Principals & Founders

Paul R. Milone

paul@symphonyip.com

Mr. Milone serves as the Principal Advisor to SB clients in strategic matters including M&A, brand positioning, distribution, alliance building and financing. He is also Managing Partner of ISV International, a merchant banking group based in Washington DC. He has grown ISV International as a strategic advisory group, working with a range of clients ranging from technology, communications and new media, to apparel, toys and sports marketing

Prior to founding ISV International, Mr. Milone founded Intersport Ltd., a sports marketing and distribution group which established markets for numerous brands including the Italian sports brand Diadora, and Lanzera, a proprietary soccer brand created by the Company. Under Mr. Milone’s stewardship, the Company was sold in 1997 to the Italian sports apparel and textile group, Basic Inc

Drawing from his entrepreneurial background, Mr Milone provides a wealth of experience in strategic financing and developing new market opportunities for established businesses. He is currently involved in projects for international sports, media and industrial clients

Mr. Milone graduated with Honors in Economics from Princeton University.  At Princeton he earned All-American Honors in soccer and for a period of three years played professional soccer. Between seasons, Mr. Milone developed his financial skills through participation in the International Management Program at Manufacturers Hanover Trust.   Immediately after retiring as a player he founded Intersport Limited.  In parallel to founding the Company, Mr. Milone attended the Darden School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia where he received his MBA

Michael Mankowski

mick@symphonyip.com

In his capacity as a Principal Advisor, Mr. Mankowski works closely with our partners in identifying licensing opportunities and developing licensing strategies.  Mr. Mankowski also serves as President of SB Licensing, a strategic licensing consulting company he founded in 2000.  Over the past 8 years, the contracts secured by SB Licensing for various companies and brands in the footwear, apparel and consumer products categories have generated over $1.8 billion in licensed product sales. Among the many companies and brands that Mr. Mankowski has worked with include: Fila, Elle, Carlos by Carlos Santana, Body Glove, Gotcha, And1, Ryka, Nevados, Instinct, Haggar, Asics and U.S. Marine Corps. With SB Licensing, Mr. Mankowski has developed licensing strategies in 32 countries and just within the past three years, helped sell 12 companies

Prior to founding SB Licensing, Mr. Mankowski was President of the Licensing, Mergers & Acquisitions Division of the accounting firm Stonefield Josephson. In addition, he was owner of MEI, an apparel holding company which owned the Crossport, Barely Legal, and Kristina Rachel brands. Prior to MEI, Mr. Mankowski held several positions in various fields of apparel sales and licensing including owning apparel factories in North and South Carolina, starting up his own Sales Agency which achieved a sales volume of over $48 million and serving as Key Account Sales Executive for Haggar Apparel Company. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where he earned his BA in Business Management and Finance