Tom Ryan'sentrepreneurial career began in 1996 when he co-founded Cductive, an early digital music retail company that Ryan later sold toEMusic in 1999,[3][4] that same year he became an advisor forEMusic. Following this, in 2002, he was a Mobile Music Consultant withVirgin Mobile USA.[6][5] From 2004-2007, Ryan was theSenior vice-president of Digital Strategy at EMI Music.[4][7][3] In 2007 he held the position of "Entrepreneur-in-Residence" ofBessemer Venture Partners until 2008. From 2008-2012, Ryan was CEO of the crowdsourced design community and e-commerce company,Threadless.[3][8]
In 2013, Ryan co-founded Pluto TV,[9][6] making him one of the first to bringFree ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services to the market.[2][1] It was launched in 2014. In 2019, he sold the company to Paramount (at the time ViacomCBS) for $340 million,[1][2] and stayed on as CEO.[10] By 2021, Pluto TV had over $1 billion in annual revenue.[11]
In October 2020, Tom Ryan was named President and CEO of Streaming at Paramount Global (formerly known as ViacomCBS Streaming).[12] In 2024, under his leadership, the direct-to-consumer segment had its first profitable quarter since the launch of Paramount+ in March 2021.[13][14]
Ryan is the currentChairman of the board of Struck Studio.[15] He has been a founding board member ofSmule, a social music site, since 2008. Ryan has been a Venture Advisor on the board of Felix Capital since 2015[16] and Fund Advisor of SignalFire since 2017. He was previously on the board of Society6, which was acquired byLeaf Group in 2013[17] from 2010-2013 andTrunk Club[5] from 2011-2014. He was an angel investor in both Smule and Trunk Club.[9]
In 2021, he was recognized as the Fastest Growing Brand in America for Paramount.[clarification needed][18] In 2022, Ryan received theNATPE's inaugural "Award for Executive Leadership in Global Streaming".[19][20] And was also a Variety500 Honoree fromVariety.[21] In 2023, Stream TV awarded Ryan "CEO of the Year" & awarded Pluto TV "Streaming Platform of the Year";[22][23] that same year Pluto TV received aWebby Award for the "People's Voice Winner" for Best Streaming Service.[24] In 2024, theNATAS revealed that Pluto TV would receive theTechnology and Engineering Emmy Awards for Pioneering Development of Manifest-based Playout for FAST.[25] That same year he was named on both the LA500[2] and FAST30[26] lists.
_(cropped).jpg)