Our Captains, Our Visionaries

22 Dec, 2008 By: Stephanie Prange

In this issue of Home Media Magazine, we honor the top leaders in our industry, those who steer the ship of home entertainment.

Each has made his or her own contribution, whether a veteran of the home video business from the early days, such as Sony’s David Bishop, or more recent innovators, such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Netflix’s Reed Hastings and Redbox’s Gregg Kaplan.

They are widely respected.

“He’s a visionary leader who brings tremendous passion to every thing he does,” said Disney’s Lori Macpherson of captain Bob Chapek. He “constantly exceeds expectations and inspires fellow employees to do the same,” added

Disney’s Gordon Ho.

They also exhibit distinct personalities.

“Eisuke can at times be a man of few words, but he is at ALL times a man of great action,” said producer Jon Landau of Panasonic’s Eisuke Tsuyuzaki.

They are steady rudders in changing home entertainment seas. Warner’s Ron Sander, Fox’s Mike Dunn, Lionsgate’s Steve Beeks, Paramount’s Kelley Avery, and Universal’s Craig Kornblau join Bishop and others in their longstanding commitment to the business.

They are independent.

HBO’s Henry McGee has steered a cable company into one of the top DVD and Blu-ray producers in the industry.

They are on the front lines.

Best Buy’s Jill Hamburger, Blockbuster’s James Keyes and Wal-mart’s Gary Severson are helping to make important links to the customer at retail. They’ve been at the forefront in taking the new high-definition format Blu-ray Disc to new heights. They are the retail backbone of the home entertainment business.

Each has a devoted and talent staff, and there are many other key players in this mult-billion-dollar business.

But as we end the year after the wild success of one format, DVD, and on the cusp of the expected success of another, Blu-ray Disc, Home Media Magazine has taken a moment to recognize the captains of the home entertainment ship — the leaders that keep it moving forward.

Home Media Magazine offers congratulations to those strong and steady voices who drive our business.