Stephen J. Bisciotti (born April 10, 1960 in Philadelphia) is the current majority owner of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.He founded a family of technical staffing companies known as Allegis Group, which owns Aerotek and TEKsystems.
Under Steve Bisciotti, the Ravens have joined an elite group– they are now one of 12 NFL teams with multiple Super Bowl victories. Six franchises have won one title. Ten others have earned the game and lost, while four teams have never advanced to the Super Bowl. More importantly, with last season’s Super Bowl XLVII Championship, the Ravens (two)joined the Patriots (three) and the Giants and Steelers, with two each, as teams that have won more than one NFL title since the turn of the century in 2000.
"We’re proud of what we’re giving to Baltimore,” Bisciotti says. "You have to make the playoffs to have the opportunity to compete for championships, and championships are our goal. We want to be a consistent winner that avoids big lulls and dips."
Baltimore is the only NFL team to earn the playoffs each of the last five seasons (2008-12), and the Ravens won at least one postseason game each of those years.(The five-consecutive-season-playoff run is a franchise record.) Under Steve’s leadership, the Ravens, who have made the playoffs six of the last seven years, have recently advanced to three AFC Championship games, doing so in 2012, 2011 and 2008.
The passionate Bisciotti, who at 53 is the second-youngest owner in the NFL (to Washington’s Daniel Snyder - 48), bought a minority interest in the Ravens in 2000 from Art Modell and completed the purchase of the franchise on April 9, 2004. Steve’s initial investment to the team provided funds to secure free agents for the 2000 Super Bowl XXXV championship team.
Today, his influence in the NFL continues to rise – he currently is a member of two important ownership committees: Broadcasting and Digital Media.
When Bisciotti, now in his 14th year as an owner of the Ravens, hired John Harbaugh as the team’s head coach in January of 2008, some eyebrows were raised. Harbaugh had never been a head coach at any level. In fact, he had not been an offensive or defensive coordinator in the NFL. It was obviously the right choice. Baltimore advanced to the playoffs in its first five years with Harbaugh, who is the only modern day (since 1970) head coach to go to and win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons.
“I think leadership is difficult to define, but you can recognize leadership when you see it,” Bisciotti says. “We all saw something in John. And, you have to be willing to separate yourself from the masses – take some chances – to achieve great success. There’s probably a little bit more perception that we took a risk with John. We don’t think we did.”
(Since taking over as the Ravens' owner, Bisciotti's teams have earned the playoffs a total of six times, including the AFC's No. 2 seed in 2006 with a franchise-record 13-3 mark.His 2004 team finished with a 9-7 record, missing the playoffs by just one game.)
(Since taking over as the Ravens’ owner, Bisciotti’s teams have earned the playoffs a total of five times, including the AFC’s second seed in 2006 with a 13-3 mark. His 2004 team finished with a 9-7 record, missing the playoffs by one game.)
Born in Philadelphia on April 10, 1960, Bisciotti moved with his family to Baltimore (Severna Park) in March of 1961 when Steve, the youngest of three children, was 11 months old. His father, Bernard, took the children to Orioles and Colts games. Sadly, Bernard died of leukemia when Steve was 8. His mother, Patricia, a huge Ravens’ fan, then raised the children.
After graduating from Salisbury (MD) State University with a degree in liberal arts in 1982, Bisciotti worked in the temporary help industry. In 1983 (he was 23), he started Aerotek with his cousin, Jim Davis. They offered aerospace and technology companies access to skilled temporary employees. Starting with two employees and two clients, Bisciotti and Davis produced $1.5 million in sales in the first year.
Aerotek grew into the Allegis Group, which currently is the largest privately-held staffing firm in the United States. The company, which is based just outside Baltimore and has offices throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, has over 8,000 internal employees and 90,000 high-end contract workers. Allegis Group, which, like Steve, does little self promotion or publicity, places employees in positions from engineers to cable installers, to computer programmers, to marketing specialists.
Until he bought the Ravens, Bisciotti’s business success was not well known to the general public on a national level. In fact, it wasn’t even notable in the Baltimore area, where he and his partners kept a low profile. “I’m okay if I’m one of the least known owners in pro sports,” Bisciotti says.
Steve, an energetic visionary, quietly is dedicated to a number of important causes and projects, some associated with his deep Catholic faith. He is a board member for Catholic Charities. Most of Bisciotti’s extensive charity work and generous giving are done without public notice.
Bisciotti enjoys golfing, boating and is devoted to University of Maryland athletics, especially the men’s basketball team. He and his wife, Renée (Foote), are the parents of two sons, Jason, who owns a master’s in business, and Jack, who earned a degree in sports and entertainment management. Renée helped design the interior and selected the furnishings at the Ravens’ training complex. The family lives in Millersville, MD.
Bisciotti is pronounced Bih-SHAH-tee.
Bisciotti is a board member for both Associated Catholic Charities and Mother Seton Academy. He and his wife Renée (Foote) have two sons, Jason and Jack. The family lives on the Severn River in Maryland.
