Jeffrey Katzenberg Biography

Jeffrey Katzenberg currently serves as Partner of WndrCo, a well-capitalised start-up that will serve as an incubator for major new media and technology initiatives. Jeffrey has been a leader of American media for more than 40 years. As the co-founder of DreamWorks SKG, and eventually Chief Executive Officer and Director of Dreamworks Animation, the largest animation studio in the world, he earned numerous Academy Award nominations and wins for Best Picture and Animated Feature. Prior to co-founding DreamWorks, Katzenberg served as Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios and President of Paramount Studios.

Jeffrey Katzenberg is the CEO and a co-founder and director of DreamWorks Animation SKG. In 1994, along with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, he co-founded DreamWorks SKG, which produced a number of celebrated films including three Best Picture Academy Award winners - "American Beauty," "Gladiator" and "A Beautiful Mind." In 2004, DreamWorks Animation became a publicly-traded company with Katzenberg at the helm.

Under Katzenberg's leadership, DreamWorks Animation has become the largest animation studio in the world and has released 25 animated feature films, which have enjoyed both critical and commercial successes, earning nine Academy Award® nominations and two wins for Best Animated Feature. In addition to critical success, DreamWorks Animation has been recognized as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" by FORTUNE® Magazine for five consecutive years. In 2013, DreamWorks Animation ranks #12 on the list.

Prior to co-founding DreamWorks, Katzenberg served as Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. During his tenure, the studio produced such landmark animated films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast - the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar - as well as live action hits including "Good Morning, Vietnam"; "Three Men and a Baby"; "Dead Poets Society"; "Pretty Woman"; "Father of the Bride" and "Sister Act." Katzenberg previously served as president of Paramount Studios, where he was involved in now-classic films including "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Saturday Night Fever," "Grease" and Best Picture Academy Award winners "Ordinary People" and "Terms of Endearment."

In 2013, Katzenberg was awarded the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes. During the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, the jury awarded Katzenberg an honorary Palme d'Or, the festival's highest prize. Katzenberg compared the distinction to the earlier Academy recognition.

Together with his wife Marilyn, Katzenberg provides support and leads fundraising efforts on behalf of dozens of local, national and international organizations focused on healthcare, education, the arts, Jewish causes, children, civic improvement and the environment. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board for the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation and as a director of Zynga Inc., Katzenberg sits on the Boards or serves as a Trustee of the following organizations: AIDS Project Los Angeles, American Museum of the Moving Image, California Institute of the Arts, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Geffen Playhouse, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and The Simon Wiesenthal Center. He also supports the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Boston University. Together with DreamWorks Animation, Katzenberg founded the DreamWorks Animation Academy of Inner-City Arts in 2008.

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