Jim Gianopulos


James N. Gianopulos is a Greek-American businessman. He serves as the chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures.

Early life

James N. Gianopulos was born in 1952 in Brooklyn, New York City. He is a second-generation Greek American. He graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973, received a Juris Doctor from the Fordham University School of Law in 1976, and a LLM program from the New York University School of Law.

Career

He started his career by working at Paramount and Lorimar. He then worked in the International Distribution department of Fox Filmed Entertainment.
He was co-chair of Fox Filmed Entertainment with Tom Rothman from 2000 to 2012. In 2006, the Gianopulos and Rothman team had greenlit twenty movies that produced over $100 million domestically and 26 movies that fetched $100 million internationally..
He took over as the sole chairman of Fox beginning in 2012. In this position, he served as the head of 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Fox 2000, Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios, Fox International Productions and Fox Home Entertainment. He has argued for a closer relationship between Hollywood and Silicon Valley, especially with regards to anti-piracy efforts.
He serves on the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture & Television Fund. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the X Prize Foundation as well as the Board of the University of Southern California Entertainment Technology Committee.
In 2013, he joined USC's School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors.
In March 2017, he was named Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, after the dismissal of the late Brad Grey. Gianopulos began his duties on April 3, 2017.
It was announced that CBS and Viacom would recombine as ViacomCBS in December 2019. Jim Gianopulos was confirmed to continue on as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures under the merged ViacomCBS.

Personal life

He is married to Ann Gianopulos. They have three daughters named Alexa, Niki, and Mimi.