Sanford R. (Sandy) Climan is President of Entertainment Media Ventures, Inc. Founded in 1999 by Mr. Climan, EMV is active in media investment and strategic advisory work, with a particular focus on disruptive technologies and entities currently impacting the traditional boundaries of business, media, and entertainment. He is an investor, producer, and considered a media visionary.
Throughout his career, Mr. Climan has held senior management positions in the media and entertainment industry. Mr. Climan served as Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Worldwide Business Development of Universal Studios, where Mr. Climan oversaw corporate international strategy, strategic marketing, and five studio operating divisions.
Mr. Climan was the founding head of the corporate practice at Creative Artists Agency, working with global companies including Sony Corporation on its acquisition of Columbia Pictures, Matsushita Electric on its acquisition of MCA/Universal, Credit Lyonnais on its restructuring of MGM, Coca-Cola, NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, Pacific Telesis and other Fortune 500 companies. While at CAA, Mr. Climan was part of the senior management team for 12 years, representing talent including Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, Danny DeVito, and Michael Mann, as well as many prominent film and television production companies.
Mr. Climan served as the first CEO of 3ality Digital, a pioneering company in the development and commercialization of technologies which enable perfect 3D image capture, broadcast and software, and led the company to be recognized as a global leader in 3D technology.
Mr. Climan started his entertainment career at MGM, holding executive positions in motion picture production and the distribution of films and television.
Notable achievements include: Executive Producer of the first digital live-action 3D feature film, “U2 3D,” and Producer of “The Aviator,” directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, for which Mr. Climan was awarded a British Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Mr. Climan received an Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2018.
In addition, Mr. Climan has been an active investor in, and advisor to, venture capital firms and early-stage companies in media, technology, and healthcare.
Mr. Climan serves on several charitable boards, including The American Cinematheque, the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, and the UCLA Longevity Center of the Semel Institute for Neurosciences and Human Behavior. From 2000-2012, Mr. Climan served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For over twenty years, Mr. Climan served on the board of The Fulfillment Fund, the leading organization for mentoring at-risk public high school students in Los Angeles. Mr. Climan serves as an advisor on entertainment and media to the World Economic Forum and its Annual Gathering in Davos, Switzerland, as a member of the Reuters Editorial Advisory Board, the philanthropic Advisory Board of Lifestyles Magazine, the Ellis Island Medals of Honor Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Board of the Yale CEO Leadership Institute of the Yale School of Management.
Mr. Climan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School, a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College.