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Jamie McCourt

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Jamie McCourt
Jamie McCourt in 2017
United States Ambassador to
France and Monaco
In office
December 18, 2017 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJane D. Hartley
Succeeded byDenise Bauer
Personal details
Born
Jamie D. Luskin

(1953-12-05) December 5, 1953 (age 70)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 2011)​
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
University of Maryland, Baltimore (JD)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MBA)

Jamie D. McCourt (née Luskin; born December 5, 1953)[1] is the former United States Ambassador to France and Monaco who served from 2017 to 2021. She was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in on November 2, 2017.[2] Ambassador McCourt is also the United States Permanent Observer to the Council of Europe. McCourt is the founder and CEO of Jamie Enterprises and a former executive of the Los Angeles Dodgers.[3] She became the highest-ranking woman in Major League Baseball, appointed first as vice chairman of the Dodgers in 2004, then president in 2005, and finally CEO in 2009.[4][5]

Early life

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Jamie McCourt (née Luskin) was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Jewish parents.[6] Her father, Jack Luskin, ran the Luskin's chain of appliance stores in Maryland.[7] As a 17-year-old freshman at Georgetown University, she met Frank McCourt, whom she would marry in 1979.

Education

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McCourt earned a B.A. degree in French at Georgetown University (1975), a J.D. degree at the University of Maryland School of Law (1978) and an M.B.A. degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management.[8] She also attended La Sorbonne and studied culinary arts in Aix-en-Provence.

Career

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For fifteen years she was a practicing attorney, engaged in international and securities law in New York City as well as in corporate, real estate, and family law in Boston. She then spent ten years as vice president and general counsel of the McCourt Co., the family real estate development firm in Boston.[9]

She relocated from Boston to Los Angeles in 2004 to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers and also joined the Dodgers' front-office organization as an executive after the team was acquired.[10][11]

In September 2008, the McCourts purchased the Los Angeles Marathon.[12]

She was a visiting professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.[13] Her course, "The Pursuit of Leadership: A Female Perspective," was designed for women and, according to the UCLA Newsroom, was considered one of the most popular courses in the Anderson School curriculum.[14]

In 2009, McCourt launched Jamie Enterprises. She has invested in high-value real estate, biotech and tech start ups. Investments include ZipCar, Kite Pharma and Heal.[15]

In 2013, she bought a 22-acre vineyard estate in Napa Valley, California Rutherford region for $11.25 million with the intention of both living there part-time and continuing to produce the property's wine.[16][17] As of 2016, she planned to produce a cabernet sauvignon for release in 2017.[15]

In 2015, she was a keynote speaker at the Sloan Women in Management conference at MIT where she shared her personal story and called for women to seek a secure financial future.[18] McCourt also spoke at institutions such as Harvard and Columbia University encouraging women to be financially self-sufficient and in control of their finances.[15]

In 2016, McCourt served as Presidential Trustee and California State Co-chair for Trump Victory.[19] She then was on the Transition Finance Committee for then President-Elect Donald Trump.[20]

Los Angeles Dodgers

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In 2004, the McCourts purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers. From 2004 to 2012, McCourt was the president and CEO of the Dodgers. She began as vice chairman, became president in 2005 and then CEO in 2009.[21][22] Under her leadership, the Dodgers set a club record for single season attendance and won back-to back division titles for the first time in 30 years.[15][23]

In October and November 2009 the McCourts separated and later commenced divorce proceedings. Frank McCourt claiming in a 664-page court filing that he fired Jamie McCourt as the club's chief executive in part for having an affair with her driver, who was employed by the Dodgers. His attorneys also alleged that the two spent 2+1⁄2 weeks in France that summer and billed the team for the trip.[24] Their respective attorneys publicly identified a dispute as to whether the Dodgers assets were community property (i.e. owned 50% by Jamie McCourt), or were separate property, 100% owned by Frank McCourt.[25] The team and stadium assets were purchased for $430 million in 2004 and were valued at $722 million in 2009 (according to Forbes), a theoretical increase in value of $292 million (68%) in five years.[26]

Jamie McCourt was represented in the divorce by trial lawyer David Boies.[27] On December 7, 2010, Superior Court Judge Gordon ruled that a postnuptial agreement giving Frank McCourt sole ownership was invalid due to a switched document proving Jamie's 50% ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers.[28]

On October 17, 2011, it was announced that the McCourts had reached a settlement dividing their assets equally whereby Jamie McCourt would receive about $130 million and renounce her claims on the team. This settlement ended what is widely believed to be the costliest divorce in California history.[29] Three months later, Frank McCourt sold the Dodgers for $2.1 billion.[30] Jamie McCourt sued Frank for $770 million in 2013, alleging that he had undervalued the team during the divorce settlement.[31]

Philanthropy

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McCourt's philanthropy focuses on promoting business education, contemporary art, and the worldwide Jewish community.[15][32]

McCourt was the recipient of the Scopus Award, the highest humanitarian honor given by the American Friends of the Hebrew University for community leaders who have active involvement in humanitarian causes.[32] In 2012, she was among those who helped Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) raise $2.8 million to acquire new artworks at the museum's annual Collectors Committee weekend.[33]

Board appointments

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McCourt has served on the board of trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and on the board of trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art. She has also served on the board of directors of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.[15]

McCourt has said she considers education the great equalizer,[34] and has pursued a variety of educational endeavors including membership on the board of advisors at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and the North American Executive Board at the MIT Sloan School of Management.[15] She also served as chairman of Georgetown University's Third Century Campaign, which raised more than one billion dollars.[35]

United States Ambassador to France and Monaco

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On June 22, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated McCourt as United States Ambassador to Belgium.[36] On August 2, 2017, Trump withdrew this nomination and instead nominated her as Ambassador to France and Monaco.[37] The Senate confirmed her to these posts on November 2, 2017, by voice vote.[38] She was sworn in on December 11, 2017, and presented her credentials to President Emmanuel Macron on December 18, 2017.[39] McCourt stepped down as ambassador after the inauguration of President Joe Biden in 2021.[40]

References

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  1. ^ U.S. Public Records Index Vol 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
  2. ^ "Ambassador Jamie D. McCourt | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in France". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in France. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  3. ^ Multiple sources:
  4. ^ "Dodgers promote Jamie McCourt, Dennis Mannion". Bizjournals.com. March 16, 2009.
  5. ^ Jamie McCourt gets Dodgers promotion, USA Today, March 17, 2009.
  6. ^ Hall, Carla (August 23, 2010). "A baseball love story veers off the base paths". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  7. ^ USA Today article 8/23/05
  8. ^ Biodata at University of Maryland webpage
  9. ^ "Jamie McCourt - MIT Sloan Analytics Conference". MIT Sloan Analytics Conference. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  10. ^ "Owners unanimously approve sale of Dodgers". ESPN.com. January 30, 2004. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  11. ^ "Jamie McCourt Trying to Sell Holmby Hills House For $55 Million". Curbed LA. March 20, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  12. ^ Los Angeles Business Journal, Jan 5, 2009
  13. ^ Jamie Enterprises bio
  14. ^ Soderburg, Wendy. "Jamie McCourt's course is a home run". UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g "Jamie McCourt Talks New Beginnings and Self-Sufficiency". Haute Living. May 9, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  16. ^ Jamie McCourt gets back to her Parisian roots -- buys Napa vineyard
  17. ^ Former Dodgers CEO Pays $11.25 Million for Napa Vineyard Estate
  18. ^ "Breaking the Mold conference highlights personal finance and unconscious bias - MIT Sloan School of Management". mitsloan.mit.edu. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  19. ^ "RNC And Donald J. Trump For President Announce 2016 State Victory Finance Chairs". GOP. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  20. ^ "A Look at the Wealthy Supporters Who Are Funding Trump's Transition". Town & Country. November 29, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  21. ^ "Jamie McCourt gets Dodgers promotion - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  22. ^ "Owners unanimously approve sale of Dodgers". ESPN.com. January 30, 2004. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  23. ^ "Perfect Landing". C Magazine. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  24. ^ "Frank McCourt says he fired wife for having an affair". Los Angeles Times. October 29, 2009. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  25. ^ "Separated McCourts Both Claim Ownership of the Dodgers", Los Angeles Times, October 16, 2009
  26. ^ Forbes: the Business of Baseball
  27. ^ "Jamie McCourt retains famed trial lawyer David Boies". Los Angeles Times. March 8, 2010.
  28. ^ McCourt Divorce: Judge Rules Jamie McCourt Is Co-Owner Of Dodgers The Huffington Post
  29. ^ Frank and Jamie McCourt reach settlement involving Dodgers
  30. ^ "Jamie McCourt wants $770 million from ex-husband". CBS Sports.
  31. ^ "Jamie McCourt Sues Husband for $770M for Allegedly Undervaluing Dodgers". NBC Los Angeles.
  32. ^ a b "McCourts receive Scopus Award". Los Angeles Dodgers. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  33. ^ "Industry Power Players Help LACMA Raise $2.8 million to Acquire New Artworks". Hollywood Reporter.
  34. ^ "Jamie McCourt Proves She's an Artful Dodger President — Jewish Journal". Jewish Journal. July 19, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  35. ^ www.unoynueve.com. "Centre Pompidou Foundation". fpompidou.org. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  36. ^ Trump nominates former Dodgers co-owner Jamie McCourt as ambassador to Belgium, Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2017.
  37. ^ "Four Nominations Sent to the Senate Today and One Withdrawal". whitehouse.gov. August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017 – via National Archives.
  38. ^ "U.S. Senate: Senate Floor Activity - Thursday, November 2, 2017".
  39. ^ "Ambassador Jamie D. McCourt". Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  40. ^ "Why there is currently no US ambassador to France (and it is normal)". The Connexion.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jamie D. McCourt.
Sporting positions
Preceded by President of the Los Angeles Dodgers
2004–2009 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to France
2017–2021 		Succeeded by
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