Gary Gannaway

Gary Gannaway
Born Albert C. Gannaway III
(1954-07-31) July 31, 1954
Los Angeles, CA, U.S.
Occupation Chairman & CEO,
Gannaway Entertainment
Spouse(s) Wendy Gannaway
Children Samantha Gannaway, Alexis Gannaway

Gary Gannaway (born July 31, 1954) is an American businessman, investor, philanthropist and Chairman of Gannaway Entertainment Inc. Through his venture capital firm Gannaway Group,[1] he has invested in various companies with interests that span cinema, television, advertising and online technology. He founded Gannaway Web Holdings d/b/a Worldnow and is the current CEO and Chairman.

Gannaway previously founded Genesis Entertainment, the largest privately held television syndication company.[2] Genesis Entertainment, latter known as New World Communication, is the only company to successfully launch one hundred percent of its pilots- such as National Geographic, The Whoopi Goldberg Show and Highway to Heaven- into series.[3][4][5] He later sold Genesis Entertainment to Ron Perelman MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.[6]

Gannaway has received the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Merrill Lynch, Ernst & Young and INC Magazine.[7][8] He currently sits on the board of the Department of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital where he has funded and co-pioneered treatment for head traumas that is now a standard in neurocritical care.

Early life

Gannaway was born in Santa Monica, California and grew up in Beverly Hills.[9] Gannaway's mother, Dana Gannaway, is a former Vogue model,[10] and his father, Albert C. Gannaway, was a TV producer, a restaurateur, a pioneering program syndicator, and a songwriter for Nat King Cole, Bob Hope, Frankie Lane, and many others.[11] Albert C. Gannaway is best known for creating the first television series to use 35mm color film.[12] The series, The Stars of the Grand Ole Opry, featured many legendary country music stars including Chet Atkins, Marty Robbins, Minnie Pearl.

Gannaway attended Castle Heights Military Academy in Tennessee followed by three years of service in the Marine Corps.[9][13] In 1974, Gannaway was one of 32 men in the Marines Elite Force Recon.[9]

Career

Early career

After the Marines, Gannaway attended University of Miami for less than a year.[9][10] Gannaway briefly worked for an Atlanta TV station, before joining Metromedia Producers Corporation in 1978.[10] During his two years at Metromedia, Gannaway became the number one sales man and sold shows such as The Merv Griffin Show.[10] In June 1980, Gannaway left Metromedia for his father's new venture.

Gannaway returned to selling syndications of his father’s show, Country Classics, and later he began selling old Time-Life shows as well including G.I. Diary and Wild, Wild World of Animals. Within two years he made over $5 million in sales.[9] Three years later, Gannaway founded Genesis Entertainment.[14]

Genesis Entertainment

Gannaway founded Genesis Entertainment in 1983.[6][14] From its founding year to its sale to Ron Perelman in 1994, Genesis successfully launched 17 TV pilots into series and sold the syndication rights for shows including The Whoopi Goldberg Show, The Best of the National Geographic, Highway to Heaven, The Judge, Biker Mice from Mars, Paradise Beach, and Real Stories of the Highway Patrol.[15][16] Genesis became the first company to launch 100 percent of its pilots in an industry where, at the time, only 3 percent of TV pilots made it to series.[4] With Classic Country in 1983, Genesis was the first syndication company to provide co-op dollars to stations, which were then used to help promote the show.[13] Genesis is believed to be one of the first syndication companies to service the ad sales department of participating stations, helping the stations make their local ad sales, research the local market, and develop sales programs to attract upscale advertisers.[4]

Gannaway introduced the marketing concept of bartering off-network series in the late afternoon/early evening timeslot with Highway to Heaven in 1989.[17] Instead of paying Genesis in cash, stations would get seven minutes of local advertising per episode and give Genesis five.[9] A number of major series, including Columbia Pictures TV hit sitcom Designing Women and Warner Bros. Family Matters have been marketed on a barter basis.[17] Gannaway's marketing efforts and contributions helped Genesis become one of the largest suppliers of national syndication ad units in the early 1990s. During the 1992-93 TV season, Genesis sold 9,412 30-second spots to national advertisers.[4] In 1994, Gannaway sold Genesis to Ron Perelman MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings.[18] Using capital from the sale, Gannaway founded Worldnow in 1998.[15]

WorldNow

In 1998, Gannaway founded WorldNow, investing $32 million of his own money.[15] Worldnow provides TV broadcasters, newspapers, and other media companies with the digital tools and national advertising representation needed to launch websites that support videos and complement the companies' traditional services.[15] WorldNow is used by over 450 TV stations, including those owned by Fox, CBS, Meredith Corporation, and Raycom.[15] WorldNow's network of client sites reaches 91 percent of U.S. households and receives over 115 million unique visitors per month.[19] WorldMow is a cloud-based Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Integration as a Service that unifies CMS, mobile, and video management and publishing.[19]

Awards and recognition

In 1992, when Gannaway was running Genesis Entertainment, Merrill Lynch, Ernst & Young, and Inc. magazine named him the "Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year."[20] It was the first time the trio had ever named an Entrepreneur of the Year from the entertainment business.[17]

Gannaway was chosen by Wharton University to participate in its Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, mentoring undergraduates and MBA candidates who are considering careers as entrepreneurs.[17]

Philanthropy

Gannaway sits on the board of the Department of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins.[21] With Gannaway's financial support and after four years of FDA trials, a hypertonic saline solution of up to 23.4 percent salt was developed, which has replaced Mannitol to become the global standard in Neuro Critical Care Units to reduce swelling in the brain due to trauma caused by falls, strokes, etc.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Gary Gannaway: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Businessweek.com. Retrieved 2015-09-09.
  2. ↑ http://www.worldnow.com/file/2014/10/Gannaway_s_Genesis__2_.pdf
  3. ↑ Unickow, Joel (December 2011). "Online video: industry forecast 2012: innovation with a chance of standards". Streaming Media.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mandose, Joe (1993). "Genesis finishes what it starts". Advertising Age.
  5. ↑ http://www.natpe.org/conference/speakers/bios/index.jsp?speaker_id_string=2964:fnUGDoeVHvyJL9IKWHs$jg**
  6. 1 2 Jennifer Pendleton (29 June 1993). "Billionaire May Cast Genesis Into Big Leagues : Television: Ronald O. Perelman's purchase of a 50% interest comes after the Agoura Hills syndicator saw its late-night "Whoopi Goldberg" show canceled". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  7. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=8935491&privcapId=8123228
  8. ↑ https://www.crunchbase.com/person/gary-gannaway
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Block, Alex (1989). "Gannaways Genesis". Channels.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Gary Gannaway Preaching the Promise of Genesis" (PDF). American Radio History: Broadcasting Magazine. 28 August 1989. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Gannaway Spearheads Special Projects". The Courier News (Blytheville, Arkansas). 20 May 1969.
  12. ↑ Barry Mazor (31 March 2014). "Roots Watch: When You’re Looking at Country". Engine 145. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  13. 1 2 "Speaker Bio: Gary Gannaway". NATPE. 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  14. 1 2 Ed Sylvester. "Welcome To Cronkite Eye On Science". Arizona State University: Cronkite Eye On Science. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Web is a Different World Now". TV News Check. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "Our Team". IBillow. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Haley, Kathy (1993). "Genesis Entertainment: A Perfect 10, 19830-1993". Broadcasting & Cable.
  18. ↑ Staff (25 January 2008). "Gannaway: Stations’ Web Guru". Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  19. 1 2 3 "Worldnow website". Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  20. ↑ INC Staff (1 December 1992). "Regional Entrepreneurs of the Year". INC Magazine.
  21. ↑ "Online Video Industry Forecast 2012" (PDF). Streaming Media. 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
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