CEO of de Passe Entertainment Group, LLC

Suzanne de Passe, Chief Executive Officer of de Passe Entertainment Group, LLC began her career at Motown Records as Creative Assistant to company founder Berry Gordy, and subsequently rose to the position of President of Motown Productions. She later formed Gordy/de Passe Productions with Mr. Gordy prior to establishing her own company in 1992.

Ms. de Passe is the recipient of many professional awards including two Emmy Awards, six NAACP Image Awards, three Peabody Awards and a Golden Globe for her productions. She received an Academy Award nomination for co–writing, Lady Sings the Blues. Some of her productions include mega mini-series, Lonesome Dove, Small Sacrifices, The Jacksons: An American Dream, Buffalo Girls, and The Temptions. Additionally, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, and Forever, and Motown Returns to the Apollo, led a number of Motown related television specials.

A veteran of three decades in Hollywood, she has received countless honors for her contribution to the television, movie, and music industries. Her extraordinary career has been recognized with an American Women in Radio and Television Silver Satellite Award, Essence Award, Revlon Business Woman of the Year Award, the Women in Film Crystal Award and induction into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Community honors include the 2003 Whitney M. Young Award-the Los Angeles, Urban League’s highest accolade. In 2004 Ebony Magazine selected her for its highest honor, presenting her with the Madame C.J. Walker Award, and she was the recipient of the 2006 Producer of The Year Award from the Caucus for Television Producers, Writers & Directors.

Ms. de Passe was Executive Producer of the long running series Sister, Sister, and Smart Guy, and currently serves as Executive Producer of the syndicated program, Showtime at the Apollo. In 2005 de Passe served as Executive Producer of The Black Movie Awards, A Celebration of Black Cinema: Past, Present, Future which aired on TNT and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and NAMIC Vision Award.

Suzanne de Passe, the subject of two Harvard Business School cases, also held the Time Warner Endowed Chair as Visiting Professor to the John H. Johnson School of Communications at Howard University. In March of 2006 she received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities during Howard University's 138th Charter Day celebration.

Ms. de Passe resides in both Los Angeles and New York City.