Barry M. Meyer (born November 28, 1946) is an American

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon ...

who served as

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Early life

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the son of Perry Meyer and Lillian Katz Meyer. Meyer holds a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

Case Western Reserve University School of Law Case Western Reserve University School of Law is one of eight schools at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the first schools accredited by the American Bar Association. It is a member of the Association of American ...

. He is a member of the bar in New York and was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1967, however his Ohio license was suspended in 2005.

Warner Bros.

Meyer joined the Warner Bros. Entertainment in 1971 as Director, Business Affairs for

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

, following two and a half years in both the legal and business affairs departments of the ABC Television Network. In 1972, Meyer was named Vice President, Business Affairs, Warner Bros. Television. In 1978, he became Executive Vice President for the television division and in 1984, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. Inc., taking charge of all of the Studio’s television operations. In 1994, Meyer took on added responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer, which included oversight of the Company’s general operations (including studio facilities, legal and business affairs, general administration, human resources, labor relations, strategic planning, real estate development and government affairs), as well as all of the Studio’s television production and distribution operations (including Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions, Warner Bros. Animation and the domestic and international television distribution divisions). Meyer was also an integral architect in the formation of The WB Television Network, which went on the air in January 1995 and played a similar role in the founding of The CW. Barry M. Meyer became Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. on October 4, 1999 after having served as the Studio’s Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer since April 1994. Under Meyer’s leadership, Warner Bros. consistently ranked as one of the most profitable studios in the industry. In 2009, Warner Bros. Pictures' domestic division had its most successful year ever, and both the domestic and international division had their ninth consecutive billion dollar-plus years at the box office. In March 2013, Meyer stepped down as CEO of Warner Bros. and was succeeded by Kevin Tsujihara.

Other Activities

Meyer often serves as a key advisor on industry-wide production, labor and regulatory issues. He is a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC School of Cinema-Television; a member of the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture Association of America; a member of the Board of the Museum of Television & Radio; a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; a member and former Governor of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; a member and past member of the Board of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society; and is involved in numerous charitable and civic activities. Meyer was honored with the American Jewish Committee’s 2006 Dorothy and Sherrill C. Corwin Human Relations Award for his many humanitarian efforts. Meyer has been on the Activision Blizzard board of directors since January 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Barry Living people 20th-century American Jews The CW executives Warner Bros. people 1946 births 21st-century American Jews