James Berk Named CEO of Participant Productions

James Berk Named CEO of Participant Productions
 

LOS ANGELES, CA, September 7, 2006--Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman of Participant Productions, announced today that James Berk has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer, a reflection of Participant’s growth and success since its foundation in January, 2004.

Berk’s appointment is the result of a long and rigorous search for the right person to assume CEO responsibilities previously held by Skoll, who initiated and oversaw an extensive recruitment process along with Participant’s Board of Directors and President, Ricky Strauss.

Berk will be responsible for day-to-day executive leadership and management of the company, including overall strategy, as well as for the operation of Participant and its related divisions. He will also be responsible for extending the company’s reach beyond the core theatrical business into other forms of media and extending the organization’s vision and brand identity into the marketplace.

“We are extremely pleased that Jim has agreed to join us at Participant,” said Skoll. “Given our commitment to build a global media company focused on the public benefit, we unanimously found that Jim encompasses the qualities we were looking for in a leader -- an entrepreneurial, accomplished business executive with broad entertainment, brand and media experience who not only understands and exemplifies our mission but recognizes that leading our company can be a unique opportunity to change the world.”

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Jeff Skoll and the talented team at Participant, a company which has the capacity to entertain, enlighten and empower change,” said Berk. “Jeff’s vision of harnessing the power of media to create positive social change and long term commitment to this goal is enormously compelling for me.” Berk, 46, has a rich and varied background in business, entertainment, and public service. As President and CEO of Hard Rock Café International, he was responsible for worldwide operations in 29 countries of both the core restaurant and retail chain. Berk led the company’s expansion into live concerts through the creation of Hard Rock Productions, broadcast television series Hard Rock Live on VH1, the launch of Hard Rock Records, and the growth of Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos. Berk also led the Save the Planet Foundation, Hard Rock’s humanitarian arm, which sponsored thousands of hours of volunteerism by employees and millions of dollars in donations.

As founding Executive Director of the NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) Foundation, he led the creation of Grammy Records, Grammy Showcase, Grammy National Concert Series for Children and specialized professional development programs for Academy members including Grammy Professional Forum Series. Berk also created specialized marketing programs including the American Express Grammy Gold Card Festival and led the development of such television specials as the RockWalk Hall of Fame induction of Carlos Santana.

Most recently, Berk was Chairman and CEO of Gryphon Colleges Corporation, a private equity company operating for-profit post secondary education schools, and as President and CEO of Fairfield Communities, Inc, a NYSE public company which was the largest independent vacation ownership company in the world.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Berk started out as a high school music teacher in South Los Angeles and went on to found the Academy of Music, which grew to be the largest public school magnet in the west. In 1990, he became the youngest Principal in the history of the Los Angeles Unified School District when he assumed the helm of Hamilton High School. At Hamilton, Berk led the streamlining of archaic operating systems and initiated an aggressive approach to government funding, private grants and corporate sponsorships resulting in significant improvements in student achievement. He currently serves as co-chairman of the Hamilton Academy of Music Advisory Board.

About Participant Productions--Participant Productions is a Los Angeles-based company that focuses on compelling entertainment that highlights important social issues in order to awaken, inspire and empower audiences to make a difference in the world around them. Most recently, Participant produced the critically acclaimed documentary An Inconvenient Truth, currently in release from Paramount Classics. In 2005, the company’s first full year in business, Participant Productions was honored with a remarkable eleven Academy Award nominations (for the dramas Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, and North Country, and the feature documentary, Murderball).

Coming this fall from Participant is Fast Food Nation, to be released in November by Fox Searchlight; directed by Richard Linklater, Fast Food Nation is a dramatic feature based on material from the incendiary novel Fast Food Nation, a no-holds-barred exploration of the fast food industry that ultimately revealed the dark side of the “All American Meal.” In addition, Participant’s documentary The World According to Sesame Street, directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton and Linda Hawkins Costigan, will premiere in October on PBS as part of their Independent Lens Series and be released on DVD by Sony BMG; produced in cooperation with Sesame Street Workshop, the film explores the drama and complexities behind producing international versions of the world’s most-watched children’s television program.

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