Jonathan Tisch (A '76) and Jeffrey Stewart (LA '90), two prominent alumni who maintain close ties to the university, announced on Monday the formation of a new media firm named in honor of their alma mater.
Walnut Hill Media, LLC, will offer input on investing, branded marketing and the development of artistic content. The firm has already made a number of investments, including one in Tribeca Enterprises, the company behind the Tribeca Film Festival.
Stewart, Walnut Hill Media's primary managing executive and a trustee at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, said that what distinguishes his new company is the breadth of expertise it can offer its clients.
"It's really the backgrounds that I have and that Jonathan Tisch has," he told the Daily. Stewart has been a senior executive at Loews Hotels for 10 years and previously worked in politics.
Tisch is a Tufts trustee and co-chairman of the board of Loews Corporation. He gave $40 million in 2006 to endow the Tisch College. He is renowned for his philosophy on cooperative business relationships, which he fleshed out in his book, "The Power of We: Succeeding Through Parterships."
Tisch's parents, Robert Preston and Joan, were the main donors in a renovation project in the '90s that gave Tufts' library its current name.
Stewart said Tisch's credo will guide Walnut Hill Media, which is named for the hill on which Tufts' campus lies.
"It really is about relationships, and even in the deals we look to invest in … we really are looking to invest in relationships," he said. "We're looking to do business with people that we respect, that we trust, that share our values [and that share] Tufts' values."
According to Stewart, the deal with Tribeca Enterprises fits the bill. "That business started with the Tribeca Film Festival, and the festival itself is interesting in that they started that after 9/11 as a way to help rebuild Lower Manhattan and revive the community," he said. "Since that time, it has grown into a well respected … entertainment brand."
Tisch and Stewart's goal is to expand the niche of an enterprise that has already gained international acclaim. "[Tribeca Enterprises is] a company that's doing very well where it is today, and to help bring it to the next level — that's the guiding philosophy [at Walnut Hill]. We're looking to be a catalyst investor where, with some capital plus ‘value add,' we're looking to bring that to the next level," Stewart said. "Our ‘value add' can be management experience, creativity [or] relationships in the business world, in the media world or in the government and political world."
Stewart said that he and Tisch first met at a Tufts alumni event approximately 15 years ago. Stewart, who had been working for Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), then a member of the House of Representatives, eventually decided to leave politics to pursue a business career. He called Tisch and secured a job in Loews Hotels.
While Tisch and Stewart were not
contemporaries at Tufts, they garnered similar values from their time as undergraduates.
"I think one of the things that I really loved about my experience at Tufts was the notion of being an active citizen," Stewart said. "I really think it's in the fabric and the DNA of Tufts, and when I look at things today, I think the way things exist in the world, we no longer have the luxury of [having] only those who choose to engage in a life of public service be the ones who are involved in serving their community."
Stewart highlighted a television show that Walnut Hill Media has invested in that, like Tribeca Enterprises, began with helping a community in mind. "Family Court with Judge Penny" is a show in which Penny Brown Reynolds, a judge and minister, helps families deal with domestic violence, broken homes and other issues. "Family Court with Judge Penny is really different than the other [court shows] out there," Stewart said. "What Judge Penny really focuses on is the underlying issues that are going on in these families."
Walnut Hill Media began operations some months ago, but waited to go public until it had finalized some deals and gotten off the ground, according to Stewart.
"We wanted to be able to talk a little bit more about some of the things that we would be doing, as opposed to just putting out the company name and saying, ‘We're open for business,'" he said.
Tisch is optimistic that the new business will thrive in the fertile market of entertainment media.
"We're very excited about the creation of Walnut Hill Media and what it will do in the rapidly developing media space. With Jeff's leadership, his business sense and long-standing relationships with so many talented people across different business sectors, I am confident Walnut Hill Media will do highly successful work with great partners," Tisch said in a press release.
Stewart said he uses a similar palette of skills at Walnut Hill Media as he does when working as a trustee at the Tisch College. "I chair the communications committee and we're working on coming up with a whole communications strategy and plan," he said.
"For me, the friendships that I made at Tufts continue to be incredibly meaningful," added Stewart, who will be traveling to Las Vegas next month with his college friends for a collective celebration of their 40th birthdays. "It's really incredible how instantaneously you pick up where you left off [with old friends]. There really is something about that time at college and that time at Tufts."
