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As corporate vice president of the Media, Content & Partner Strategy Group at Microsoft, Blair Westlake directs a cross-organizational group dedicated to ensuring that effective global media and entertainment partnerships, business engagements and policies are in place to meet the increasing consumer demand for access to high-quality audio and video. Under Westlake's leadership, the Group consolidates and drives Microsoft's digital media partner strategy and content delivery and licensing initiatives across the Media and Entertainment industries. Westlake’s team also drives Microsoft's strategies around worldwide industry technical IP public policy including legislative and regulatory engagements related to content-protection technologies, digital-rights management, media-format standards and related technologies.
Westlake is a seasoned media and entertainment industry veteran, with more than 20 years of diverse experience encompassing home video, pay and free television distribution, video-on-demand and pay-per-view, non-theatrical content distribution, production, physical studio operations, international thematic channels development and management, strategic planning and execution for a global television business unit, magazine publishing and theme parks.
Before joining Microsoft, Westlake consulted for various media companies including Comcast Corp. and GE-NBC and was corporate executive vice president of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. Prior to that, Westlake was chairman of Universal Television & Networks Group, a position he was appointed to in December 1997. He was an executive with Universal Studios Inc. (formerly known as MCA Inc.) for more than 19 years, joining the company in January 1982.
A recognized leader in the media and entertainment industry, Westlake was the first recipient of the Whittier Law School Alumni Award for Business Excellence (2002) and has held many industry advisory and committee level positions, including The Museum of Television & Radio, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, National Association of Television Arts and Sciences and The Pacific Council on International Policy. He is a member of the Consumer Electronics Association Board of Industry Leaders; a member, Board of Directors, National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), and a member of the Board of Directors of ContentGuard. Westlake is admitted and an active member of the California State Bar. | 