Stephen A. Unger | |
|---|---|
 c. 1986 | |
| Born | May 31, 1946 |
| Nationality | American |
Stephen A. Unger (born May 31, 1946) is an American "leading executive recruiter" [1] who served as managing partner of the media and entertainment divisions at the three largest executive search firms in the world. [2] [3] From 2004 to 2005 he wrote a regular weekly column on leadership for the Daily Variety , [4] a trade publication considered to be the "Bible of Show Business." [5]
Son of award-winning film producer, distributor and exhibitor Oliver A. Unger, Stephen Unger was born in New York City, and lived there until age 13 when he and his family, including older brother Anthony B. "Tony" Unger and three sisters, moved to Southern California, settling in Beverly Hills. Unger graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1963, from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in 1967 and attended New York University’s Graduate Institute of Film and Television.
Unger speaks six languages [6] — English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese — and has lived and worked in various countries outside the United States for over ten years.
In 1971, while living in Spain, he and his brother Anthony, along with two friends, co-founded, [7] built, owned and operated Foster's Hollywood — Spain’s first American-food/Hollywood-themed restaurants. He and his partners sold the restaurant chain in 1976. [8] As of 2009, Foster's Hollywood is the 11th largest franchise restaurant chain in Europe [9] with over 140 restaurants in Spain. [10]
Unger served as associate producer [11] on the Emmy Award-winning 1978 telefeature Verna: USO Girl , starring Sissy Spacek, William Hurt and Howard Da Silva. Subsequently, he held a number of senior corporate positions, including Vice President, International Sales and Acquisitions of Universal Pictures (NBC Universal); [12] Vice President, International Distribution of CBS Theatrical Films (CBS, Inc.); [13] and Senior Vice President, International Sales of Filmways Pictures, Inc. (later absorbed into MGM). [14]
In March 1982, Stephen Unger established Unger Int'l Distributors Inc and, in 1984, he and his brother Anthony founded The Unger Co. Based in Hollywood, the corporation was conceived as "a cross fertilization of producing, distributing and co-financing motion pictures and television product". Its most successful activities were in overseas distribution of major studio American films on behalf of such clients as Procines S.A. in Spain, Parkfilm S.A. in Switzerland, Conate S.A. in Chile and Rediffusion Swiss Cable. Some of the motion pictures acquired by Unger International Distributors on behalf of its territorial distributors included Amadeus , Cabaret , The Chosen , Intermezzo , Notorious , The Outsiders , Spellbound and They Shoot Horses, Don't They? .
At the time of the corporation's founding, Unger stated that, "As a matter of fact and pride, when my brother and I joined forces we were carrying on a family tradition started in 1934 when our late father Oliver A. Unger began his own career in the movie industry". He continued, "In an industry where we have spent our entire working careers, we have established valuable relationships on every level of production, distribution and exhibition, both nationally and internationally. In a sense, Tony and I working together is the fulfillment of a family dream". [15]
In 1988, Unger became an executive recruiter and joined Korn/Ferry International, where he served as a Partner and a Managing Director of its Worldwide Entertainment and Communications Practice. [16] He remained there until 1991 when he joined Spencer Stuart as a Partner and Managing Director of its Worldwide Entertainment and Communications Practice. [17] [18] In 1998, Unger joined Heidrick & Struggles’ Global Media and Entertainment Practice as managing partner, [19] and news of his own recruitment to the firm was reported on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. [20] In 2003, he started KSMU LLC, [21] a boutique executive search firm.
Leonard Armato, longtime Association of Volleyball Professionals Commissioner, described Unger "as one of the top people in sports and entertainment as far as searching for top executives," [22] and he has been recognized by Sporting News' 14-member panel of executives and editors [23] in their annual "100 Most Powerful" list, including #63 in 2001. [24] He has also been named #65 on CableFAX Magazine's “100 Most Influential in Cable” List. [25]
Unger led the recruitment search for Michael Wolf in his move from Booz Allen to McKinsey & Company in 2001, which "shook up the industry." [26] He has been quoted in the media regarding senior executive searches, [27] [28] succession plans, [29] [30] remuneration, [31] [32] employee retention, [33] and contract negotiations, [34] as well as market trends [35] and suggestions for terminated employees. [36] He has been invited to speak as a guest lecturer at a number of major universities, including Stanford [37] and UCLA. [12] Since its inception in 2012, Unger is a co-founding member of non-profit VoteRiders' Board of Directors [38] and serves as chairman of its governance committee.
His wife of over 40 years is Kathleen Unger, M.B.A., [25] J.D. [39] Mrs. Unger is Of Counsel at the law firm Freeman, Freeman & Smiley [40] as well as founder, chairman and president of the non-profit organization VoteRiders. [41]
Korn Ferry is a management consulting firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1969 and as of 2019, operates in 111 offices in 53 countries and employs 8,198 people worldwide. Korn Ferry operates through four business segments: Consulting, Digital, Executive Search, Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Professional Search.
Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external advice and accessing consultants' specialized expertise regarding concerns that call for additional oversight.
McKinsey & Company is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinsey, McKinsey is the oldest and largest of the "Big Three" management consultancies (MBB). The firm mainly focuses on the finances and operations of their clients.
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American government and military contractor, specializing in intelligence. It is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with 80 other offices around the globe. The company's stated core business is to provide consulting, analysis and engineering services to public and private sector organizations and nonprofits.
Rajat Kumar Gupta is an Indian-American business executive and convicted felon who, as CEO, was the first foreign-born managing director of management consultancy firm McKinsey & Company from 1994 to 2003. In 2012, he was convicted for insider trading and spent two years in prison. Gupta was a board member of corporations including Goldman Sachs, Procter & Gamble and American Airlines, as well as an advisor to non-profit organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He is the co-founder of the Indian School of Business, American India Foundation, New Silk Route and Scandent Solutions.
Peter Chernin is an American film and television producer, businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media, entertainment, and technology sectors. Specifically, the company focuses on three areas: making investments in technology and media companies in the US, developing premium content for film and television, and capitalizing on strategic business opportunities in emerging markets.
Ajit Jain is an Indian-American executive who is the Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations for Berkshire Hathaway as of January 10, 2018. Ajit Jain is an older cousin of Anshu Jain, who was the former Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank.
Legendary Entertainment is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull along with Scott Mednick and William Fay in 2000. The company has collaborated with many major studios, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Studios and Paramount Pictures, as well as streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. Since 2016, Legendary has been a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group and Apollo.
Katzenbach Partners was a small American management consulting firm. In 2009 it became a part of the global management consulting firm Booz & Company.
R. Emmet "Snags" Heidrick was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Cardinals, and St. Louis Browns between 1898 and 1908, primarily as an outfielder. He was known as a good defensive player who hit for a high batting average, but he missed a great deal of playing time due to injuries.
Oliver A. Unger was an American film producer, distributor, and exhibitor. In a 45-year career, he was also a television producer and owner of movie theaters and television stations throughout the United States.
Michael H. Jordan was an American businessman. He served as the chief executive officer of PepsiCo Worldwide Foods (1986–1990), Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1993–1998), CBS Corporation (1995–1998), and Electronic Data Systems (2003–2007).
Dominic Barton, known as Bao Damin in China, is a Ugandan-born Canadian business executive, author, and diplomat. He is the current chairman of the private investment firm LeapFrog Investments as well as the chancellor of the University of Waterloo. He served as the Canadian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 2019 to 2021. Prior to this, Barton was the Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company, the global consulting firm, from 2009 to 2018 and has previously served as Chairman of Teck Resources and as Non-Executive Director at the Singtel Group in Singapore and Investor AB in Sweden.
Heidrick & Struggles International Incorporated is an international executive search and management consulting company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The firm also has a consulting practice focused on leadership and shaping corporate culture.
David A. Unger is CEO of Artist International Group, a global talent management, branding and content production company representing clients in the fields of film, television and media advisory. Born in London, Unger has served as a talent and literary agent for over 20 years.
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Edward Randolph "Randy" Jayne II is an American retired government official, business executive, military officer, and combat pilot. During his career, he worked in the defense industry and served in the White House Office under three successive United States presidents. Prior to his business career, Jayne spent over ten years on active duty in the United States Air Force, including two tours as a fighter pilot in Southeast Asia. Jayne served in the Air National Guard and retiring after 34 years of service as a major general. From 2015 to 2017, he was chairman of the board of the US Air Force Academy Foundation, the fundraising organization for that institution. In 2019, Jayne was named an Outstanding Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, an honor bestowed as of that time on 41 alumni over the more than sixty years of the Academy's existence.
Kathleen Unger is the founder, president, and chairman of VoteRiders, a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing voter ID education and assistance to all eligible voters who are in need. Ms. magazine described her as "one of the leading experts and legal minds when it comes to election protection".
Anthony B. Unger is an American film producer whose 40-year international career includes such titles as Nicolas Roeg's 1973 thriller Don't Look Now as well 1969's Battle of Neretva, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Magic Christian and The Promise. His 1970 credits include the first color production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and the Ava Gardner vehicle Tam-Lin. In the 1980s he produced The Unseen and Chuck Norris' Silent Rage.
Unger himself speaks six languages, and has lived and worked overseas, as well as in the U.S.
Industry sources say Wolf resigned from Booz-Allen yesterday after he was aggressively pursued by McKinsey & Co. The search was led by Steve Unger of Heidrick & Struggles.
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