Shark Tank Bio: Kevin O’Leary Shark Tank, the award-winning reality television series on ABC, gives small start-up business owners the opportunity to pitch their ideas and business plans to six industry moguls. Each of these moguls has made their millions and billions of dollars by building their own business empires through cutthroat deals and sometimes hostile takeovers. The ‘sharks’ are Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, and Kevin O’Leary. Each of them are leaders and recognized experts in their industries. Kevin O’Leary made his millions in educational software and works around the world to promote and invest in eco-friendly businesses.
Early Life and Education Born in Montreal, Quebec, Kevin O’Leary grew up the son of the middle class. His father, an Irishman, passed away when Kevin was still a boy. His mother would remarry and he attributes his business savvy to the tutelage he received at her hands as a child. She was of Lebanese heritage and came from a family of merchants and taught him about business and finances as he grew up. His formal education began at St. George’s School in Montreal. After graduating from there with his high school degree he studied Environmental Studies an Anthropology at both Royal Military College Saint-Jean and the University of Waterloo. He received his MBA in 1980 from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario.
Early Career O’Leary’s first foray into business began in the television industry. He and a couple friends created Special Event Television. The company enjoyed moderate success in producing small shows, commercials and airing local pro hockey games. He left the company when he was bought out by a partner for $25,000. From there O’Leary shifted to software, using $10,000 of investment capital from his mother, to start SoftKey, a software publishing company. At the beginning they produced products for use in the home and by 1994 they had grown to be a leader in the educational software market. The company acquired over sixty of their rivals and in 1995 they bought The Learning Company, moved their headquarters to Boston and adopted the acquired company’s name as their own. Now established as a dominating presence in the industry, O’Leary continued to head up The Learning Company until 1999 when they and their 400+ software titles were acquired by Mattel to the tune of 3.8 billion dollars.
Building an Empire Kevin O’Leary’s next venture took him into the storage industry where he turned Storage Now into one of the leading storage facilities and services in Canada, specializing in climate controlled facilities. That company was acquired in 2007 for $110 million. Since then, O’Leary has started his own mutual and investment fund management firm, O’Leary Funds and sits on the advisory board for Genstar Capital. He serves on the executive board of his alma mater, the Richard Ivey School of Business, and is a member of the investment committee of Boston’s centuries old Hamilton Trust. He is a television personality and respected expert in the field of business. He has written several books based on his experiences. If you are interested in learning to navigate the business world like Kevin O’Leary, start with a business management and accounting degree from Independence University.