Jimmy Iovine

Born in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, Jimmy Iovine is a former record producer, recording engineer, and executive. Most recently, he is known as an entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist.

Jimmy started out as a recording engineer in the mid-1970s for Patti Smith. Jimmy is famously known for having a keen ear for music production, which attracted talented artists to the studio to work with him.

In 1990, Jimmy and former film producer Lady Gaga. Under Jimmy’s leadership, the label became a multimedia powerhouse and put artists and ideas first.

In 2022, Jimmy was recognized for his accomplishments in the music industry. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

In 2006, Jimmy co-founded the audio, headphone, speaker, and earbud brand Beats Electronics (Beats by Dre) with Dr. Dre after a discussion about building a personal brand. Music streaming service Beats Music followed. Beats Electronics, Beats by Dre, and Beats Music were acquired by tech giant Apple, Inc. in 2014. Jimmy and Dr. Dre were featured in the 2017 docu-series “The Defiant Ones,” outlining their work with Beats Electronics, as well as other aspects of their lives, including their music careers and philanthropy.

During their experience at Beats Electronics, Jimmy and Dr. Dre found it essential for those working in the music technology space to understand elements beyond tech and learn and embrace creativity and innovation. So, in 2013, after giving his commencement address at the University of Southern California (USC) graduation, Jimmy announced his plans with Dr. Dre to create an academy at USC to help students better develop the above-mentioned skills. Thanks to a major endowment from the duo, the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation was conceived. The Academy engages future entrepreneurs, technologists, innovators, and designers and teaches the necessary skills to succeed in the modern global job marketplace.

After the creation of the Iovine and Young Academy, the pair established the Iovine and Young Center (IYC), a high school reimagined to help jump start careers in the design, entrepreneurship, and technology fields using the same framework as the Academy. The inaugural campus for IYC opened in Los Angeles in 2022. More locations are set to open, including IYC at Frederick Douglass High School in Atlanta in fall 2024 and a location in Inglewood in fall 2025.

In 2024, it was announced that Jimmy was an investor in the ready-to-drink cocktail brand Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop.