Jay Samit
Encyclopedia
Jay Samit is a digital media innovator who has pioneered advancements in music and video distribution, social media, and ecommerce. He is currently the CEO of SocialVibe
.
and CD-ROM titles that defined the emergence of video and music on the personal computer, including the first video on a PC. Jasmine's technological breakthroughs include creating the first interactive videodisc arcade game in 1982 and the first laserdisc-based interactive movie theater for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition
. Partnering with leading technology firms such as IBM
, Microsoft
, and Intel, Samit published over 300 titles ranging from Inside the Vatican
to Wild West to the award winning Vid Grid with David Geffen
featuring Aerosmith
, Ozzy Osbourne
, Peter Gabriel
, Metallica
, Van Halen
, Soundgarden
, Red Hot Chili Peppers
, Nirvana
, and Guns N Roses. Samit and his innovations at Jasmine Multimedia received numerous awards, including Best of Show COMDEX
, Best of RetailVision, Best of E3, Multimedia Producer Top 100, and Newsweek’s Editor’s Choice Award.
in the New Media Group. Later, as VP of Universal Studios' New Media arm, Samit developed a number of content driven opportunities for the company to make their new media initiative profitable. In 1998, he created the first million-member social media site for college students called animalhouse.com, which was the first online community to feature free web-based email, VOIP, and ecommerce. Animalhouse.com was hailed as “the leading online community for college students” by Variety in 1999.
(Capitol Records
) as EVP of New Media and rose to Global President of Digital Distribution. Under Samit’s leadership, EMI was able to make the company’s entire music catalog Internet-ready. With the goal of being the “first digital label,” Samit led EMI’s strategy to make money by signing deals aimed at developing and owning the technology to distribute music over the Internet and wireless networks. As noted in Wired
, the “venture-capital strategy paid big dividends” and EMI “realized a substantial gain in operating profit by using its technology investments wisely” quadrupling its stock price.
Samit was recognized for his expertise in “untangling technological and legal knots," enabling EMI to sell traditional content in new digital formats. Under Samit, EMI became the first record label to offer digital albums for sale (David Bowie
Hours), win a Grammy for a digital release (Lenny Kravitz
’s Dig In
), sign the Beatles to their first digital distribution deal, and record and distribute mobile ringtones.
According to Variety
, when Samit joined EMI in 1999, EMI had a "negligible Internet presence" but soon became "arguably the most innovative music major spearheading the shift into digital distribution."
At the time, the music industry was encouraged to follow EMI's digital model which Samit pioneered. In 2001, Samit was quoted in Forbes
magazine in response to criticism about the music industry's slow transition to digital music distribution. He said, "My job is to make buying music easier than stealing it. It's faster and easier to rob a liquor store than it is to build a grocery store, which is what we're doing."
Samit led EMI Recorded Music to receive an RIAA honorary Gold Record, marking the first time a CD available only on the Internet was given this honor. Samit also won Music Executive of the Year at Gavin's first ever Wammy Awards in 2000. Spearheading the development of digital music distribution, Samit sat on the boards of Musicmaker, Musicnet(MediaNet), Pressplay
(Napster
), OD2
, and Loudeye.
where he was the creator and general manager of Sony Connect
and later rose to executive vice president. According to The New York Times
, Samit's post leading Sony's digital music initiative was seen as "a way to unite the sometimes conflicting electronics and content divisions." As Sony, once the biggest player in the portable audio market, was quickly losing market share to Apple and the iPod, Samit was brought in to launch Sony's online music store and "bridge the gap between Sony's engineers in Tokyo and its music team in the United States." Sony Connect, Sony's global digital service for music, video, ebooks, and mobile content. It was once the world's largest online music store with over 2.5 million tracks serving 45 million page views a day.
To promote the launch of Sony Connect, Samit executive-produced the first ever in-flight concert at 30,000 feet featuring Sheryl Crow
. He also executive produced 350 live concert and in-studio sessions for exclusive digital tracks ranging from Crosby & Nash
and John Legend
, to Kelly Clarkson
and Train
.
Samit has been called “guru for the entire industry“ by Variety
and, according to Wired
, the guy with “the coolest job in the industry” for dreaming up new ways for Hollywood to capitalize on emerging media.”
, growing the performance brand advertising network's revenue over 4000% and its reach from one site to over 662 million unique users per month by inking deals with major sites like Facebook
, Zynga
, Pandora, The Huffington Post, IMVU
, Zinio
, and Causes, reaching the majority of social media users globally. SocialVibe clients include: Apple
, Amex
, AT&T
, Bank of America
, Best Buy
, Bp
, CBS
, Coke
, Covergirl, Disney, EA, eBay
, Frigidaire
, Ford, GE
, General Mills
, Honda
, Intel, Intuit, JetBlue, Kmart
, Kodak, Kraft
, Lifetime
, L’Oreal, Marriott
, McDonalds, Microsoft
, Nabisco
, NBC
, Nestle
, Oakley
, Procter & Gamble
, Red Bull
, Samsung
, Sony
, Toshiba
, Toyota, Unilever
, Universal Studios
, Verizon, Victoria Secret, Visa
, Warner Bros, Yahoo!
, YouTube
, and Zumba Fitness
.
and a performing member of the Magic Castle (Academy of Magical Arts
). According to Variety, Samit "put himself through college with magic, an art he still practices."
and Vice President Al Gore
where he helped gain Internet access for the nation's schools. Through this program, Samit spearheaded the Internet's first auction, a Net-a-thon fundraiser, benefiting the National Education Technology Initiative.
Samit also helped produce some of the most successful charity concerts including Tsunami Aid
and Katrina Relief and currently leads SocialVibe
’s initiatives to give back to charities through advertising online. SocialVibe supports over 11,000 charities and reached over 30 million people supporting non-profit organizations each month.
SocialVibe
SocialVibe is a social networking advertising company whose website has over 1,750,000 members which rewards publishers of social media content through mechanisms such as donations to their charity of choice. After joining SocialVibe, in addition to creating a personal profile, users are asked to...
.
Jasmine Multimedia Publishing
Samit was a recipient of the Presidential fellowship at UCLA where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1982. The same year, Samit founded Jasmine Multimedia Publishing where he created some of the breakthrough laserdiscLaserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
and CD-ROM titles that defined the emergence of video and music on the personal computer, including the first video on a PC. Jasmine's technological breakthroughs include creating the first interactive videodisc arcade game in 1982 and the first laserdisc-based interactive movie theater for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition
1984 Louisiana World Exposition
The 1984 Louisiana World Exposition was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was held 100 years after the city's earlier World's Fair, the World Cotton Centennial in 1884. It opened on Saturday, May 12, 1984 and ended on Sunday, November 11, 1984...
. Partnering with leading technology firms such as IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, and Intel, Samit published over 300 titles ranging from Inside the Vatican
Inside the Vatican
Inside the Vatican is a monthly magazine relating to issues within the Roman Curia, at the Vatican in Rome, which is at the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church and Christianity as a whole....
to Wild West to the award winning Vid Grid with David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
featuring Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
, Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, and Guns N Roses. Samit and his innovations at Jasmine Multimedia received numerous awards, including Best of Show COMDEX
COMDEX
COMDEX was a computer expo held in Las Vegas, Nevada, each November from 1979 to 2003. It was one of the largest computer trade shows in the world, usually second only to the German CeBIT, and by many accounts one of the largest trade shows in any industry sector...
, Best of RetailVision, Best of E3, Multimedia Producer Top 100, and Newsweek’s Editor’s Choice Award.
Universal Studios New Media Group
After Jasmine Multimedia Publishing was acquired, Samit was brought on as the first head of business development for Universal StudiosUniversal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
in the New Media Group. Later, as VP of Universal Studios' New Media arm, Samit developed a number of content driven opportunities for the company to make their new media initiative profitable. In 1998, he created the first million-member social media site for college students called animalhouse.com, which was the first online community to feature free web-based email, VOIP, and ecommerce. Animalhouse.com was hailed as “the leading online community for college students” by Variety in 1999.
EMI Recorded Music (Capitol Records)
In April 1999, Samit joined EMIEMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
(Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
) as EVP of New Media and rose to Global President of Digital Distribution. Under Samit’s leadership, EMI was able to make the company’s entire music catalog Internet-ready. With the goal of being the “first digital label,” Samit led EMI’s strategy to make money by signing deals aimed at developing and owning the technology to distribute music over the Internet and wireless networks. As noted in Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, the “venture-capital strategy paid big dividends” and EMI “realized a substantial gain in operating profit by using its technology investments wisely” quadrupling its stock price.
Samit was recognized for his expertise in “untangling technological and legal knots," enabling EMI to sell traditional content in new digital formats. Under Samit, EMI became the first record label to offer digital albums for sale (David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
Hours), win a Grammy for a digital release (Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
’s Dig In
Dig In
"Dig In" is the lead-single by Lenny Kravitz from his sixth studio album, Lenny. It was released in October 2001. It was used in promos by the National Basketball Association for the 2002 NBA Playoffs, as well as the ending theme for the film Returner....
), sign the Beatles to their first digital distribution deal, and record and distribute mobile ringtones.
According to Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, when Samit joined EMI in 1999, EMI had a "negligible Internet presence" but soon became "arguably the most innovative music major spearheading the shift into digital distribution."
At the time, the music industry was encouraged to follow EMI's digital model which Samit pioneered. In 2001, Samit was quoted in Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine in response to criticism about the music industry's slow transition to digital music distribution. He said, "My job is to make buying music easier than stealing it. It's faster and easier to rob a liquor store than it is to build a grocery store, which is what we're doing."
Samit led EMI Recorded Music to receive an RIAA honorary Gold Record, marking the first time a CD available only on the Internet was given this honor. Samit also won Music Executive of the Year at Gavin's first ever Wammy Awards in 2000. Spearheading the development of digital music distribution, Samit sat on the boards of Musicmaker, Musicnet(MediaNet), Pressplay
Pressplay
Pressplay was the name of an online music store from 2002 - 2003 created as a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. The two record labels provided music via subscription for pressplay along with BMG, EMI, Warner Music Group and various independent labels. It was...
(Napster
Napster (pay service)
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a file sharing service. For more information about its founding mission as a free file sharing service, see Napster.-History:...
), OD2
OD2
On Demand Distribution , one of the first online music download services, was co-founded by entrepreneur Charles Grimsdale and musician Peter Gabriel in 1999...
, and Loudeye.
Sony
Samit left EMI to join SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
where he was the creator and general manager of Sony Connect
Sony Connect
The CONNECT Music Store was Sony's music store built within the SonicStage music management application for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers. It was one of the world’s largest online music download stores with over 2.5 million tracks to preview and purchase, with over 10,000 new songs...
and later rose to executive vice president. According to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Samit's post leading Sony's digital music initiative was seen as "a way to unite the sometimes conflicting electronics and content divisions." As Sony, once the biggest player in the portable audio market, was quickly losing market share to Apple and the iPod, Samit was brought in to launch Sony's online music store and "bridge the gap between Sony's engineers in Tokyo and its music team in the United States." Sony Connect, Sony's global digital service for music, video, ebooks, and mobile content. It was once the world's largest online music store with over 2.5 million tracks serving 45 million page views a day.
To promote the launch of Sony Connect, Samit executive-produced the first ever in-flight concert at 30,000 feet featuring Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
. He also executive produced 350 live concert and in-studio sessions for exclusive digital tracks ranging from Crosby & Nash
Crosby & Nash
In addition to solo careers and within the larger aggregate of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the musical team of David Crosby and Graham Nash have performed and recorded regularly as a duo, mostly during the 1970s and the 2000s.-History:...
and John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
, to Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
and Train
Train (band)
Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan , Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood ....
.
Samit has been called “guru for the entire industry“ by Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
and, according to Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, the guy with “the coolest job in the industry” for dreaming up new ways for Hollywood to capitalize on emerging media.”
SocialVibe
In 2009, Samit became CEO of SocialVibeSocialVibe
SocialVibe is a social networking advertising company whose website has over 1,750,000 members which rewards publishers of social media content through mechanisms such as donations to their charity of choice. After joining SocialVibe, in addition to creating a personal profile, users are asked to...
, growing the performance brand advertising network's revenue over 4000% and its reach from one site to over 662 million unique users per month by inking deals with major sites like Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, Zynga
Zynga
Zynga is a social network game developer located in San Francisco, United States. The company develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace....
, Pandora, The Huffington Post, IMVU
IMVU
IMVU, Inc. is an online social entertainment destination in which members use 3D avatars to meet new people, chat, create, and play games created by Fydor Guthenschlag. IMVU has over 50 million registered users, 10 million unique visitors per month and three million monthly active users...
, Zinio
Zinio
Zinio is a publishing technology and services company, which provides sales and distribution of printed material in digital format including magazines, books, catalogs, newsletters and research...
, and Causes, reaching the majority of social media users globally. SocialVibe clients include: Apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
, Amex
AMEX
AMEX, AmEx or Amex may refer to:*American Stock Exchange*American Express, a global financial services corporation*American Express Community Stadium, association football stadium in Brighton, England, currently sponsored by American Express...
, AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, Bp
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Coke
Coke
Coke may refer to:* Coca-Cola, a soft drink originally based on coca leaf extract** The Coca-Cola Company, makers of this drink** Cola, any soft drink similar to Coca-Cola** Soft drink, any non-alcoholic carbonated beverage* Coca, a plant...
, Covergirl, Disney, EA, eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
, Frigidaire
Frigidaire
Frigidaire is a brand of consumer and commercial appliances. Frigidaire was founded as the Guardian Frigerator Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and developed the first self-contained refrigerator in 1916. In 1918, William C...
, Ford, GE
Gê
Gê are the people who spoke Ge languages of the northern South American Caribbean coast and Brazil. In Brazil the Gê were found in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Piaui, Mato Grosso, Goias, Tocantins, Maranhão, and as far south as Paraguay....
, General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
, Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
, Intel, Intuit, JetBlue, Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
, Kodak, Kraft
Kraft
Kraft has more than one meaning:* Kraft Foods, the world's third largest food and beverage company by revenue* Kraft process, a paper pulp production method* Kraft paper, paper produced by the Kraft process* Kraft , a video game character...
, Lifetime
Lifetime
Lifetime may refer to:*Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive*Mean lifetime, a certain number that characterizes the rate of reduction of a particle of an assembly...
, L’Oreal, Marriott
Marriott
- Corporations :* Marriott International, international hotel company* Marriott Hotels & Resorts* Marriott Corporation , originally known as Hot Shoppes, Inc...
, McDonalds, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Nabisco
Nabisco
Nabisco is an American brand of cookies and snacks. Headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey, the company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Kraft Foods. Nabisco's plant in Chicago, a production facility at 7300 S...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Nestle
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, Oakley
Oakley
Oakley may refer to:* Oakley, Inc., an eyewear manufacturer* Baron Oakley, a hereditary title-United Kingdom:*Oakley, Bedfordshire, England*Oakley, Buckinghamshire, England*Oakley, Dorset, England*Oakley, Fife, Scotland...
, Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
, Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
, Toyota, Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
, Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, Verizon, Victoria Secret, Visa
Visa
Visa or VISA may refer to:* Visa , a document issued by a country's government allowing the holder to enter or to leave that country...
, Warner Bros, Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
, YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and Zumba Fitness
Zumba Fitness
Zumba Fitness is a video game developed by Pipeworks Software and published by Majesco Entertainment based on the Zumba program. It is available for Wii with Wii Balance Board, PlayStation 3 with PlayStation Move and Xbox 360 with Kinect...
.
Other
Samit is a member of the Writers Guild of AmericaWriters Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
and a performing member of the Magic Castle (Academy of Magical Arts
Academy of Magical Arts
The Academy of Magical Arts is a California non profit mutual benefit corporation organized and devoted to the promotion and development of the art of magic.Although begun in 1952 as a loose association of magicians by William Larsen, Sr...
). According to Variety, Samit "put himself through college with magic, an art he still practices."
Philanthropy
An active philanthropist, Samit was appointed to the White House's initiative for education and technology by President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
where he helped gain Internet access for the nation's schools. Through this program, Samit spearheaded the Internet's first auction, a Net-a-thon fundraiser, benefiting the National Education Technology Initiative.
Samit also helped produce some of the most successful charity concerts including Tsunami Aid
Tsunami Aid
Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope was a worldwide benefit held for the tsunami victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. It was broadcast on NBC and its affiliated networks of USA Network, Bravo, PAX, MSNBC, CNBC, Sci-Fi, Trio, Telemundo and other NBC Universal stations and was heard on any Clear...
and Katrina Relief and currently leads SocialVibe
SocialVibe
SocialVibe is a social networking advertising company whose website has over 1,750,000 members which rewards publishers of social media content through mechanisms such as donations to their charity of choice. After joining SocialVibe, in addition to creating a personal profile, users are asked to...
’s initiatives to give back to charities through advertising online. SocialVibe supports over 11,000 charities and reached over 30 million people supporting non-profit organizations each month.