Robert S. Wiesenthal
Robert S. Wiesenthal | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 22, 1967 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Known for | Executive roles at Sony, COO of Warner Music Group, CEO of Blade |
Robert S. Wiesenthal (born June 22, 1967) is a prominent American executive in the business sector.
Up until June 2012, Wiesenthal held several senior roles at Sony, including executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sony Corporation of America, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Sony Entertainment Inc., and group executive at Sony Corporation, where he directed corporate development and mergers and acquisitions. From 2012 through June 2015, he served as chief operating officer at Warner Music Group. Currently, Wiesenthal is at the helm of Blade, an innovative aviation startup.
Early life
Growing up in Manhattan, Wiesenthal developed a strong interest in technology and entertainment, influenced by his father, Richard, who was involved in distributing “I Love Lucy” reruns throughout Latin America. During his high school years, he studied robotics and co-authored a book focusing on personal computers. Wiesenthal earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Rochester in 1988, graduating with cum laude honors.
Before joining Sony
Wiesenthal’s professional journey began at First Boston after impressing Bruce Wasserstein by repairing his printer during a summer internship. He joined the firm’s mergers & acquisitions division in 1986 and transitioned to the Media group by 1993. By 1999, he was appointed managing director at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), where he led initiatives in entertainment and digital media under Frank Quattrone’s leadership.
As a principal media banker at CSFB, Wiesenthal advised on significant deals such as Seagram’s $5.7 billion acquisition of MCA Inc., the merger between Liberty Media and TCI, News Corp’s $3.2 billion purchase of New World Communications, and Sony Pictures Entertainment’s acquisition of Telemundo.
Sony
In June 2000, Sir Howard Stringer, then Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation, appointed Wiesenthal as Chief Strategic Officer for Sony Broadband Entertainment (which later became Sony Entertainment), where he oversaw U.S.-based film, television, and music assets. He played a key role in major transactions such as selling half of Sony's stake in the Game Show Network to Liberty Digital and divesting Sony’s interest in Telemundo to NBCUniversal, a deal valued at over $2 billion. Additionally, he forged strategic alliances with companies like Yahoo and AOL Time Warner and spearheaded the "21st Century Studio Project," which achieved over $150 million in cost savings by optimizing television production processes.
Elevated to executive vice president and CFO in January 2002, Wiesenthal took charge of all financial functions for Sony Corporation of America, including budgeting, capital allocation, and investor relations. He became a member of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Operating Committee and held board positions with both Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.
In 2005, Wiesenthal assumed responsibility for Sony/ATV Music Publishing during efforts to prevent Michael Jackson’s shares from entering bankruptcy. He successfully negotiated refinancing agreements that strengthened Sony's operational control while securing options to acquire portions of Jackson's holdings, thereby reinforcing Sony's dominance in music publishing.
Under his leadership, Sony/ATV expanded by acquiring the Leiber Stoller catalog and Viacom's Famous Music assets in 2007. He recruited Martin Bandier, an industry veteran, as CEO to enhance management capabilities. Wiesenthal emphasized music publishing’s robust credit profile relative to recorded music as a strategic advantage for Sony.
In 2008, Wiesenthal pioneered Sony's first direct-to-internet transmission of a television film with Hancock, broadening digital content distribution beyond traditional PC platforms. That same year, he orchestrated the acquisition of Bertelsmann’s share of Sony BMG, enabling greater operational flexibility across music, film, television, and electronics divisions including PlayStation integration.
Following the separation of music publishing from Sony Music after the BMG merger, Wiesenthal focused on expanding Sony/ATV through acquisitions—a strategy that had previously diminished—positioning it as a leading global music publisher.
In 2010, Wiesenthal collaborated with Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav to launch 3NET, the world’s first dedicated 24-hour 3D television network on DirecTV. Sony retained a 33% ownership stake where Wiesenthal serves on the board. He also advocated for the introduction of the Sony Dash Internet-connected alarm clock.
In 2011, Wiesenthal led a $2.2 billion consortium acquisition of EMI Publishing involving investors such as David Geffen, Michael Jackson’s estate, Blackstone’s GSO Capital Partners, Mubadala Development Company, and Jynwel Capital. This transaction established Sony as the largest music publisher worldwide. Industry experts recognized his role in assembling long-term investors focused beyond typical private equity returns.
That year he also underscored the strategic integration of tablets with television during a Goldman Sachs conference, predicting that connected TVs operated via tablets would replace multiple set-top boxes as consumers sought simplified viewing solutions.
Warner Music Group
On January 2, 2013, Wiesenthal joined Warner Music Group as Chief Operating Officer, tasked with enhancing the company’s mergers and acquisitions, corporate growth strategies, and digital transformation efforts.
During the first half of 2013, he was instrumental in Warner Music’s purchase of Parlophone, a prominent recorded music label representing artists such as Coldplay, David Guetta, and Pink Floyd.
In September 2013, Wiesenthal spearheaded the creation of a multi-platform partnership between Warner Music Group and Clear Channel Communications, the leading radio broadcaster in the United States. This collaboration was recognized for fundamentally changing royalty frameworks.
By early 2015, Wiesenthal secured a strategic agreement with Snapchat, positioning Warner Music as the inaugural music company to launch a dedicated channel on Snapchat’s Discover platform. This initiative offered daily updated video content and promotional opportunities monetized via sponsorships and advertising revenue.
Wiesenthal departed from Warner Music in June 2015 to assume the role of Chief Executive Officer at Blade.
Blade Urban Air Mobility
In early 2014, Rob Wiesenthal founded Blade as a pioneering digitally enabled platform focused on short-distance aviation and urban air mobility. Officially launched in May 2014, Blade initially serviced New York’s resort areas such as Southampton and East Hampton by providing helicopter flights from Manhattan. The company follows an asset-light approach by collaborating with certified aircraft operators instead of owning any aircraft directly. It operates by aggregating flights where customers choose departure locations, times, destinations, and aircraft types while the platform sells remaining seats to other users.
During the fall of 2014, Blade secured $5 million in seed capital from notable investors including Discovery CEO David Zaslav, IAC Chairman Barry Diller, former Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt, and ex-AOL CEO Bob Pittman.
Blade’s scalable business model currently supports traditional aircraft operations but is designed to evolve toward Electric Vertical Aircraft (EVA/eVTOL) technology. These EVAs are expected to provide quieter operations, zero emissions, and lower operating expenses.
The company’s initial service routes launched in 2014 connected Manhattan with Southampton, East Hampton, and Montauk. In March 2019, Blade introduced its BLADE Airport service linking Manhattan to JFK Airport; although temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, this service resumed in June 2021. An additional route between Manhattan and Newark Liberty International Airport was added in November 2021.
Blade has grown to become the largest facilitator of helicopter transportation between Manhattan and local New York airports. Its network allows departures within 20 minutes following booking; single-seat fares start at $195 for flights that compress nearly two-hour car journeys into five-minute trips. A collaboration with American Airlines enables seamless transfers from commercial jets directly to helicopters without passengers needing to enter airport terminals.
Blade’s fleet comprises helicopters, amphibious seaplanes, turboprops, and jets operated by 29 U.S.-based partners; however, the company does not own or operate any aircraft itself.
With a network that includes 12 passenger terminals—three located in India—and a user base exceeding 200,000 members supported by proprietary technology systems, Blade is well-positioned for smooth integration of eVTOL aircraft into its operations.
Additionally, Blade provides seasonal scheduled jet services between New York and Miami utilizing a specially retrofitted 16-passenger jet coordinated with helicopter transfers for direct access to Manhattan. In 2020, it expanded its offerings to include a New York–Aspen route.
In March 2018, Blade closed a $38 million Series B funding round led by Colony-North Star and Lerer-Hippeau Ventures with participation from Airbus Helicopters and LionTree Ventures.
In November 2020, Blade became the first aviation company in the United States to mandate pre-boarding COVID-19 testing on domestic flights.
On May 10, 2021, Blade achieved the milestone of becoming the first publicly traded urban air mobility firm through a merger with Experience Investment Corp., backed by KSL Capital Partners. Following this transaction, the company rebranded as Blade Air Mobility with Blade Urban Air Mobility operating as its wholly owned subsidiary.
In September 2021, Blade expanded into nationwide organ transport logistics by acquiring Trinity Air Medical for $23 million; this acquisition integrates both air and ground transportation solutions.
By December 2021, Blade entered the Vancouver market through acquiring exclusive rights to Helijet’s scheduled passenger operations for approximately $12 million; prior to acquisition Helijet was operating at roughly half of its pre-pandemic annual revenue of $15 million.
In May 2022, Blade announced it had acquired asset-light commercial passenger transport businesses from three European urban air mobility operators: Monacair SAM, Héli Sécurité, and Azur Hélicoptère.
June 2022 saw Blade partner with JetBlue to provide Mosaic+ loyalty members with complimentary helicopter transfer seats connecting JetBlue flights at JFK or Newark airports.
On February 14, 2023, Blade successfully completed the first piloted EVTOL test flight within the tri-state region at Westchester County Airport.
Achievements
In 2003, Crain's New York Business named Wiesenthal to its prestigious “40 Under 40” list.
Wiesenthal was honored as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders in 2010, joining prominent figures such as Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg.
By 2014, he earned a spot on the Billboard Power 100, which recognizes the most impactful personalities within the music sector.
In October 2015, Business Insider included BLADE, the enterprise Wiesenthal helped establish, among its "100 Hottest Startups in New York City."
He serves on the boards of Entercom Communications Corp., the fourth-largest radio broadcaster in the United States; TripAdvisor, ranked as the second-largest East Coast-based internet company by market value; Starz, a global pay-TV provider; and Jawbone, a front-runner in connected consumer wellness and audio devices.
Additionally, Wiesenthal contributes as a mentor at Techstars NYC, a startup accelerator and seed fund dedicated to supporting emerging digital ventures in obtaining strategic capital.
Personal life
Wiesenthal lives in New York City. His early experience in Formula Ford racing fueled his enthusiasm for car collecting and motivated him to co-found the Bridgehampton Motoring Club, a leading American collector car storage facility.
During Roger Waters' 2010 U.S. tour "The Wall," Wiesenthal joined Waters and his band on stage at Madison Square Garden to play the ukulele.
He was formerly married to Linnea Conrad Roberts, founder and CEO of GingerBread Capital; together they have one son born in 1997.