Mr. Ganis is a highly regarded and experienced executive in the entertainment industry who previously served as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 2005 through 2009.
Mr. Ganis has also held various leadership positions at Sony Pictures, including Vice Chairman of Columbia Pictures, and President of Worldwide Marketing for Columbia/Tristar Motion Picture Companies. Before joining Sony Pictures, Mr. Ganis served as President of Paramount Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, where he green-lit box office hits such as Ghost and six-time academy award winner Forrest Gump. Mr. Ganis has also served as Senior Vice President at Lucasfilm, working closely with George Lucas on the production and marketing of The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and the first two installments of the Indiana Jones trilogy.
Mr. Ganis currently produces films through Out of the Blue Entertainment, a production company he founded in 1996. Out of Blue Entertainment has enjoyed box office success with productions such as Columbia Pictures’ Big Daddy and Mr. Deeds (both starring Adam Sandler), and the much acclaimed Akeelah and the Bee for Lionsgate. He is currently producing the Pan Am television series for airing beginning this fall on ABC-TV.




