BESLA’s 2008 Excellence Award Recipient         

BESLA’s very own Board of Director Max L. Siegel, Esq. serves as President of Global Operations for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.(DEI). The  former  music label and sports executive  oversees marketing, promotion, sales, sponsorship and distribution for all Dale Earnhardt, Inc. properties including the company's top-rated motorsports teams, airlines, licensing and auto dealership, as well as the Dale Earnhardt Foundation. Siegel  brings over 15 years of deal brokering and project management experience to the  North Carolina based company,  which employs over 300 people in its state-of-the-art headquarters. DEI owns a NASCAR Busch team and three NASCAR Nextel Cup racing teams, featuring drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Paul Menard and Martin Truex, Jr. The team has amassed over 100 wins, and has won 6 NASCAR Championships, as well as three Daytona 500's.  "He has the intuitive sense of what works and is innovative in an ever-changing business and social climate," says CEO Teresa Earnhardt, who brought Siegel to the company in January, 2008 in what served as an unprecedented move for the motor sports industry.

An Indianapolis native and cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School, Siegel has presided over the legal affairs of several Fortune 500 corporations, as well as professional sports, entertainment individuals and organizations. Siegel's legal expertise and business acumen has afforded him the reputation as a "win-win attorney" among his peers, and he played a major role in the shaping of such sports figures as Tony Gwynn and Reggie White. While enrolled as a student, he made history at Notre Dame as the first African American to graduate with honors from their School of Law.

With an extraordinary track record as an accomplished sports and entertainment attorney, entertainment executive, author and television and film producer,  Siegel is one of the most influential executives in the entertainment industry. Siegel most recently held dual positions as Senior Vice President of Sony/BMG's Zomba Label Group and President of Zomba Gospel, the largest Gospel music company in the world. As part of Sony/BMG's President's Council that oversees the company's global management strategies, Siegel was also on the executive team that produced pop stars like Britney Spears, Usher, Justin Timberlake, and R. Kelly. He is also one of the most sought after persons in the industry, appearing on Oprah, twice in one year; Tavis Smiley’s NPR and has been featured in national major media outlets such as The New York Times, Crain’s New York Business, Black Enterprise and Billboard Magazine.

His legal knowledge has earned him the opportunity to serve as a BESLA board member and in various leadership positions within high-profile professional organizations such as The American Bar Association, The New York and Indiana State Bar Association, Gospel Heritage Foundation and The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Max is married to his childhood friend Jennifer, and they have three children.