Jeffrey Scott Edell is an American entrepreneur in the entertainment, media, and tech industries. He currently serves as the CEO and Chairman of MeWe, a global social media and social networking service that utilizes Web3. Jeffrey Edell is best known for his role as a top executive at numerous entertainment and technology organizations such as: CEO and president of Soundelux Entertainment Group, Chairman of Intermix Media (former parent company of

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

) and eLabor.com (formerly jeTECH Data Systems) CEO of Inferno Pictures, CFO of Cinedigm, president and COO of DIC Entertainment, as well as former president and CFO of WTG Entertainment Enterprises. Edell is also co-founder and Chairman of IndieU and Ohana Chem Co. LLC along with his daughter Natalie Edell. In early 2021, Edell was named CEO of MeWe.

Education

Edell attended

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

to pursue a Pre-Medicine path and later transferred to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

's McIntire School of Commerce, where he graduated with a B.S. in Commerce with an emphasis in Accounting and Taxation. He served as Associate Professor at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

and was Entrepreneur in Residence for the Motion Pictures Arts College from 2014 to 2016. During his time at KPMG, Edell obtained his

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

certification.

Career

As CEO of MeWe, Edell orchestrated a $27 million Series A round led by private company McCourt Global, which contributed $15 million. Previous investors contributed another $12 million—the round values MeWe at approximately $200 million. From 1995 to 2001, he served as a production executive for films such as ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...

'', '' Face/Off'', '' The Mask of Zorro'', '' Gladiator'', '' Almost Famous'', and ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

''. Starting in 2009, Edell's companies have produced films such as '' The Kids Are All Right'', '' Just Friends'', '' Killer Elite'', '' Hachi: A Dog's Tale'', and '' The Grey''. While Edell was the chief executive officer of Soundelux, Soundelux performed work for films such as '' Gladiator'' and ''

'', among other films, which won multiple

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

and

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

. Edell was a producer and actor on the 2013 Lifetime movie ''Taken for Ransom'' (originally named ''Life Saver'') with his wife Elaine Hastings Edell, a producer for various other films, and an actor in '' National Lampoon's Movie Madness'' (formerly ''National Lampoon's Goes to the Movies''). In 2019, Edell was a producer of the thriller film ''Deadly Excursion (Paradise Prey)''. He also serves as co-executive producer of the 2020 animated series, '' The Freak Brothers'', based on the comic book series of '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers''. The series was renewed for Season 2 to be released in December 2022. In May 2020, it was announced that the main characters in the series will be voiced by A-list celebrities including Woody Harrelson,

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He rose to prominence in television before becoming an acclaimed and popular film actor. Goodman has received List of awards and nominations received by John Goodman, various acc ...

, Tiffany Haddish, and

Pete Davidson Peter Michael Davidson (born November 16, 1993) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He began his career in the early 2010s with minor guest roles on ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', ''Friends of the People'', ''Guy Code'', and ''Wild 'n O ...

. In 2021, Tubi announced that '' The Freak Brothers'' was the most-watched program on the platform. Edell is also known for overseeing and managing the development of brands such as

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

and

Strawberry Shortcake Strawberry shortcake may refer to: * Strawberry shortcake (dessert), a shortcake served with strawberries * Strawberry Shortcake, a cartoon character and franchise created by American Greetings ** Strawberry Shortcake (TV series), ''Strawberry Sho ...

during his tenure at DIC Entertainment, as well as partnering with

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and POW! Entertainment on a game titled ''Stan Lee's Superhero Ball Wars''. Edell was interviewed by journalist Julia Angwin in her 2009 book ''Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America'' because of his role as Chairman of Intermix Media. Edell was also interviewed in 2022 by David Ryan Polgar on the ''All Tech Is Human'' podcast, which promotes the Responsible Tech field. Edell was featured in ''Start It, Sell It & Make a Mint: 20 Wealth-Creating Secrets for Business Owners'' by Joe John Duran. He also won the Master Award in Comic Collecting from the Certified Guaranty Company's Collectors Society, and served as goalie for the US Maccabi World Team at the Olympics in 2004. Edell is also Advisor, Chairman, and Co-Founder of Ohana Chem Co, LLC, a hemp extraction solvent supplier specializing in ethanol, hydrocarbons, and logistics. Edell's tenure at Soundelux garnered him recognition as

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

and Ernst and Young's ‘Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year' in 2000 and admission to both the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

, and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He is also a member of the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing the interests Television producer, television producers, Film producer, film producers and emerging media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership inclu ...

and the Young Presidents Organization, and a contributing member of the

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s Culture Council.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edell, Jeffrey Scott Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American chief executives in the mass media industry University of Virginia alumni Lehigh University alumni