Alex Lasry
"Marc, Wes, Jamie and the Bucks are determined to help rejuvenate the city."
Alex Lasry
What is your job and its responsibilities?
I am the Vice President of Strategy & Operations for the Milwaukee Bucks. I work on long-term marketing and strategy for the Bucks as well as driving and developing new business opportunities for the organization.
How long have you lived in Milwaukee and what brought you here?
I’ve lived here for about two months and I came because of the opportunity to help turn around the Milwaukee Bucks and invigorate downtown. When my dad bought the Bucks I knew that there was a tremendous opportunity to help bring back a franchise with a storied history. When I came to Milwaukee, I saw parallels between the team and the city itself which made this opportunity even more interesting. After talking to my dad and Wes and hearing about their plans and commitment to Milwaukee, I knew this was going to be something special and that I had to be a part of it.
Plus, the second time I came here I was having beers with clients at 10 a.m., I felt like I should put to use what I learned in business school.
Is there an issue you believe all Milwaukeeans should turn our attention to?
I think we all need to be focused on the economic development of Milwaukee. Millennials are choosing to live in urban areas rather than suburbs and we’re even seeing a shift in our parent’s generation’s preference. It is important that we take an active interest in pursuing a grand vision for downtown Milwaukee to make it a place that young professionals and college graduates want to come work.
With Bucks owners Marc, Wes and Jamie’s commitment to remaking downtown, a new arena, and a host of other projects that are already under construction, Milwaukee is on its way to becoming an urban powerhouse. We just have to continue to press forward and not lose momentum.
What is the perfect thing to do in Milwaukee on a Sunday afternoon?
Have a beer and watch football. Is there anything else to do on a Sunday afternoon?
Hosting a ticker tape parade for the newly crowned NBA Champions, the Milwaukee Bucks!
I also see a new, thriving downtown. I think with all of the current investment happening in Milwaukee as well as a new multi-purpose facility in downtown, Milwaukee will have reinvented itself as a preferred destination for young professionals. Marc, Wes, Jamie and the Bucks are determined to help rejuvenate the city, to make it a city that everyone in the state can love and enjoy. I think in five years you’ll have seen the fruits of that labor.
What do you think of Milwaukee as a place to work and do business?
Milwaukee has been a great place to work. It has a strong culture, big corporate base and an abundance of talent. One of the unique aspects of Milwaukee’s business culture is everyone’s belief in working together and its commitment to the community. Every business leader I’ve met with believes that they have a responsibility to the people of Milwaukee, not just its company.
I think that’s why Marc and Wes feel right at home in Milwaukee. They believe the Bucks have a responsibility to the city and state to ensure that its resources are being put to good use. They believe if the city succeeds, the Bucks will succeed…and I think that ethos is abundant throughout the city.
Newaukeean of the Week
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Dan Panozzo
Oct 28th, 2019 by Newaukee
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Olivia Menzia
Oct 21st, 2019 by Newaukee
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Israel “Izzy” Lugo
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I believe!!!! Let’s do this!
Put a temporary basketball floor down in Miller Stadium and close the roof.
Thats actually kind of funny.
Yes, please tout how you, your billionaire dad, and his business partner from Wall Street have a “responsibility to the city and state to ensure that its resources are being put to good use” as you ask us residents to help foot the bill for your new arena… under threat of leaving. It shows the true depth of your commitment to Milwaukee and Wisconsin. No time to contemplate whether or not you’re trying to fleece us, because “We just have to continue to press forward and not lose momentum.” Build build build!
Ugh. This reads like propaganda… the cognitive dissonance is so bad it hurts. “Lookie here, us billionaire boys are just like you (except I have more money than you can conceive of)! We are very committed to Milwaukee (unless we don’t get an arena)! Maybe we can all grab a cold beer together in one of the skyboxes once this is all over (so long as you pay for the beer… which I also make money off of)!
There’s no mention in the article about any limit on Mr. Lasry’s expense account. Surely that will have a major impact on the downtown economy in 2014/2015. Bruce will need that data for a follow-up article c. 2018 on the success or fiasco of the whole ‘experience’ (what do you call this kind of thing until you know the result?)
I wonder if anyone will ask him if he was the best possible person for this job. At least you could have asked him about his “quit whining and build it” comment.
He does recite the usual lines about millennials (so the media will love it) as if they are some sort of unique creature we’ve never seen before. Yes, millennials like to live in urban areas. So do most people when they are in their 20s and before they have kids. That’s really nothing new. Heck, even Jeff Sherman moved to the burbs once the kids got to school age.
I’ll also say that as a person who has a half season package to the Bucks the one thing I haven’t seen a lot of at Bucks games are millennials.
Congratulations on daddy feeding you with a silver spoon boy.
Build a new arena in conjunction with the Wis. Arts Council. I would like to see a Chihully art work on the ceiling of the main lobby entrance. The arena needs 1 or 2 new major hotels “joined into this venture”, because once the convention ctr. is enlarged, there will be greater need for more hotel space. Big conventions must have close by modern, clean, hotels.Our new owners surely have connections to someone out East who builds 5 Star Hotels ! The new arena is essential to draw major events ! Close Boston Store and open up a Nordstroms ! The streetcar is for looks primarily, Mass Transit should be the real topic, not a toy trolley ! Build a modern outdoor soccer stadium north of the Bradley Ctr. on those 2 empty blocks in the old freeway corridor. Retain the Milw. Theater, It’s a great mid size hall for smaller convention needs. Having tow arenas is a plus for conventions such as the Republican or Democratic conventions. Are we thinking big here ? Turn the Astor Hotel into a major hotel and tower, much like they did in GR, Mi with the old Pantand Hotel, which became the new 5 Star Amway Grand Hotel and Tower; They added a new tower, garage, and made the old space more lovely.. Get the city to back off with the aggressive parking ticket writing, which is a slap in the face of the people who live her and the visitor. I have seen too many tourist get turned off by it ! Get the County Board to reconsider their dumb vote to not allow NML to buy, restore and rent some space to the public. REALLY Milw. Co. ? Get someone to lead the Convention worthy of a larger salary so they can stimulate new larger business. You get what you pay for ! Stop degrading Gov. Scott Walker. He is bringing the right growth and change to this state and with time we will see that he is the right choice of the people of the state. Convert the blue Reuss Fed. Bldg. into a luxury hotel. HELLO !