Thom Beers is CEO of FremantleMedia North America (FMNA). As CEO, Beers is responsible for the overall management and business performance of FMNA and its portfolio of companies, including Original Productions and 495 Productions. Within these, Beers oversees the development, production and business operations of over 600 hours of network, cable, syndicated and digital programming.  These programs includeAmerican Idol(FOX),America’s Got Talent(NBC),Family Feud(SYN),Let’s Make A Deal(CBS),The Price Is Right(CBS),The Great Christmas Light Fight(ABC),Deadliest Catch(Discovery),Married to Medicine(Bravo),Party DownSouth(CMT),Ice Road Truckers(HISTORY),Storage Wars(A&E),The Returned(A&E) andCelebrity Name Game(SYN) among others. 

Prior to joining FMNA, Beers was Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer of Original Productions. He was the driving force behind the Primetime Emmy® and Producer’s Guild of America Award-winningDeadliest Catch.  His top rated signature series includedIce RoadTruckers,Ax Men,Monster Garage,Black Gold,Storage WarsandCoal. Since founding Original Productions in 1997, Beers’ catalogue of more than 40 series is firmly entrenched across cable powerhouses HISTORY, Discovery, Spike TV, The National Geographic Channel, truTV and A&E.

Beers’ signature show was the mega hit seriesDeadliest Catch.Deadliest Catchis Discovery’s highest-rated series and has been honored with 13 Primetime Emmy® Awards including Outstanding Reality Program in 2011 and Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program in 2014.

In 2009, he sold a majority stake of his company to FremantleMedia. The deal allowed him to travel the world with his one-of-a kind vision, telling stories about true working class heroes. Beers’ passion for honoring every day heroes and his gift for telling their stories firmly established his non-fiction brand, Original Productions, as television’s number one creator of unscripted programming.

Beers founded Original Productions in 1997, after eleven years as a production executive and series and special producer for Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta and a similar position in Los Angeles at Paramount Pictures.  At Turner, he oversaw the award-winningNational GeographicExplorer,Network Earth,The Jacques Cousteauspecials andWild!Life Adventures.  He was also the producer of some of the highest-rated specials in the history of Turner Original Productions, includingHarley Davidson: The American Motorcycle,Cats And DogsandTheIncredible Life and Times of Robert L. Ripley, Believe It or Not.

Beers hails from Batavia in upstate New York. He began his career as an actor performing in stage productions along the eastern seaboard and in New York City. Today, Beers is still utilizing his acting skills by delivering the powerful narration for many of Original Productions’ series. He’s a devoted father and husband, an avid car collector and motorcycle enthusiast.  

Speaking on: Meet a Mentor: Thom Beers, FremantleMedia North America (2:30pm-3:15pm)