Eric Kuhn
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Eric Kuhn is an American theatrical producer and entrepreneur. A three-time Tony Award winner, Kuhn began his career as a media executive, launching the social media platforms for CNN, CBS News and the NBA. He also served as the first head of social media for
United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. U ...
and the co-founder and chief marketing officer for Layer3 TV, a Denver-based cable television company that was acquired by T-Mobile in 2018.


Early life and education

Kuhn was born in New York City and grew up in
Hastings-on-Hudson Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of midtown Manh ...
, New York. At 17, he hosted a television show on WHHS, a public access television station in
Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
. He booked and interviewed politicians. He attended
Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...
and graduated with a BA in government in 2009. While at Hamilton, Kuhn hosted a radio show that aired on WHCL focusing on media and politics.


Career


CBS News, CNN, UTA

As a college student, Kuhn was hired by '' CBS News'' as a new media consultant. He launched the
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account, @CBSNews, and oversaw the viral marketing team to promote the '' CBS Evening News with Katie Couric'' online. Kuhn also created the social media strategy for the NBA and launched the NBA's Twitter account. Following his college graduation, Kuhn was hired as the first audience interaction producer for CNN, where he managed CNN's Twitter account, @CNN, and oversaw Twitter accounts for anchors and correspondents. He also reported on technology, government and politics for CNN.com. In 2010, Kuhn was hired by
United Talent Agency United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. U ...
as the agency's first head of social media. He represented technology companies as well as UTA clients, advising on digital practices including branding, marketing, and online endorsements.


Layer 3 TV, Bloomberg campaign, CBS

In 2014, Kuhn joined Denver-based Layer3 TV, a cable company that integrated social media and OTT programming, as co-founder and chief marketing officer. The company was sold to T-Mobile in January 2018. In 2020, he was recruited by the Bloomberg campaign as a senior adviser on social media and influencers. He was named senior vice president of social media marketing at CBS in June 2020.


Theatrical career

In 2018 he decided to shift his focus to theater, and partnering with a friend, lawyer Justin Mikita, he earned his first theater credit as a co-producer of ''Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song'' on Broadway. Mikita and Kuhn later partnered with
Randi Zuckerberg Randi Jayne Zuckerberg (born February 28, 1982) is an American businesswoman. She is the former director of market development and spokesperson for Facebook, and a sister of the company's co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Prior to working at ...
to establish the production company ZKM Media and went on to co-produce the revival of ''
Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...
'', '' The Inheritance,
Dana H Dana may refer to: People Given name * Dana (given name) Surname * Dana (surname) * Dana family of Cambridge, Massachusetts ** James Dwight Dana (1813–1895), scientist, zoological author abbreviation Dana Nickname or stage name * Dan ...
, Is This A Room'', '' Shucked'' and the American and Australian tours of ''
Magic Mike ''Magic Mike'' is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey. The plot revolves around Adam, a 19-year-old who enters the wor ...
Live.'' Kuhn won his first Tony as a producer of ''Oklahoma!'' in 2019. He won his second for '' The Inheritance'' in 2021, and his third for the musical ''
A Strange Loop ''A Strange Loop'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. First produced off-Broadway in 2019, then staged in Washington, D.C. in 2021, ''A Strange Loop'' premiered on Bro ...
'' in 2022. In 2023 he partnered with actor
Nik Dodani Nik Dodani (born December 19, 1993) is an American actor, writer, and comedian known for his roles as Zahid in the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Atypical'', and Pat Patel in the revival of the popular CBS sitcom '' Murphy Brown''. He also star ...
to co-produce ''
Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, India who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. He ...
'' on Broadway. Kuhn also produced ''This Beautiful Future'' off-Broadway at the
Cherry Lane Theatre The Cherry Lane Theatre is the oldest continuously running off-Broadway theater in New York City. The theater is located at 38 Commerce Street between Barrow and Bedford Streets in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, ...
and co-produced ''The Unfriend'' and ''The Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' on the West End.


Boards, affiliations, and additional endeavors

Kuhn is the executive producer of New York Stage and Film. He is a member of the
Lincoln Center Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...
board of directors and the board of directors for SeriesFest. He was a founding board member of NPR's Generation Listen, and an
Earthjustice Earthjustice (originally Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) is a nonprofit public interest organization based in the United States dedicated to litigating environmental issues. Headquartered in San Francisco, it has 14 regional offices across the Un ...
council member. Kuhn hosts "Bytes and Bylines," an annual technology and media event produced in conjunction with the
White House Correspondents Dinner The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
. He manages chess Grandmaster
Fabiano Caruana Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, Caruana became a grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 20 days—the youngest grandmaster in the history of both Italy and the United Sta ...
.


Recognition

*
Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the ...
, ''A Strange Loop'', as producer, 2022 *
Tony Award for Best Play The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non-musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first yea ...
, ''The Inheritance'', as producer, 2021 *
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical has been awarded since 1994. Before that time, both plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival. The award is given to the best musical play which has already appeared ...
, ''Oklahoma!'', as producer, 2019 *The ''Wired'' 100 (2016) *''The Hollywood Reporter'' Next Generation Execs 2016: Hollywood Up and Comers Under 35 *''Cablefax'' Overachievers Under 30 (2015 and 2016) *Los Angeles Global Shapers (World Economic Forum) * ''Vanity Fair'' “Next Establishment” (2011) *''Forbes'' “30 under 30” in Entertainment (2012)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuhn, Eric Hamilton College (New York) alumni American business executives 1987 births Living people