Michael Bassick, Co-CEO

Michael Bassick is an entrepreneur/financier with over 15 years experience in finance, media, and marketing.  Michael is the founder and CEO of Markedia Worldwide, a film finance + branded entertainment studio.  In 2006, Markedia launched a film finance business to finance, produce, and bring to market a slate of full-length feature motion pictures.  To date, Markedia has been involved in financing the production and distribution of film projects representing over $35 million in invested capital.  In 2008, Markedia launched a tax credit finance business that enables content producers to monetize tax credits in advance of production to finance a portion of the film.

Michael is Executive Producer on The Ten, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007 and distributed theatrically in August 2007, and Executive Producer of Descent, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2007 and had a Summer 2007 release.  Michael produced the feature-length documentary One Wrong Move and I’m Dead: Kerouac’s Big Sur, about the life and times of the iconic American writer Jack Kerouac, distributed by Atlantic Records, and is currently developing and packaging the feature film of the same title.  Other films include the psychological thriller CHOOSE (2010), VALEDICTION (2011), Salvation Boulevard (2011), Bernie (2011), and Revenge of the Green Dragons (development).

As a pioneer in the branded entertainment industry and cable television producer, Michael has worked with consumer brands and media companies in generating platform agnostic content initiatives that integrate the consumer, the brand, and the message.  Michael was Executive Producer of Identity, a half-hour branded entertainment cable television program that targets women 25-54.  Identity launched in 2002 and has been distributed on Bravo, Lifetime, WE: Women’s Entertainment, and Biography, and has provided a messaging vehicle for Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Kodak, Black & Decker, Pennzoil, Atari, and the National Breast Cancer Coalition, among others.

From 1995 – 2003, Michael was a senior banker at FleetBoston (now Bank of America), the 7th largest US commercial bank with over $200 billion in assets.  At FleetBoston, Michael developed, packaged, and closed more than $1 billion in business across a spectrum of industrial verticals, including media, retail, technology, and distribution.  Michael has a proven track record in advising and financing companies ranging from early stage ventures to global conglomerates and has extensive experience in financing mergers & acquisitions, private equity, and specialized banking.

Michael has a B.S in Management from Purdue University and is a graduate of Babson College’s prestigious entrepreneurial MBA program.