Editor

Dan Glickman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) announced today that he has named industry veteran A. Robert Pisano Chief Operating Officer and President. Pisano will have day-to-day operating responsibility for all Association operations, domestic and international, other than Washington, D.C.-based external and governmental affairs.
In making the announcement, Glickman stated, “Representing an industry with billions in world-wide revenues, MPAA plays an essential role for our members in combating piracy, securing meaningful protection of their content, including freedom from censorship, and fighting for market access to their product around the world. Having this uniquely experienced industry veteran on my team will help me drive the priorities of this crucial American industry here and overseas and permit me to devote my time and energy to setting strategic priorities which will facilitate a successful motion picture industry at home and around the world.”
Pisano said, “I look forward to the opportunity of working with Dan Glickman in an organization that, to millions of people around the world, is the voice of a uniquely American industry. While the rapid evolution of technology has presented a vast new spectrum of opportunities for members of the MPAA, it has presented a corresponding array of challenges. I feel privileged to join Dan in addressing those challenges and in helping him keep the special voice of the Association strong and clear.”
Pisano will assume his new position October 1 and will be based in the Association’s Los Angeles office, reporting to Glickman. Washington, D.C.-based external affairs, including federal government affairs and corporate communications, managed by Executive Vice President John Feehery, will continue to report directly to Glickman. Glickman will also lead the motion picture industry’s voluntary rating system, the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) and its companion Advertising Administration.
Most recently Pisano was National Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) from 2001 until early this year. Previously, he served for six years as Executive Vice President and then Vice Chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. where, with the duties and responsibilities of chief operating officer, he was in charge of all of the company’s business activities, including film, television, home entertainment and consumer products operations.
Prior to MGM, Pisano was Executive Vice President of Paramount Pictures Corporation, serving as General Counsel and a member of the Office of the Chairman. He was also a partner with O’Melveny and Myers in Los Angeles, specializing in entertainment and business litigation matters for 12 years, including three years as the partner in charge of the firm’s office in Paris.
Pisano is a member of the Board of Directors of the Motion Picture and Television Fund and of the Executive Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The MPAA, and its international counterpart, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), are the voice and advocates of the American motion picture, home video and television industries. Founded in 1922 as the trade association for the film industry, the organization has broadened its mandate over the years to reflect the diversity of an expanding industry. Today, these associations represent not only the world of theatrical film, but serves as a leader and advocate for major producers and distributors of
entertainment programming for television, cable, home video and future delivery systems not yet imagined.

The Association serves its members from offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Brussels, Sao Paulo and Singapore. On its board of directors are the Chairmen and Presidents of the major producers and distributors of motion picture and television programs in the United States: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution (The Walt Disney Company); Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLLP; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.