Eric Kuhn is an American theatrical producer and entrepreneur. A three-time Tony Award winner, he is the co-founder and co-CEO of Folk Media Group, a creative studio and private investment fund focused on production companies for live entertainment.[1]
Kuhn began his career as a media executive, launching the social media platforms for CNN, CBS News and the NBA. He also served as the first head of social media for United Talent Agency and the co-founder and chief marketing officer for Layer3 TV, a Denver-based cable television company that was acquired by T-Mobile in 2018.[2]
Early life and education
Kuhn was born in New York City and grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. At 17, he hosted a television show on WHHS, a public access television station in Westchester County. He booked and interviewed politicians.[3][4]
He attended Hamilton College and graduated with a BA in government in 2009.[5][6] While at Hamilton, Kuhn hosted a radio show that aired on WHCL focusing on media and politics.[3][7]
Career
CBS News, CNN, UTA
As a college student, Kuhn was hired by CBS News as a new media consultant.[8][9] He launched the Twitter account, @CBSNews, and oversaw the viral marketing team to promote the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric online. Kuhn also created the social media strategy for the NBA and launched the NBA's Twitter account.[10] Following his college graduation, Kuhn was hired as the first audience interaction producer for CNN, where he managed CNN's Twitter account, @CNN, and oversaw Twitter accounts for anchors and correspondents.[11][12] He also reported on technology, government and politics for CNN.com.[13]
In 2010, Kuhn was hired by United Talent Agency as the agency's first head of social media. He represented technology companies as well as UTA clients, advising on digital practices including branding, marketing, and online endorsements.[14][15]
Layer 3 TV, Bloomberg campaign, CBS
In 2014, Kuhn joined Denver-based Layer3 TV, a cable company that integrated social media and OTT programming, as co-founder and chief marketing officer.[16] The company was sold to T-Mobile in January 2018.[2]
In 2020, he was recruited by the Bloomberg campaign as a senior adviser on social media and influencers.[17] He was named senior vice president of social media marketing at CBS in June 2020.[18]
Theater and film
In 2018 he decided to shift his focus to theater, and partnering with a friend, lawyer Justin Mikita, he earned his first theater credit as a co-producer of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song on Broadway.[19] Mikita and Kuhn later partnered with Randi Zuckerberg to establish the production company ZKM Media and went on to co-produce the revival of Oklahoma!, The Inheritance, Dana H, Is This A Room, Shucked and the American and Australian tours of Magic Mike Live.[20]
Kuhn won his first Tony as a producer of Oklahoma! in 2019.[21] He won his second for The Inheritance in 2021, and his third for the musical A Strange Loop in 2022.[2][22] In 2023 he partnered with actor Nik Dodani to co-produce Life of Pi on Broadway.[23] Kuhn also produced This Beautiful Future off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre and co-produced The Unfriend and The Accidental Death of an Anarchist on the West End.[24][25] In September of the same year, Kuhn co-founded Folk Media Group with Tre' Scott, a former Microsoft executive and Tony Award-winning producer.[1]
Kuhn is an executive producer of Grand Theft Hamlet, [26]a documentary about a UK production of Hamle t staged in the video game Grand Theft Auto Online during the pandemic. In 2024, the film won the Jury Award for best documentary feature at SXSW Film Awards and The Raindance Maverick Award and Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards. The film opened in theaters in the US in January 2025. [27]
Boards and affiliations
Kuhn is the executive producer of New York Stage and Film. He is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater board of directors[28] and the board of directors for SeriesFest.[29] He was a founding board member of NPR's Generation Listen,[30] and an Earthjustice council member.[31]
↑ Pomerantz, Dorothy (March 2011). "30 Under 30". Forbes. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
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