A long-time motion picture production and marketing executive, Ricky Strauss joined Participant Media in March 2005 as President. In his post, he presides over all of Participant’s feature film production, acquisition and marketing efforts, as well as its newly-formed television division.
 
In his first year at the company, Participant’s debut slate of releases— Good Night and Good Luck, Murderball, North Country, and Syriana — received a total of 11 Academy Award® nominations and an Oscar® for George Clooney. Participant's subsequent films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson’s War, The Visitor, The Soloist and The Informant! as well as the feature documentaries Jimmy Carter Man From Plains, Darfur Now, Standard Operating Procedure, The Cove, and the highly-successful, critically acclaimed Food, Inc.

Participant's upcoming slate for 2010 includes The Crazies, Furry Vengeance, Fair Game and The Beaver, as well as the documentaries Casino Jack: The United States of Money, Cane Toads: The Conquest, and as yet untitled documentaries about the crisis in public education in the United States and nuclear weapons.
 
In 2008, Participant launched a publishing division to complement the company’s films and social action campaigns. Its first deal, with PublicAffairs Books, kicked off in May 2009 with the release of the companion book to the documentary Food, Inc, and its second deal, with Penguin and Puffin Books, will commence in Spring 2010 with the publication of Girls Gone Green.  
 
Prior to joining Participant, Ricky ran his own film and television production company, Ricochet Entertainment, where he executive produced The Sweetest Thing, starring Cameron Diaz, among other projects. In addition to producing for Ricochet, he served as a marketing consultant for Revolution Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
 
Prior to Ricochet, Ricky served as Senior Vice President of Production at Sony, where he developed and supervised film projects for the studio. From 1988 to 1997, he served as an advertising executive at Columbia Pictures, creating award winning ad campaigns for many feature films.
 
A longtime supporter of social issues and community service, Ricky served on the Board of Directors for Project Angel Food, the Los Angeles-based non-profit organization that delivers hot meals to homebound persons with AIDS and other serious illnesses. He is currently Vice Chairman of The Trevor Project, which operates the only 24 hour national suicide hotline for troubled gay youth, and is a filmmaker mentor for Project: Involved, a fellowship program sponsored by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping independent filmmakers.
 
Ricky attended the University of Vermont, graduating Phi Beta Kappa (cum laude) with a BA in English and theater.