Tom Freston is a Principal of Firefly3, an investment and consultancy firm focusing on the media and entertainment industries. He is both a former Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Viacom Inc. For seventeen years, Freston was Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks where he oversaw MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, Comedy Central, and other television networks. Earlier in his career he ran a textile business in Afghanistan and India.
Freston is Board Chair of the ONE Campaign, an advocacy organization that fights extreme poverty. He is an advisor to the Raine Group, a merchant bank firm, Moby Media, which operates in Afghanistan and the Middle East, and Vice Media. He serves on several corporate boards including Imagine Entertainment, Moby Media, and Vice Media. He was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2005, Freston was cited in the Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” issue. He has received many industry honors and awards. Freston also writes a travel column “On the Road” for Vanity Fair.