Tommy Mottola, the co-owner of Casablanca Records and former chairman and chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment.

He is widely well known for signing, developing, and nurturing the careers of Celine Dion, Destiny’s Child, Shakira, Gloria Estefan, the Dixie Chicks, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, among others. 

He also is credited with creating the Latin Explosion in popular music by championing such Sony artists as Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Ricky Martin. He also worked with Michael Jackson from the time he began recording his “Dangerous” (1991) album. 

Jackson would later state that his relationship with Mottola dissolved based on corruption in Mottola’s working practices. “The recording companies really, really do conspire against the artists”, Jackson said.

He has been at the center of several controversies including one in 2002 when Michael Jackson called him “a devil” and publicly accused him of conspiring against black artists.

To read more about Tommy Mottola’s achievement of his success and how he gained the position of CHIEF executive in Sony music entertainment click here