8. Basil DeVito, WWE Board Of Directors, Senior Advisory, Business Strategy
Basil DeVito has worked with Vince McMahon in several capacities over the last 25 years, and is currently on the board of directors in a senior advisory role in which he specializes in business strategy. DeVito is hugely important in the development of the wrestling industry, he started with WWE in 1985 as the pioneer of the WWF's first marketing division. He would end up becoming a key figure in the wrestling business, working his way through various WWF departments including live events and pay per view. As the WWF started to boom, he forged a close relationship with Vince. The height of DeVito's fame would come in the late nineties and early 2000's. Firstly, he became the Chief Operating Officer of the WWF from January 1997 to June 1998 - but Vince McMahon had even bigger things in mind for the talented businessman. DeVito was made president of Vince's XFL in the year 2000. The XFL would be a new football league, designed to exist alongside the NFL and mix football with entertainment. It was however a disaster, the WWF and NBC both lost a reported $35 million on the sport despite an initially optimistic launch season. DeVito didn't do down with the XFL though. He came back to the WWE as part of the executive committee, becoming a WWE director in 2010. An important figure in deals for WWE television programming, DeVito remains a powerful force within the WWE.