John Pleasants

John Pleasants

John Fendall Pleasants is an American entrepreneur and business executive who has led a number of digital media companies over the last two decades.[1][2] He most recently served as the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Media Solutions for Samsung.[3]

Early life and education

John Pleasants was born on August 19, 1965 in Wilmington, Delaware. After receiving his Bachelor's degree at Yale University in 1987,[4] Pleasants obtained an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1993.[5][6]

Career

From 1988-1991, Pleasants occupied a position as sales and marketing executive for Hygiene Industries.[7] Afterward, Pleasants spent three years as the brand manager for PepsiCo/Frito-Lay from 1995–1998, and then began a career with CitySearch, which became Ticketmaster Online CitySearch and ultimately Ticketmaster.[8] Pleasants took Ticketmaster Online CitySearch public in September 1998, and subsequently served as Ticketmaster's CEO from 1999 to 2005.[9] From 2005-2007 he ran Revolution Health[10] and then entered the gaming industry as COO of Electronic Arts in 2008.[11] Pleasants then left to be CEO of Playdom, a social gaming company that sold to Disney for $763 million in 2010. Pleasants also had success in helping to bring Disney Interactive to a $16 million profit from a $76 million loss in one year with the launch of the title, Disney Infinity.[12][13] After leaving Disney in 2013, Pleasants was recruited by Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC as EVP and he led their mobile content strategy through the summer of 2016.[14][15][16]

Awards and recognition

Honor Company Year(s)
Sports Business Journal's Forty Under Forty Award Ticketmaster 2002, 2003[17]
Business Insider's The Silicon Valley 100 Award Playdom 2010[18]
TechCrunch's The TechFellow Awards Nominee Playdom 2010[19]
NEA's Award for Outstanding Leadership Disney 2011

References

  1. ↑ "John Pleasants: Executive Profile & Biography." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  2. ↑ "Samsung Announces New Executive Appointments Across Strategic Growth Areas." Business Wire. N.p., 10 June 2014. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  3. ↑ "Samsung Announces New Executive Appointments Across Strategic Growth Areas." Business Wire. N.p., 10 June 2014. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  4. ↑ "Alumni Directory." Yale Alumni Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.
  5. ↑ "John Pleasants: Executive Profile & Biography." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  6. ↑ "HBS Alumni Resources." Harvard Business School. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.
  7. ↑ Ault, Susanne. "The Last Word - A Q&A With John Pleasants." Billboard 1 Nov. 2003: 100. Google Books. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ticketmaster Online-Citysearch and Ticketmaster Corporation Close Transaction; Combined Companies Are Renamed Ticketmaster." News Release. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  9. ↑ "Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Names Charles Conn Chairman of the Board; John Pleasants Becomes Chief Executive Officer." PR Newswire. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.
  10. ↑ Shin, Annys. "Revolution Invests in Convenient Care." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 06 Oct. 2005. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  11. ↑ Sridharan, Vasanth. "Electronic Arts Names Pleasants COO." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 17 Mar. 2008. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  12. ↑ Evangelho, Jason. "Disney Infinity: A Revealing Interview with John Pleasants of Disney Interactive." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  13. ↑ Miller, Daniel. "Disney Interactive Co-President John Pleasants Resigns." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  14. ↑ "John Pleasants: Executive Profile & Biography." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  15. ↑ "Samsung Announces New Executive Appointments Across Strategic Growth Areas." Business Wire. N.p., 10 June 2014. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  16. ↑ Cheng, Jonathan. "Samsung Plucks Execs From BlackBerry, Disney, Nokia." Digits RSS. N.p., 11 June 2014. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  17. ↑ "Forty Under 40: Past Winners." SportsBusiness Daily. N.p., 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  18. ↑ Sai. "THE SILICON VALLEY 100." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 08 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
  19. ↑ Arrington, Michael. "Nominate Outstanding Innovators Now For The 2010 TechFellow Awards." TechCrunch. N.p., 24 Nov. 2010. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.
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