Marc Lasry named to FIRY board, bringing Avenue Capital credit experience to former Skillz holdco
Avenue Capital Group's Marc Lasry is in focus for FIRY Inc. (NYSE: FIRY): the global holding company named him to its board of directors as an independent director, effective October 1, 2026. Lasry is the Co-Founder…
Key takeaways
- FIRY Inc. (NYSE: FIRY) named Marc Lasry, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Avenue Capital, to its board as an independent director, effective October 1, 2026.
- On October 1, 2026, Gary A. Vecchiarelli steps down from the board to become a Board Advisor as Lasry takes his seat.
- Lasry co-founded Avenue Capital in 1995, and it now manages approximately $9.2 billion in assets focused on specialty lending, opportunistic credit, and special situations.
- Lasry first backed the company in September 2015, participating in Skillz's $15 million Series B alongside Wildcat Capital Management and The Kraft Group.
- FIRY's portfolio now spans Skillz, RZR, and Beamable, operating at the intersection of content, identity, commerce, and performance marketing.
Avenue Capital Group's Marc Lasry is in focus for FIRY Inc. (NYSE: FIRY): the global holding company named him to its board of directors as an independent director, effective October 1, 2026. Lasry is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Avenue Capital, which he co-founded in 1995 and which now manages approximately $9.2 billion in assets, focused on specialty lending, opportunistic credit, and special situations. October 1 is the next confirmable milestone, when Lasry takes his seat and Gary A. Vecchiarelli steps down from the board to become a Board Advisor.
Lasry's connection to the company runs long. He participated in the $15 million Series B that Skillz raised in September 2015, joining the round alongside Wildcat Capital Management and The Kraft Group. That investment came before the company went public or adopted the FIRY name and its current scope as a global holding company. FIRY's portfolio now spans Skillz, RZR, and Beamable, with operations at the intersection of content, identity, commerce, and performance marketing.
CEO and Founder Andrew Paradise said in a statement that Lasry has stayed close to the company's development since backing it as a startup. Paradise described him as adept at identifying and cultivating value across three decades of market and economic cycles.
Lasry, for his part, said the FIRY team has reset the company's cost structure, strengthened the balance sheet, and built what he described as a fast-growing AI ad-tech business alongside the competition platform the company originally built. He added that he believes the company is well positioned to deliver on its mission of building systems for developers, businesses, and consumers.
Lasry's Avenue Capital background
Avenue Capital's investment focus on opportunistic credit and special situations reflects more than three decades of experience investing across public and private debt in a range of industries. Lasry also held a co-ownership stake in the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks from 2014 to 2023 and launched the Avenue Sports Fund in 2023.
October 1 covers both sides of the board change: Lasry in, Vecchiarelli moving to an advisory role. Watch for follow-on disclosures in FIRY's next SEC filings.