Jack Sussman is an American television executive and 🏷️#producer recognized for shaping live event broadcasting in the United States. Over a 25-year career at CBS Entertainment, he served as Executive Vice President of Specials, Music and Live Events — later adding oversight of alternative programming — and became the network's central architect of live cultural television, producing tentpole broadcasts including the Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Kennedy Center Honors.
Before CBS, which he joined in 1998, Sussman held programming and production roles at CNN, NBC News, VH1, MTV Latin America, and Cinecanal. At CBS he oversaw unscripted franchises such as Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race, and gave early national platforms to artists including Taylor Swift and Jon Batiste. His producing credits span Adele: One Night Only, Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo, the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Special, and Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life — An All-Star Tribute. In 2024 he stepped down from CBS to focus on producing, continuing to lead the Tony Awards and Kennedy Center Honors. His work has earned multiple Emmy Awards, and he serves on the executive committee of the Cedars-Sinai Sports Spectacular and the board of the Entertainment Industry Foundation.
I was introduced to Jack by 📝Hart Gliedman — his daughter's boyfriend at the time, now her husband.