Nakisa Bidarian Named Chief Financial Officer of UFC

UFC announced Nakisa Bidarian as the organization’s new Chief Financial Officer effective January 4, 2016. Formerly UFC’s Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Ventures, Bidarian will now focus on key financial initiatives, strategic goals, and supporting the organization’s overall growth by guiding business decisions and analyzing their financial components.

“Nakisa has been a key contributor to UFC’s success throughout the last four years since he joined the organization,” says UFC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Fertitta. “His diverse finance and strategy experience, coupled with the impact he has had with the organization, make him an ideal candidate for the CFO position.”

“I’m excited and humbled to accept this new opportunity with UFC,” says Bidarian. “The organization is coming off a record year in 2015, and I am confident that the finance, accounting and strategy teams will continue to deliver at the highest level and help to take the organization to new heights.”

Bidarian was formerly responsible for Group Strategy which includes Corporate Development, Strategic Planning, Research, Analytics, and several joint ventures, including UFC GYM. Under his leadership, UFC made significant strides in improving internal processes to improve its operating model. Bidarian has also championed the evolution of UFC’s people management practices, ensuring the organization continues to invest in its team members.

Prior to joining UFC, Bidarian led international real estate and hospitality investment and asset management for Mubadala Development Company, a multi-billion dollar sovereign investment company. Before Mubadala, he was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, specializing in merger and acquisitions. Beginning his career at Accenture, Bidarian advised global financial institutions on financial and performance management.

Bidarian received a Bachelor of Arts degree in financial economics from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Business Administration from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where he graduated as a Tuck Scholar.