Stephen J. Bisciotti

When Steve Bisciotti, now in his 10th 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.

“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.”

Like many decisions Bisciotti has made, hiring Harbaugh proved to be the right one. The 2008 Ravens earned an 11-5 regular-season record and advanced to the AFC Championship game, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers.

The passionate Bisciotti, who is 49 and the second-youngest owner in the NFL (to Washington’s Daniel Snyder - 45), 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. Steve’s influence in the NFL continues to rise – he currently is a member of two important ownership committees: Broadcasting and Digital Media.

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 alone.

After graduating from Salisbury (MD) State 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 staffing firm (revenuewise) in the United States – fifth in the world. The company, which is based just outside Baltimore and has offices throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, has over 10,000 employees and 80,000 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 incredible 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. Bisciotti recently (2007) purchased a collection of Baltimore Colts and Johnny Unitas memorabilia, which he immediately loaned to Baltimore’s Sports Legends Museum. “It was important to keep those memories in Baltimore and for fans to get a chance to see them,” Bisciotti explains.

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 is pursuing a master’s in business, and Jack, a senior in college. 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.