Michael Lynton
Encyclopedia
Michael Lynton is an American
businessman who has led several media related companies including Time Warner
, The Walt Disney Company
's Hollywood Pictures
and Pearson's
Penguin Group
. Since January 2004, he has been Chairman and CEO
of Sony Pictures Entertainment
and has served on many Boards of Directors including JAMDAT Mobile
. Lynton is trilingual in French
, English
, and Dutch
. He attended the American School of The Hague
, Phillips Exeter Academy
, Harvard College
, and Harvard Business School
.
in 1960 to a Dutch family that escaped Nazi Germany in the 1930s. They settled in the Netherlands
where Lynton lived as a child before coming to the United States
to attend Phillips Exeter Academy. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Harvard in history and literature in 1982, he worked for a short period of time in finance at an investment banking firm on Wall Street
. He returned to Harvard for his MBA, graduating in 1987, and began his career in media at The Walt Disney Company.
and on the board of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, the Jewish Television Network and the Rand Corporation. Lynton has worked with his fellow board members at the Jewish Television Network to compile an annual list of the “50 Most Influential Rabbis in America,” which has been published in Newsweek
since 2007.
and particularly online piracy. At a panel discussion hosted by Ken Auletta
for The New Yorker
in May 2009, Lynton said, "I’m a guy who doesn’t see anything good having come from the Internet, period. [The internet has] created this notion that anyone can have whatever they want at any given time. It’s as if the stores on Madison Avenue were open 24 hours a day. They feel entitled. They say, ‘Give it to me now,’ and if you don’t give it to them for free, they’ll steal it.”
Lynton later elaborated on his remarks in an opinion piece for the Huffington Post saying, “And my point is this: the major content businesses of the world and the most talented creators of that content -- music, newspapers, movies and books -- have all been seriously harmed by the Internet.” He added, “To be clear, my concern about piracy does not obscure my understanding that the Internet has had a transformative impact on our culture and holds enormous potential to improve the prospects of humanity, and in many instances already has.”
Previously, Lynton had worked extensively on internet related matters. He was President, AOL
International, and CEO, AOL Europe starting in 2000, where he was responsible for AOL Europe as well as for AOL operations in Asia and Latin America.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman who has led several media related companies including Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
, The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures
Hollywood Pictures is one of The Walt Disney Company's several alternate movie divisions. Like Disney's Touchstone Pictures brand, it produces films for a more mature adult audience than Walt Disney Pictures.-History:...
and Pearson's
Pearson PLC
Pearson plc is a global media and education company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is both the largest education company and the largest book publisher in the world, with consumer imprints including Penguin, Dorling Kindersley and Ladybird...
Penguin Group
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
. Since January 2004, he has been Chairman and CEO
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
and has served on many Boards of Directors including JAMDAT Mobile
JAMDAT Mobile
EA Mobile is an American video game development studio of the publisher Electronic Arts .The studio's primary business is producing games for mobile phones. It has also produced other entertainment-related software such as ringtone applications, as well as games for other platforms such as PDAs and...
. Lynton is trilingual in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. He attended the American School of The Hague
American School of The Hague
The American School of The Hague is an American school in Wassenaar, Netherlands. Children can attend the school for a maximum of 13 years, from Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade. However, many students come and go because it is a very international school...
, Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
, Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, and Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
.
Background
Lynton was born in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1960 to a Dutch family that escaped Nazi Germany in the 1930s. They settled in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
where Lynton lived as a child before coming to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to attend Phillips Exeter Academy. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Harvard in history and literature in 1982, he worked for a short period of time in finance at an investment banking firm on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
. He returned to Harvard for his MBA, graduating in 1987, and began his career in media at The Walt Disney Company.
Activities
He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and Teach for AmericaTeach For America
Teach For America is an American non-profit organization that aims to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting the nation's most promising future leaders to teach for two or more years in low-income communities throughout the United States...
and on the board of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, the Jewish Television Network and the Rand Corporation. Lynton has worked with his fellow board members at the Jewish Television Network to compile an annual list of the “50 Most Influential Rabbis in America,” which has been published in Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
since 2007.
Views on the Internet
Lynton has been vocal on the topic of copyright infringementCopyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
and particularly online piracy. At a panel discussion hosted by Ken Auletta
Ken Auletta
Ken Auletta is an American writer, journalist and media critic for The New Yorker.-Early life and education:Auletta grew up in Brooklyn, the son of an Italian-American father and a Jewish-American mother...
for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
in May 2009, Lynton said, "I’m a guy who doesn’t see anything good having come from the Internet, period. [The internet has] created this notion that anyone can have whatever they want at any given time. It’s as if the stores on Madison Avenue were open 24 hours a day. They feel entitled. They say, ‘Give it to me now,’ and if you don’t give it to them for free, they’ll steal it.”
Lynton later elaborated on his remarks in an opinion piece for the Huffington Post saying, “And my point is this: the major content businesses of the world and the most talented creators of that content -- music, newspapers, movies and books -- have all been seriously harmed by the Internet.” He added, “To be clear, my concern about piracy does not obscure my understanding that the Internet has had a transformative impact on our culture and holds enormous potential to improve the prospects of humanity, and in many instances already has.”
Previously, Lynton had worked extensively on internet related matters. He was President, AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
International, and CEO, AOL Europe starting in 2000, where he was responsible for AOL Europe as well as for AOL operations in Asia and Latin America.