losses from the company’s bad investments.
- Irv Levin and Harold Lipton (1972, 1975-78): Levin and Lipton attempted to buy the Celtics for $3.7 million in 1972.
- Robert Schmertz/Leisure Technology (1972-75): The NBA rejected the 1972 sale, and in May of that year, Levin and Lipton were forced to sell their shares to Schmertz for $3.95 million, with an option for the two to repurchase half of the Celtics’ stock.
- Irv Levin, Harold Lipton, and Robert Schmertz (1974-75): After two years, Levin and Lipton exercised their option, and 10 months later, they purchased the remaining stock from Leisure Technology.
- John Y. Brown Jr. and Harry T. Mangurian Jr. (1978-79): Mangurian orchestrated a franchise swap with Levin, trading ownership of the Buffalo Braves for the Celtics. (Levin, who wanted to own a team in California, promptly moved the Braves to San Diego, where they were rechristened the Clippers.)
- Harry T. Mangurian Jr. (1979-83): After one year, Mangurian bought out Brown to become the majority owner.
- Don Gaston, Alan N. Cohen, and Paul Dupee Jr. (1983-93): Mangurian sold the team for $15 million.
- Paul Gaston (1993-2002): Paul Gaston took over ownership from his father.
- Boston Basketball Partners, LLC (2002-present): Wyc Grousbeck and the current ownership group bought the Celtics for $360 million.
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