Sean Yazbeck
Encyclopedia
Sean Yazbeck is the winner of the fifth season
(2006) of the reality show, The Apprentice, where candidates compete in several tasks on a 15-week "job interview" for a position in one of Donald Trump
's companies. He was the first non-American
to be selected during the run of The Apprentice.
As winner of The Apprentice, Yazbeck was selected by Donald Trump to oversee development of the $500 million 5-star hotel condominium, Trump International Hotel and Tower (SoHo), in New York City’s SoHo district. He also worked with the Trump Institute (Trump University
) to set-up WAVSYS, an international technical staffing company with offices in the US, Canada
, UK and India
. In 2011, WAVSYS appeared in the Inc 500 ‘Fastest Growing Companies in America’ list, with the its US entity registering 760% growth over 3-years, $15.2MM in revenue and 264 employees. In an interview with Inc Magazine Yazbeck attributed some of the success of WAVSYS to lessons learned while working for Donald Trump
as The Apprentice
.
Yazbeck currently lives in New York
and keeps a home in Miami Beach, Florida
.
was his EB-1 Green Card for "International Acclaim for Extraordinary Ability," in technical recruitment for GSM and CDMA projects.
and his father is Lebanese
. Yazbeck's secondary education was at William Ellis School
, a comprehensive school
for boys in Highgate
. He later graduated top of his class at Southampton Institute of Higher Education (Southampton Solent University
), with a first-class honours degree.
in London and made his acting debut at the age of 14, on the BBC
soap opera, EastEnders
(1986). He later played the lead role in the film, Night Shift (2002), which won awards at, "The Made in Miami Film Festival" (2002), and, Palm Beach International Film Festival
(2002). His appearance on The Apprentice led to Jeffrey Katzenberg
casting Yazbeck in the role of, "BBQ Barry," in the DreamWorks
film, Over the Hedge
.
Yazbeck returned as a boardroom judge on The Apprentice 6
(2007), and hosted his own show, Reality Trailblazers, on the TV Guide Channel
. He also appeared on Miss Universe
(as a judge), Live with Regis and Kelly
, MTV Video Music Awards
, 1 vs. 100
, Soap Talk
, Identity
and MTV
's From G's to Gents
.
In the final task, Yazbeck was chosen to oversee a Barenaked Ladies
charity concert, sponsored by Pontiac
, to benefit the World Wildlife Fund. For winning the final task and being "hired" as Trump's Apprentice, Sean chose to oversee the Trump International Hotel and Tower (SoHo), with a starting contract time of one year and a yearly salary exceeding $250,000. He was also given a new Pontiac G6
Hardtop Convertible, mirroring Kendra Todd
's reward of a Pontiac Solstice
.
and joined the Miami Chapter.
In reference to his charity work with "Voices for Children", on January 9, 2008, the Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear
, bestowed the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel
on Yazbeck, “in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to the nation.”
On June 20, 2006, the Mayor of Miami Dade County, Carlos Alvarez
, proclaimed that day as "Sean Yazbeck Day", in Miami-Dade County.
The Apprentice 5
The Apprentice 5 is the fifth series of The Apprentice, with Donald Trump as the Executive Producer and Host. Applications were available online and filming occurred in the fall of 2005. Sean Yazbeck was named the winner and hired by Donald Trump as the new Apprentice during the season finale...
(2006) of the reality show, The Apprentice, where candidates compete in several tasks on a 15-week "job interview" for a position in one of Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
's companies. He was the first non-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to be selected during the run of The Apprentice.
As winner of The Apprentice, Yazbeck was selected by Donald Trump to oversee development of the $500 million 5-star hotel condominium, Trump International Hotel and Tower (SoHo), in New York City’s SoHo district. He also worked with the Trump Institute (Trump University
Trump University
The Trump Entrepreneur Initiative is an online education company owned and founded by real estate businessman Donald J. Trump, Sr. It is part of the Trump Organization. It offers courses in real estate, asset management, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation, charging fees ranging from $1500 to...
) to set-up WAVSYS, an international technical staffing company with offices in the US, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, UK and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. In 2011, WAVSYS appeared in the Inc 500 ‘Fastest Growing Companies in America’ list, with the its US entity registering 760% growth over 3-years, $15.2MM in revenue and 264 employees. In an interview with Inc Magazine Yazbeck attributed some of the success of WAVSYS to lessons learned while working for Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
as The Apprentice
The Apprentice
The Apprentice is a television franchise which originated in 2004 in the United States. As originally conceived, the show depicted 16 contestants from around the country with various backgrounds competing in an elimination-style competition to become an apprentice to Donald Trump...
.
Yazbeck currently lives in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and keeps a home in Miami Beach, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Career
Yazbeck’s most notable achievement and reason for being selected to appear on The ApprenticeThe Apprentice (U.S. TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
was his EB-1 Green Card for "International Acclaim for Extraordinary Ability," in technical recruitment for GSM and CDMA projects.
Childhood
Yazbeck was born and raised in London. His mother is IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and his father is Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
. Yazbeck's secondary education was at William Ellis School
William Ellis School
William Ellis School is a United Kingdom secondary comprehensive school for boys in Highgate, London.-Admissions:It is a specialist Language College. The School's motto is 'Rather Use Than Fame'. The school is over-subscribed, usually an indicator of a popular school. It is situated just west of...
, a comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
for boys in Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
. He later graduated top of his class at Southampton Institute of Higher Education (Southampton Solent University
Southampton Solent University
Southampton Solent University is a university of 17,000 students based in Southampton, United Kingdom. Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre....
), with a first-class honours degree.
Acting
Yazbeck attended Sylvia Young Theatre SchoolSylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent fee-paying stage school, in Westminster, London, named after its founder and Principal, Sylvia Young.-Outline:...
in London and made his acting debut at the age of 14, on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera, EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
(1986). He later played the lead role in the film, Night Shift (2002), which won awards at, "The Made in Miami Film Festival" (2002), and, Palm Beach International Film Festival
Palm Beach International Film Festival
The Palm Beach International Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Palm Beach, Florida which showcases over 120 films annually in April for over 20,000 attendees...
(2002). His appearance on The Apprentice led to Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as chairman of The Walt Disney Company's film division, and for producing DreamWorks animated films such as Shrek, Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken...
casting Yazbeck in the role of, "BBQ Barry," in the DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
film, Over the Hedge
Over the Hedge (film)
Over the Hedge is a 2006 computer animated family action comedy film based on the characters from United Media comic strip of the same name. Directed by Tim Johnson and Karey Kirkpatrick, and produced by Bonnie Arnold, it was released in the United States on May 19, 2006.The film was produced by...
.
Yazbeck returned as a boardroom judge on The Apprentice 6
The Apprentice 6
The Apprentice: Los Angeles is the sixth installment of the US version of The Apprentice reality television show. It was confirmed on November 30, 2005. Like the other Apprentice seasons, Donald Trump is the executive producer and host in his quest to hire a sixth apprentice...
(2007), and hosted his own show, Reality Trailblazers, on the TV Guide Channel
TV Guide Channel
TV Guide Network is an American cable network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation....
. He also appeared on Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
(as a judge), Live with Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
, MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
, 1 vs. 100
1 vs. 100
1 vs. 100 is a game show created by Endemol that is aired in several countries. The game pits one person against 100 others for a chance to win a large cash prize. The game first aired in the Netherlands as Eén tegen 100, sponsored by the Nationale Postcode Loterij .- General format :In all...
, Soap Talk
Soap Talk
Soap Talk was a television talk show on SOAPnet hosted by Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway. It debuted in 2002 and ended in 2006. The reason for the show's cancellation was due to SOAPnet expanding their programming away from a soap opera-related focus to expand their network's ratings and declining...
, Identity
Identity (game show)
Identity is a reality/game show, hosted by Penn Jillette and produced by Reveille where contestants could win money by matching 12 strangers one-by-one to phrases about their identities.-Format:A contestant is introduced to twelve strangers...
and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's From G's to Gents
From G's to Gents
From G's to Gents is an MTV reality television series which features misdirected young men willing to change their lives and become gentlemen. The show is hosted by Fonzworth Bentley, and premiered on MTV on July 15, 2008. The objective of the show is to make the transformation from a roughneck to...
.
Apprentice Season 5
Yazbeck won more tasks than any other candidate, was unbeaten as Project Manager and was chosen by Donald Trump to be the next Apprentice during the show's live finale in Los Angeles. According to Trump, Sean overwhelmingly won the national vote, the first ever conducted for an Apprentice finale.In the final task, Yazbeck was chosen to oversee a Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
charity concert, sponsored by Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
, to benefit the World Wildlife Fund. For winning the final task and being "hired" as Trump's Apprentice, Sean chose to oversee the Trump International Hotel and Tower (SoHo), with a starting contract time of one year and a yearly salary exceeding $250,000. He was also given a new Pontiac G6
Pontiac G6
The Pontiac G6 was a mid-size car produced under the Pontiac brand of American automaker General Motors.It was introduced in the fall of 2004 to replace the Grand Am. The car was built on the GM Epsilon platform which it shared with the Chevrolet Malibu and Saab 9-3 along with other General Motors...
Hardtop Convertible, mirroring Kendra Todd
Kendra Todd
Kendra Todd is a real estate agent in Seattle, Washington. In 2005, she was the winner of season 3 of NBC's The Apprentice. She was the first female candidate, and the youngest, to be hired on the U.S. Apprentice.-Overview:...
's reward of a Pontiac Solstice
Pontiac Solstice
The Pontiac Solstice is a small sports car from the Pontiac division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. The exterior styling of the...
.
Other Recognition
On January 2009, Yazbeck met the membership criteria for the Young Presidents' OrganizationYoung Presidents' Organization
The Young Presidents’ Organization is a global network of young chief executives. With approximately 18,000 members in more than 100 countries, YPO and its graduate organization, WPO share a founding mission: Better Leaders Through Education and Idea Exchange....
and joined the Miami Chapter.
In reference to his charity work with "Voices for Children", on January 9, 2008, the Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear
Steve Beshear
Steven Lynn "Steve" Beshear is an American politician who is the 61st Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. A Democrat, Beshear previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1979, was the state's Attorney General from 1980 to 1983, and was Lieutenant Governor from...
, bestowed the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel
Kentucky colonel
Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation...
on Yazbeck, “in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to the nation.”
On June 20, 2006, the Mayor of Miami Dade County, Carlos Alvarez
Carlos Alvarez (mayor)
Carlos Alvarez is a Cuban American politician, and the former mayor of Miami-Dade County. He was first elected mayor in 2004, and re-elected in 2008. His mayoralty ended in March 2011 after a recall election...
, proclaimed that day as "Sean Yazbeck Day", in Miami-Dade County.
See also
- The Apprentice
- The Apprentice 5