Edgar Bronfman Jr.

Edgar Miles Bronfman Jr. (born May 16, 1955) is an American businessman, filmmaker, theater producer, and media executive who currently serves as a managing partner at Accretive LLC, a private equity firm focused on creating and investing in technology companies.

Born in 1955, Edgar Jr. ("Efer" to friends) is the son of Edgar Miles Bronfman and the grandson of Samuel Bronfman, patriarch of one of the wealthiest and most influential Jewish families in Canada.

The Bronfman family gained its fortunes through the Seagram Company, an alcohol distilling company.

Edgar Jr. is the second of five children of Ann (Loeb) and Edgar Miles Bronfman.

His mother was the daughter of John Langeloth Loeb Sr.. (a Wall Street investment banker whose company was a predecessor of Shearson Lehman/American Express) and Frances Lehman (a scion of the Lehman Brothers banking firm).

Bronfman proceeded to a brief career in entertainment in the 1970s as a film and Broadway producer.

The summer before his final year of high school, in 1972, he was a credited producer on the film, The Blockhouse.

He briefly had a production company, with Steve Sheppard, called Sagittarius.

They divorced in 1973.

His Efer Productions company was signed by Universal Studios in 1977 to a three-year movie production contract.

In 1981, Edgar Bronfman Sr.. had sold Seagram's stake in Conoco to DuPont, in exchange for almost 25% of the chemical giant.

He produced the unsuccessful film The Border (1982), which starred Jack Nicholson.

In 1982, Bronfman returned to the Seagram Company, before moving to London to become managing director of Seagram Europe.

In 1984, Bronfman returned to New York as President of the House of Seagram, the company's U.S. marketing division.

By 1994, he became the Chief Executive Officer, where he began a move away from the traditional liquor business and into entertainment.

According to Cigar Aficionado, Edgar Jr. led the family on a series of disastrous business deals, ultimately losing the family's ownership of Seagram.

The first step in this diversification was the widely criticised sale of Seagram's stake in DuPont.

This stake in DuPont, by 1995, represented about 70% of Seagram's total earnings.

Nevertheless, Bronfman Jr., acting as Seagram CEO, approached DuPont about buying back its shares, a deal that DuPont wasted no time in closing.

With the proceeds of the $9 billion sale, Bronfman Jr. went on an expansion into the entertainment business, in music through the acquisition of PolyGram, and in film entertainment through MCA and Universal Pictures.

However, the new entertainment conglomerate he created had a brief life, before needing a strategic partner.

Bronfman Jr., then led Seagram into a controversial all-stock acquisition by French conglomerate Vivendi in 2000.

Bronfman Jr., became chief of the new company, Vivendi Universal, but the Seagram company effectively lost control of its entertainment businesses.

Meanwhile, the beverage division—the core of Seagram was acquired by Pernod Ricard and Diageo and divided between the two firms.

Seagram, for all intents and purposes, ceased to exist.

In December 2001, Bronfman announced he was stepping down from an executive capacity at Vivendi Universal, but remaining as vice chair of the board.

In 2002, Bronfman joined private investment firm Accretive LLC as General Partner.

The firm focuses on conducting deep market research and hand-selecting firms to back.

Among its past projects are Accretive Health and Fandango (ticket service).

Companies it currently backs include human resources firm AlphaStaff and small-business insurance company Insureon.

He previously served as CEO of Warner Music Group from 2004 to 2011 and as Chairman of Warner Music Group from 2011 to 2012.

On February 27, 2004, Bronfman finalised the acquisition of Warner Music Group and served as Chairman and CEO of the music company for the following 7 years.

Bronfman helped to transform WMG by rapidly growing the company's digital music sales, redefining the relationships it has with artists and diversifying its revenue streams through its expansion into growing areas of the music business.

WMG held an initial public offering of stock in 2005 (NYSE: WMG), and is now the only standalone major music company to be publicly traded.

While the stock has fallen from a high in 2005 of over $30 per share, the company has nonetheless produced double-digit growth in its digital business, increased its market share and delivered stable revenue performance despite a drastic music industry decline during the same period.

In May 2011, the sale of WMG was announced; Bronfman would continue as CEO in the transaction.

In August 2011, he became Chairman of the company as Stephen Cooper became CEO.

Bronfman previously served as CEO of Seagram and vice-chairman of Vivendi Universal.

Bronfman Jr. expanded and later divested ownership of the Seagram Company, and also worked as a Broadway and film producer, and songwriter under the pseudonyms Junior Miles and Sam Roman.

He also serves as the current chairman of FuboTV.