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Barry M. Meyer, one of the most respected executives in the entertainment industry, became Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. on October 4, 1999 after having served as the Studio’s Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer since April 1994.
Meyer oversees one of the most successful collections of entertainment brands in the world. Warner Bros., a Time Warner Company, is a global leader in the creation, production, distribution, marketing and licensing of all forms of entertainment and their businesses. The fully integrated, broad-based Studio stands at the forefront of every aspect of the entertainment industry, from feature films to television, broadcasting, home entertainment/DVD, animation, comic books, product and brand licensing and international cinemas.
Under Meyer’s leadership, Warner Bros. has consistently ranked as one of the strongest, most profitable and best positioned studios in the industry. In 2006, Warner Bros. Pictures’ domestic and international divisions each had their sixth consecutive billion dollar-plus years at the box office, Warner Home Video was the industry’s marketshare leader and the Warner Bros. Television Group was the industry’s leading supplier of primetime series to the broadcast networks.
As the Studio embraces new distribution platforms, technologies and opportunities, Meyer leads the company’s efforts to create new business models to fit emerging consumer demands. Warner Bros. has taken an industry-leading position in these new markets and is working vigorously with other Time Warner companies to leverage the companies’ combined strength to help shape the digital future of the entertainment industry.
Warner Bros. is home to such world-renowned icons as Bugs Bunny, Batman, Superman, Scooby-Doo and Harry Potter, and has the largest, fastest-growing film and television library in the world with more than 6,600 films (The Jazz Singer, Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon to The Matrix,The Departed,Million Dollar Baby and the five Harry Potter films) and 50,000 plus live-action and animated television titles (including more than 35 current series from ER,Smallville,Without A Trace,Two and a Half Men,Gilmore Girls,Nip/Tuck and The Closer to The Bachelor,The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Extra to The Batman and Legion of Super Heroes). From pioneering talking pictures to the development of DVD and Total Hi Def disc, the founding of The WB Television Network in 1995, the subsequent founding of The CW Television Network in 2006 and the implementation of unique new business models in feature films, home video and television, the Studio has been an industry innovator and leader for more than 80 years.
Meyer joined the Company in 1971 as Director, Business Affairs for Warner Bros. Television, following two and a half years in both the legal and business affairs departments of the ABC Television Network. In 1972, Meyer was named Vice President, Business Affairs, Warner Bros. Television. In 1978, he became Executive Vice President for the television division and in 1984, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. Inc., taking charge of all of the Studio’s television operations.
In 1994, Meyer took on added responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer, which included oversight of the Company’s general operations (including studio facilities, legal and business affairs, general administration, human resources, labor relations, strategic planning, real estate development and government affairs), as well as all of the Studio’s television production and distribution operations (including Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions, Warner Bros. Animation and the domestic and international television distribution divisions). Meyer was also an integral architect in the formation of The WB Television Network, which went on the air in January 1995 and played a similar role in the founding of The CW.
An active leader in the entertainment industry, Meyer often serves as a key advisor on industry-wide production, labor and regulatory issues. He is a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC School of Cinema-Television; a member of the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture Association of America; a member of the Board of the Museum of Television & Radio; a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; a member of the Board of the American Film Institute; a member and former Governor of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; a member and past member of the Board of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society; and is involved in numerous charitable and civic activities, including serving on the Board of Directors of Human Rights Watch.
Meyer was honored with the American Jewish Committee’s 2006 Dorothy and Sherrill C. Corwin Human Relations Award for his many humanitarian efforts. In March 2006, Meyer, along with Alan Horn, President & Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros., was presented with the Motion Picture Showmanship Award at the 43rd Annual ICG Publicists Awards.
Born in New York City, Meyer holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He is a member of the bar in New York and Ohio. |
