Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra has been named the recipient of the Variety Vanguard Award, which will be presented at the Mipcom Global Content Market in Cannes in October.
The award recognizes television industry leaders who have made outstanding contributions to the global entertainment business. Vinciquerra will receive the award from Variety and MIPCOM during a keynote address at the Palais de Festivals on October 21, moderated by Variety Co-Editor in Chief Cynthia Littleton. The Vanguard Award ceremony will conclude an afternoon of C-Suite Conversations, a new initiative hosted by Variety and MIPCOM to help attendees and industry leaders navigate the content business in turbulent times.
“Tony Vinciquerra is one of the industry’s most respected chief executives. He has maintained steady command of Sony Pictures Entertainment during a time of incredible change, and his excellent business acumen has enabled one of Hollywood’s cornerstone studios to thrive during challenging times,” said Variety CEO and group publisher Michelle Sobrino Stearns. “We are honored to salute Tony with the Variety Vanguard Awards.”
Under Vinciquerra’s leadership, Sony Pictures Entertainment has delivered five consecutive years of profit growth. The studio’s film and TV businesses have undergone a major restructuring and strategic refocus since he took the helm in 2017. SPE has expanded in recent years, acquiring anime giant Crunchyroll and U.K.-based production companies including Bad Wolf and Eleventh Hour Films.
“Tony Vinciquerra is one of the most agile and influential TV executives of our time,” said Lucy Smith, Director of Mipcom Cannes and Mip London. “He differentiated Sony Pictures Television from its Hollywood competitors. His big-gamble decision to move away from streaming has given Sony the largest independent studio in the world, allowing it to invest in more IP, franchises and library, giving it the freedom to produce and sell award-winning content to any channel or platform around the world. There is much that TV executives around the world can learn from his vision, and we are excited to have him on stage at Mipcom Cannes.”
Prior to joining Sony, Vinciquerra spent six years at private equity giant TPG as a senior advisor in the technology, media and communications sector, and previously spent 10 years at Twentieth Century Fox, where he served as Chairman of Fox Networks Group, overseeing all business operations of the division and overseeing Fox & News Corporation’s investments in professional baseball, basketball and hockey teams, large-scale arenas and concert venues.
Prior to joining Fox, Mr. Vinciquerra served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hearst Argyle Television and was a long-time television station manager for Westinghouse and CBS in Boston and Philadelphia, including two years as executive vice president of CBS television stations.
The Mipcom content market and conference will take place from October 21st to 24th.