Who

Bandier is the CEO and chairman of the music publishing company Sony/ATV.

Backstory

A pianist-turned-lawyer-turned-music exec, Bandier was the general counsel for the Lefrak Organization before he co-founded The Entertainment Company with Sam LeFrak and Charles Koppelman in 1975. A decade later, he formed SBK Entertainment along with Koppelman and Stephen Swid, a venture they sold to EMI in 1989 for more than $300 million. Bandier stayed on with EMI following the sale, and helped turn the company from an also-ran into the industry leader with the acquisitions of Combine Music and CBS Songs. After a decade and a half at the helm, he jumped to Sony/ATV in early 2007.

Of note

Although music publishing isn't the sexy side of the business, it's enormously profitable; music publishers rep songwriters and get a cut every time a song is performed. The Sony/ATV catalogue—which, incidentally, is not part of Sony BMG, the joint venture between Bertelsmann and Sony—includes the work of Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Sarah McLachlan. It also controls 50 percent of the music publishing assets that pop star/freakshow Michael Jackson owns, including the enormously valuable Beatles catalogue. Bandier was recruited to Sony/ATV by Sony Corp.'s CFO, Rob Wiesenthal, and retained an equity stake in the company as part of the deal.

Pet causes

Bandier donates heavily to his alma mater, Syracuse. He's served on the board of United Jewish Appeal and is a trustee of the T.J. Martell Foundation.

Personal

The cigar-smoking Bandier was once married to Denise LeFrak (back when he worked for the LeFrak Organization.) With Denise, Bandier had two daughters, Jennifer and Allison. He's now remarried to his second wife, Dorothy; they have a son named Max. The Bandiers live at 960 Park Avenue. The couple also owns a home on Gin Lane in Southampton.