Alain Levy is an entertainment industry executive. He was born in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
, France, on 19 December 1946.
Biography
He graduated from the
Ecole des Mines with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 1970. He received his MBA from
Wharton Business School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...
of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
in 1972.
Early career
CBS 1972-1984
Levy joined
CBS Records International
CBS Records International was the international arm of the Columbia Records unit of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. ( CBS) formed in 1961 and launched in 1962. Previously, Columbia Records had licensed other record companies to manufacture an ...
in 1972, and stayed until 1984. He began his career as the chief of staff in the office of CBS Records International president
Walter Yetnikoff
Walter Yetnikoff (August 11, 1933 – August 9, 2021) was an American music industry executive who was the president of CBS Records International from 1971 to 1975 and then president and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, CBS Records from 1975 to 19 ...
, before moving to Paris as head of manufacturing and logistics. In 1976 he was appointed vice president of marketing in Europe and later also put in charge of management of CBS Italy. In 1979 he was promoted to CEO of CBS France.
PolyGram France 1984-1988
In 1984 Levy moved to
PolyGram as CEO of its French operations, and expanded the label into the largest music company in France, with market share of 35%, in just four years.
PolyGram Worldwide 1988-1998
In 1988 he moved to London to be executive vice president of PolyGram in charge of its worldwide pop marketing and music publishing activities.
In 1990, he led the firm's negotiations to buy
Island Records and
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
, which brought to PolyGram top-selling artists, as U2 and Sting. He integrated A&M and Island into the Group, using this opportunity to regroup all labels into one distribution company and also add video. In addition to his marketing role, he took over the management of PolyGram's new operations in the U.S., and then reorganized PolyGram Records (U.S.) into a new large-scale venture: PolyGram Group Distribution, Inc., which oversaw the operations of the United States divisions of PolyGram including PolyGram Music Group, PolyGram Video, PolyMedia, PolyGram Special Markets, PolyGram Merchandising, Independent Label Sales, etc. Overall, PGD, Inc. oversaw the distribution, marketing and sales of the audio and video products belonging to PolyGram in the United States. That year, PolyGram was floated on the Amsterdam and New York stock exchange at a valuation of 2B$.
In 1991, Levy was promoted to worldwide President and CEO of PolyGram N.V. overseeing all global business/entertainment operations for PolyGram including: PolyGram Music Group and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. He spent the next seven years turning the primarily European music group into a worldwide entertainment force that sold one out of every five albums and released movie hits such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Fargo.
Later career
Music Business
In 1992 Levy acquired
Motown and
Def Jam further diversifying PolyGram’s musical slate. He then spent the next few years consolidating the firm's music strategy: balanced multinational operations, investment in local content, consolidating the global marketing operations and prioritizing profit over market share.
By the mid 1990s PolyGram was the most profitable of all the music majors and the number one music company in the world.
Film Business
Beginning in 1992, after observing a gradual flattening in the music sales, Levy led the company's expansion into the international movie business with the establishment of
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a British film studio founded in 1979 which became a European competitor to Hollywood, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in ...
. PFE produced and distributed films such as ''
Four Weddings and a Funeral
''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle ...
'', ''
Trainspotting'', ''
Bean'', ''
Fargo'', and ''
Dead Man Walking''.
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment became the biggest European owned studio with sales in excess of 1B$ and distribution in 26 countries.
Phillips Board and PolyGram Exit
From 1992 to 1998 Levy also sat on the Board of Management of
Phillips, and played a key part in developing world-class software and content while being one of the industry leaders in hardware. In 1996, Phillips CEO
Jan Timmer left the company and was replaced by
Cor Boonstraa. Over the next few years the strategy of the company shifted; in 1998 Phillips left the software side to focus on hardware. PolyGram was then sold to Seagram for 11B$ and Levy left the company.
Investments in digital 1999-2001
After leaving PolyGram, Levy was senior advisor at McKinsey and made seed investments in a number of different media companies mainly in the Internet space.
EMI Music 2001-2007
From 2001 to 2007, Levy was the Chairman and CEO of
EMI Music worldwide.
For the first six months of his tenure Levy led the consolidation of
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
and
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970.
Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by the Companies House, who class it as a holding co ...
into one company with distinct content streams and branding, resulting in overheads savings of £250 million on an annual basis. He then focused on changing the strategy to the changing context of digital, shifting EMI from a content-driven to a consumer-focused company.
Over the next few years Levy invested over £100m in technology both inside the company and vis a vis the consumer. EMI was the first media company to digitize its content and to start discussions and negotiations with
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
regarding its iTunes launch, while at the same time leading the debate over digital rights management.
During this time EMI adopted consumer segmentation, market research practices and investment measuring techniques in its marketing operations. It also built a powerful global marketing operation that supported the success of primarily English speaking artists globally. While undergoing this transformation, the company kept its focus on its artists and their music, breaking to worldwide recognition major acts such as Norah Jones, Coldplay and Keith Urban.
In 2006, Levy startled an audience at
London Business School
London Business School (LBS) is a business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London. LBS was founded in 1964 and awards post-graduate degrees (Master's degrees in management and finance, MBA and PhD). Its motto is " ...
with the statement:
"The CD as it is right now is dead."
In early 2007, EMI was sold to Terra Firma and Levy left the company.
Banijay 2008-2009
In 2008 and 2009 Levy was Senior Advisor to
Banijay
Banijay (formerly Banijay Entertainment and later Banijay Group) is a French television production and distribution company which is the world's largest international content producer and distributor with over 120 production companies across 22 ...
,
"Company Overview of Banijay Entertainment SAS"
Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
. a new business enterprise acquiring independent TV production companies from around the world and links them in exchanging and adapting formats., backed by the Arnaud, Agnelli, and d’Agostini families.
Algean Group 2013
In September 2013 he was appointed Executive Chairman o
Algean Group
a group of companies that operates in travel, property and marketing strategy consulting with a focus in new media and technology. Algean Group's member companies include
Omni Apico
Seez Travel
Algean Property
Private Events by Omni Apico
Personal Data
Children:
Arnaud Levy - 28 August 1979,
Jerome Levy - 10 November 1972,
Victor Levy - 7 February 1985,
Charlotte Levy - 23 June 1997,
Cleo Levy - 1 December 1998,
Nathaniel "Fat Nat" Levy - 29 March 2004
References
External links
Weborama Home Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Alain
1946 births
Living people
CBS executives
Entertainment industry businesspeople
People from Metz
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni