Thomas Rothman

Tom Rothman is Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group. In that role, Rothman oversees the studio’s motion picture businesses worldwide including that of Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, 3000 Pictures, Sony Pictures International Productions, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. The company has offices and operations in over forty countries across the globe.

Rothman joined Sony Pictures in 2013 as Chairman of TriStar Pictures before being promoted to Chairman, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group in February 2015, and then to Chairman and CEO in 2021. He has led a full turnaround of the motion picture business since he assumed oversight of the film studio with successful slates and strategic down-market exploitation driving record profitability three years in a row.

Prior to Sony Pictures, Rothman served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment (FFE) from 2000 – 2012. In this capacity he oversaw Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Searchlight (which Rothman founded in 1994), Blue Sky Animation, and Twentieth Century Fox Television. Prior to his role as Chairman and CEO of FFE, he held the positions of President of Twentieth Century Fox Film Group, President of Production for Twentieth Century Fox and President of Fox Searchlight. His overall tenure at Fox spanned more than eighteen years. During his tenure, Fox released two of the highest-grossing films in cinematic history, Titanic and Avatar, and Fox films garnered over 150 Academy Award® nominations, won three Best Picture Oscars, and earned in excess of $40 billion at the worldwide box office.

Prior to Fox, Rothman was President of Worldwide Production for the Samuel Goldwyn Company. Rothman came to Goldwyn in 1989 from Columbia Pictures where he was Executive Vice President, working for David Puttnam and Dawn Steele. Before joining Columbia, Rothman was a partner at the New York entertainment law firm Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein and Selz where he represented industry figures across all arts fields.

Rothman began his work life as an English teacher and soccer and lacrosse coach at the Salisbury School in Connecticut and was later a law clerk on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.

Rothman graduated from Brown University in 1976, with Honors in English and American Literature, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and was an All New England selection in Division I Lacrosse. In 1980 he graduated from Columbia Law School as a two-time James Kent Scholar -- the school’s highest academic honor.

Among Rothman’s many awards and distinctions are lifetime achievement recognitions from the Producers Guild of America, the IFP East, and the Academy of Science Fiction Films. Columbia University honored him with the Arthur B. Krim Award for outstanding leadership in entertainment, and he was presented with the Corwin Award for Human Relations from the American Jewish Committee.

In 2015, President Obama appointed, and the Senate confirmed, Rothman to the National Council on the Arts. The Council advises on the National Endowment for the Arts’ policies and programs and makes recommendations on grant applications. Rothman has also been appointed by President Biden to serve on the board of the Corporation for Public broadcasting as of February 2022.

Rothman is a longstanding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has long been active in the non-profit arts and education areas. He is on the board of the California Institute for the Arts and is an emeritus member of the Sundance Institute Board, where he actively served for over 20 years. He is also an emeritus member of the Corporation of Brown University and has worked as a teacher and fundraiser for Mentor L.A. Partner Schools. He is involved in numerous other civic and philanthropic activities including fundraising for the Fulfillment Fund, The Jewish Home for the Aging, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, PXE International, and Harlem Lacrosse.

Rothman serves on the Board of Directors of Booking Holdings Inc. the world’s largest online travel agency, parent company of Priceline, Booking, Open Table and Agoda.