George Levendis is a Global Television and

Music Executive A music executive or record executive is a person within a music company, in particular, a record label who works in senior management and makes executive decisions over the label's artists. Their role varies greatly but in essence, they can over ...

and is currently Managing Director of Antenna TV, MAK TV and Antenna Studios for the

ANT1 Group Antenna Group or ANT1 Group, is a media company in Greece and currently the largest Greek media company. It was established on 2 August 1989 by Minos Kyriakou. Today, his son, Theodore Kyriakou, heads up a media empire whose operations include b ...

, having been promoted from CMO. In this capacity, he plays a pivotal role in leading all operations of the television stations and the ANT1 Studios, overseeing the P&L's and offering strategic guidance to empower creative and commercial growth. Prior to this, he was the Executive Producer and show-runner of Red Bull's ''The Cut''. In 2018 he took on the role of COO of Acun Medya Global, focusing on the production and expansion of TV formats internationally. From 2011 to 2018 he was Head of International for Syco TV, a joint venture between

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

and

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. In this role he was responsible for the international expansion of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' and ''

Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. It has spawned spin-offs in over 60 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Frema ...

'' and other Syco TV franchises. During his tenure at Syco, ''Got Talent'' and ''The X Factor'' grew rapidly internationally. ''Got Talent'' was produced in over 70 markets and ''The X Factor'' was sold to over 56 markets globally. Over the last 20 years, Levendis has held senior management and international marketing positions at a number of record companies, including

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

, Arista Records U.K., BMG Greece,

BMG Australia Sony Music Entertainment Australia is the predominant record label operated by American parent company Sony Music Entertainment in Australia. Prior to 1995, SMEA published and distributed video games in Australia & New Zealand on behalf of Sony ...

Heaven Music Heaven Music is an independent record label in Athens, Greece, founded in 2001 by ANT1 Group. It is known for signing new and young artists. Overview During its first five years of operation under the control of George Levendis, Heaven Music was ...

, and culminating as Senior Vice President of

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

Global Marketing at the headquarters of Sony BMG in New York City. In this position, he oversaw worldwide campaigns for artists including

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multinational classical crossover vocal group. Formed in the United Kingdom in 2003, it is a male quartet that was created and then promoted by British media magnate Simon Cowell for Syco Music, a record label that he had ...

and

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

Background

George attended

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a s ...

and then pursued a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in Psychology at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

and graduated with a Master of Commerce in Marketing. He also attained a Master of Arts in Media Management from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

's Graduate School of Management. Levendis started his career in music marketing at

, and worked across all marketing and artist development divisions culminating in becoming General Manager of Marketing. Levendis left BMG Australia for Arista Records U.K., where he served as Marketing Director. He was then promoted to Managing Director of BMG Greece, and soon afterwards was moved to

in New York where he served as Vice President of International Worldwide Marketing under

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

, eventually being promoted to Senior Vice President of Marketing under Antonio "LA" Reid. While at Arista, Levendis helped capitalize on artists' global presence, overseeing the international marketing campaigns for Carlos Santana's ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'', Whitney Houston's '' My Love is Your Love'' and '' Whitney: The Greatest Hits'', TLC's ''

FanMail ''FanMail'' is the third studio album by American girl group TLC, released on February 23, 1999, by LaFace and Arista Records. The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans who sent them fan mail during their hiatus. ''FanMail'' debuted at number ...

'', and Pink's ''

Can't Take Me Home ''Can't Take Me Home'' is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Pink. It was released on April 4, 2000, through LaFace Records, two years after disbanding of the girl group Choice, where Pink served as a soloist. An R&B an ...

'' among others. Levendis was then hired as Managing Director, with the launching of the Greek independent label

, owned by

, which he helped build into one of Greece's most successful independent music companies. He returned to New York and Sony BMG's global headquarters to serve as Senior Vice President of Sony BMG Global Marketing Group, working across keys markets to develop and promote worldwide campaigns for Sony's global priority artists including, Beyonce, Bob Dylan, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Pink and Bruce Springsteen. Levendis returned to

ANT1 Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a free-to-air television network airing in Greece. The alternate spelling is wordplay in Greek; ''ena'' (ένα) is the Greek number ''1'' (one), thus ''ANT1'' is pronounced the same as ''Antenna'' (Αντένν ...

television as General Manager repostioning the broadcaster as the most conemporary staton in the region. The rebranding strategy, including a new logo, complete station makeover and a new AVOD strategy catapulted Antenna into a new era. High rating shows included ''Got Talent'', '' Next Top Model'', ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'', ''

'' and the Morning Show ''10 to 1''. Antenna also entered the sports domain broadcasting

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

, Greek A1 Basket League and the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

for three consecutive years. Over this time Levendis served as a judge on Greece's

. In 2011, he joined

as Head of International Syco TV, overseeing Syco's international business, as detailed above.

Personal life

Levendis met his wife Maria Mentis-Levendis in Australia. They have 3 children, twins, born in Manhattan, NYC and a son born in Athens. Maria was on the board of directors of the Make a Wish Foundation in Greece and played an integral part in the marketing and public relations of the charity. Make A Wish is the selected charity for Greece's high rating show ''Dancing with the Stars''. Maria continues to be an active supporter of the charity in the United Kingdom where the family resides.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levendis, George Living people ANT1 Group Australian music industry executives University of New South Wales alumni Heaven Music People educated at Sydney Boys High School Year of birth missing (living people)

Background

Personal life

See also

References