Kenard Eugene Gibbs | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 1, 1964 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Williams College, Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management |
| Occupation | Chief Executive Officer of Soul Train Holdings, co-founder of MadVision Entertainment |
Kenard Eugene Gibbs (born August 1, 1964) is the chief x executive officer of Soul Train Holdings [1] and co-founder of MadVision Entertainment. [2]
Gibbs attended Saint Ignatius College Prep high school, before moving on to Williams College. There, he deepened his understanding of businesses through internships and connections with business leaders. While working at Leo Burnett Worldwide Advertising Agency, he earned a master's degree from the Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management, focusing in marketing and finance.
Gibbs is an executive producer [3] of African-American focused media, including award shows and documentaries. His early career focused on business development at companies including as Northern Trust Bank and Leo Burnett. He later served as president of Vibe magazine from 1999 to 2006. [4] After this post he served as Group Publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines, and also served as President of Ebony/Jet Entertainment Group, [5] [6] which further integrated the stories of two brands into television and on the web.
Gibbs is currently involved with Soul Train Holdings where he has developed a number of license deals that have extended the brand into home DVD, cruise feature film, and lottery game-based extensions. [7] He continues to expand his reach within the African American community through developing new entertainment, refreshing existing programs, and discovering new talent.
In addition, he has emphasized his role as an executive producer. He has helped create several new awards shows, including the Vibe Awards, in conjunction with the UPN network. His work also extends to documentaries, including the 2011 Emmy-nominated Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America [8] and Ebony Fashion Fair: 50 Years of Style.
Gibbs lives in New York with his family. He often participates on numerous panels, and as a guest lecturer on issues related to creation of urban based content and the changing new media landscape.[ citation needed ]
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer and actress. She was certified as the most awarded female artist of all time by Guinness World Records and is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston released seven studio albums and two soundtrack albums, all of which have been certified diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She is regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. Her crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV influenced several African-American female artists.
Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. is an American actor. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in Boyz n the Hood (1991), he appeared in A Few Good Men (1992), The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), Outbreak (1995), and Jerry Maguire (1996), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and What Dreams May Come (1998). He gained later attention for his roles in Men of Honor (2000) as Carl Brashear, and in Michael Bay's World War II epic Pearl Harbor (2001) as Doris Miller. His other notable films include As Good as It Gets (1997), the ensemble farce Rat Race (2001), Radio (2003), American Gangster (2007), Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), and Selma (2014), playing civil rights attorney Fred Gray. In 2016, he portrayed O.J. Simpson in the FX drama series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and co-starred in the sixth season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, subtitled Roanoke. He also provided the voice of Buck in the animated feature film Home on the Range (2004).
Jodeci is an American R&B quartet with members DeVanté Swing, Mr. Dalvin, K-Ci, and JoJo. Formed in 1989 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jodeci's members began their musical careers as two duos of brothers and, after years of limited success, joined forces. After signing with Uptown Records in 1991, the group began to work on their debut album, Forever My Lady, which brought them mainstream success with the Billboard Hot 100 single "Come and Talk to Me" and the album's titular track.
Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian, talk show host, writer and producer. He is best known for hosting The Arsenio Hall Show, a late-night talk show that ran from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014.
Faith Renée Jordan is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B. Sure! and Christopher Williams, she became the first female artist to contract with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment recording company in 1994. On the label, she featured on records with several label mates such as 112 and Carl Thomas, and released three platinum-certified studio albums between 1995 and 2001: Faith (1995), Keep the Faith (1998) and Faithfully (2001).
Ebony is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, and politics.
Soul Train is an American music-dance television program which aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 27, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, dance/pop, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists also appeared. The series was created by Don Cornelius, who also served as its first host and executive producer.
Donald Cortez Cornelius was an American television show host and producer who was best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance and music show Soul Train, which he hosted from 1971 until 1993. Cornelius sold the show to MadVision Entertainment in 2008.
The Hollywood Reporter (THR) is an American digital and print magazine, and website, which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large-format print magazine with a revamped website.
Vibe is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in the summer of 2009, it was purchased by the private equity investment fund InterMedia Partners, then issued bi-monthly with double covers and a larger online presence. The magazine's target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip hop culture. In 2014, it discontinued its print version.
John Harold Johnson was an American businessman and publisher. Johnson was the founder of the Johnson Publishing Company which is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Johnson's Ebony (1945) and Jet (1951–2014) magazines are among the most influential African-American businesses in media beginning in the second half of the twentieth century. In 1982, Johnson became the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400. In 1987, Johnson was named Black Enterprise Entrepreneur of the year.
Jet is an American weekly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African–American community. Founded in November 1951 by John H. Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, The magazine was initially billed as "The Weekly Negro News Magazine". Jet chronicled the Civil Rights Movement from its earliest years, including the murder of Emmett Till, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the activities of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (JPC) was an American publishing company founded in November 1942 by African-American businessman John H. Johnson. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. JPC was privately held and run by Johnson until his death in 2005. Led by its flagship publication, Ebony, Johnson Publishing was at one time the largest African-American-owned publishing firm in the United States. JPC also published Jet, a weekly magazine, from November 1951 until June 2014, when it became digital only. The company's last chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) was the founder's daughter, Linda Johnson-Rice. In its final years, Johnson Publishing Company sold off assets including its historic 820 S. Michigan Avenue headquarters in 2011, and its publications in 2016. In April 2019, JPC filed for liquidation, ending the company's 76-year run. The historic Ebony/Jet photo archives, which JPC retained after the sale of its Ebony and Jet magazines, were sold in July 2019 for $30 million to a group of art and educational foundations to make them available to the public.
Sylvia Rhone is an American music industry executive. She is the Chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Rhone is regarded as the most influential female executive in the history of the music business. Named Chairman and CEO of Epic Records in 2019, a division of Sony Entertainment, Ms. Rhone has helmed senior positions at all three major record companies, and was the first woman to be named CEO of a major record label owned by a Fortune 500 company, and the first African American woman in history to attain such a title.
Lerone Bennett Jr. was an African-American scholar, author and social historian, known for his analysis of race relations in the United States. His best-known works include Before the Mayflower (1962) and Forced into Glory (2000), a book about U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
Tamia is the self-titled debut studio album by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was released on April 14, 1998 on Quincy Jones's Qwest Records, while distribution was handled through Warner Bros. Recorded after the release of her Grammy Award-nominated collaborations with Jones and the single "Missing You", her contribution to the soundtrack of the 1996 motion picture Set It Off, Tamia worked with a plethora of producers on her debut, including Jermaine Dupri, Tim & Bob, Mario Winans, J-Dub, Keith Crouch, and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, many of which would become frequent producers on subsequent projects.
Lauren Lazin is an American filmmaker whose documentaries have been nominated for the Emmys multiple times. She produced the 2005 Oscar-nominated documentary film Tupac: Resurrection.
SpinMedia was an American digital publisher which owned a number of pop culture websites, including Spin, Stereogum, Vibe, and The Frisky.
Prometheus Global Media was a New York City-based B2B media company. The company was formed in December 2009, when Nielsen Company sold its entertainment and media division to a private equity-backed group led by Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners. Guggenheim acquired Pluribus's stake in the company in January 2013, giving it full ownership under the division of Guggenheim Digital Media.
Shante Scott Franklin, better known by his stage name Currensy is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, and record executive. He was one of the original members of Young Money Entertainment, a label founded by Lil Wayne. In 2011, Franklin founded the label Jet Life Recordings.
