Lisa Ellis (executive producer)

Early in her career Ellis worked with Earl G. Graves[16] as a marketing manager at the Pepsi-Cola Company.[5] She was then hired by CBS/Infinity Radio in Washington, D.C., where she did promotional and event marketing[16][17] as the CBS Radio promotions and event marketing manager. After CBS she joined Reebok International,[5] serving as Reebok's sports marketing manager.[6] While working on the MTV Awards with Reebok[16] in 1995,[7] she met an executive from Columbia Records in Manhattan’s Bryant Park. Columbia hired her one month later[16] as a local promotion manager,[7] and she afterwards held positions at Columbia such as the west coast vice president of national promotion,[6] and then moving back to New York as senior VP of R&B/rhythm-crossover promotion.[2]

In 2003[2] she was appointed senior VP of strategic marketing and music licensing at Columbia’s parent company Sony Music,[18] where she worked with Sony subsidiaries such as Columbia, Epic Records, Sony Music Nashville, Legacy Recordings,[16] and Sony ATV Publishing.[6] Also working with Sony acts such as Lauryn Hill, Destiny's Child,[6] ACDC,[7] and Beyonce.[6] People reports that she signed John Legend to Columbia Records,[19] and brought Prince back to Columbia.[7] Other roles included overseeing Sony’s dance department,[13] street marketing team and Rap Mix Show Department.[16]

After a restructuring of Sony Music,[4] March 2004 she became general manager of Sony Urban Music,[18][3] a newly created position with Ellis reporting to Don Ienner in New York.[2] According to Billboard, she "declared that strong A&R and breaking developing acts were at the heart of her agenda."[20] As general manager she oversaw the unit's day-to-day operations and worked on Urban Music matters with Sony's US labels such as Columbia and Epic.[18] Among other projects, she was an executive producer on the 2004 album Time to Share by Toshi Kubota.[21] Sony promoted Ellis from general manager to division president in December 2005.[8][5]

In December 2006, Ellis was appointed executive vice president of Sony Music Label Group.[9][7] Working with chairman Rob Stringer "in all aspects of the group's activities,” she was given company projects such as overseeing Sony Music's green initiatives and packaging initiatives, and was tasked with focusing on digital growth. In her first year in the position, she secured an agreement with Verizon and Motorola for the digital release of AC/DC's catalog. Continuing to work with artists such as Prince, John Legend, Terrence Howard, Alice Smith, and Maxwell,[7] she also worked with Three Six Mafia and Aaron Rosenberg to create the 2007 MTV production Adventures in Hollyhood.[14]

Ellis left Sony after deciding not to renew her contract[6] in 2009,[11] instead becoming a founding operating partner[6] that January[11] in two funds at Fireman Capital Partners.[10] With Fireman she focused on "music, entertainment and consumer products investments" for the business in the portfolio, advising Fireman Capital which included serving on the boards of a few of the Fireman companies. Fireman Capital backed Ellis in various entertainment ventures.[6] On March 5, 2009[22] Ellis was a panelist on 'Trends in Venture Capital and Private Equity'[23] at the Billboard Music & Money Symposium.[22] By 2012,[11] she was operating the company Box Three Eight Eight Management, representing artists such as Ciara.[12] Beyond her role as a principle of Box Three Eight Eight, Inc., she is managing partner of the venture firm Provenance, which holds the companies Provenance Media and Provenance Films.[13]