By Benjamin Engle
Alan F. Horn '64, President and Chief Operating Officer of Warner Bros. Entertainment, will address the graduates, friends, and families of the class of 2010 as the keynote speaker at the 216th Commencement Ceremony of Union College, college officials recently announced.Scheduled for Sunday, June 13, 2010, on Hull Plaza, approximately 500 students in the Class of 2010 will receive degrees during the ceremony.
"I'm honored to be delivering the commencement address and look forward to revisiting the campus in June," said Horn, who will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree.
Mr. Horn, who earned an economics degree from Union, later joined the U.S. Air Force for a five-year term, and received an MBA from Harvard Business School. While the Air Force Captain hoped to fly jets in the Air Force, he never made it to the cockpit because of his poor eyesight. Instead, he was stationed in Korea where he earned a 3rd black belt in tae kwon do.
After graduating from Harvard in 1972, Horn spent two years in brand management for the Ivory Soap Brand at Procter & Gamble.
After spending time at Procter & Gamble, Horn served as Chairman & CEO of Embassy Communications, a company owned by Andrew Perenchio and legendary produced, Norman Leer.
Prior to 1999, when Horn assumed his position at Warner Bros., he founded Castle Rock Entertainment in 1987. At Castle Rock, where he served as the company's chairman and CEO, he became known for producing successful TV series and films including 'Seinfeld', A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile.
Since his successes at Castle Rock, Horn has made Warner Bros. one of Hollywood's most successful movie studios in recent years. As president and COO, Horn oversees all of the Studio's theatrical and home entertainment operations, including the Warner Bros. Picture Group and New Line Cinema.
During his time at Warner Bros., some of the most popular and profitable films of the industry have been produced, including the Harry Potter series, the most successful motion picture franchise in history, The Dark Night, Batman Begins, Ocean's 11, 12, and 13, the second and third Matrix films, and Million Dollar Baby.
More recently, under Horn's guidance, his studio has produced theatrical blockbusters including Watchmen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Sherlock Holmes.
Horn is also a member of numerous prestigious Hollywood institutions, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television, Arts, and Sciences.
When Horn returned to the Union campus for the first time in over 25 years for ReUnion weekend in May 2009, he gave a presentation and spoke candidly about his years at Union and experiences in the corporate world.
He also, according to the Summer 2009 edition of the Union College magazine, discussed his transition from an "ill-suited electrical engineering student" to an economics major.
Additionally, during his 2009 ReUnion visit, Horn described his time at Union as " 'great for me,' and a place where he met many friends and professors," according to the Union College magazine.
Originally published in Union's Concordy on 2/25/10
Posts
