Paradigm President Greg Bestick Announces Retirement

Rachel Murray /Getty Images for Pollstar – Greg Bestick
Paradigm Talent Agency’s Greg Bestick, Steve Strange, Marty Diamond, and Corrie Christopher Martin attend Pollstar Impact 50 2019 at 1 Hotel West Hollywood on May 16, 2019 in West Hollywood, Calif.

Paradigm President Greg Bestick announced his retirement to staff in an email today (April 24) after 11 years with the company, as first reported by Deadline Hollywood and confirmed in a statement to Pollstar.

The retirement appears to be amicable though the timing comes during a period of turmoil across the entire entertainment industry.

In the email to staff, Bestick says:

In February of 2009, I came to work at Paradigm on a three-month consulting contract. Three months and eleven very fulfilling years later, I’m moving on to the next phase of my life and retiring from full time work. This was the longest time I’d ever spent at one job in my life. By far. What kept me tied to this particular place for so long?

Mainly it was the people. So many who are not only capable and talented workers, but genuinely good human beings. Fargo and Metzger and Tantleff and the whole New York crew. Monterey, the foundation of our music business, Dan and Fred and Chip and Jonathan and that whole next generation of Pinkus, Hasson, Atamian, Greisch, McSwiggin, Nalpant, Schultz and on and on. The other music foundation, in New York, Marty, Larry, then Galle and Marquis and all they built up over the years. The talent and lit people in LA, Rand and Andrew and Alisa and Andy and Bill and Mark. Ben Weiss and Scott Melrose bridging film/tv and music. All the agencies we partnered with and then brought in under the tent: AM Only with Paul, Lee, Meyer, Cody; Windish with Tom and Sam Hunt; those super impressive Brits at Coda, Tom, Alex and James. Steve and Ian from X-ray, Garry and Ron from the other Monterey. All the talented, hard-working people who keep the wheels turning, Craig and Stephanie and the legal staff, Ben Scott, Sara Pullman and the ops group, Jess Dennis and Dave Hallybone and the finance/accounting teams across the business, Joe and Steph and Lori. And so many others who taught me, challenged me, collaborated with me. Thank you.

He continued with praise for Paradigm Chairman and CEO Sam Gores.

Most importantly, it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to work with Sam. Over the years, I’ve watched him always trying to do the right thing when it came to treating people fairly and humanely. In a cutthroat business full of people willing to take shortcuts, Sam stood out as someone who is sensitive, ethical and supportive. It pains me to see the nonsense that’s been put out in the press about him. That’s not the person I know and respect and worked closely with for over a decade.

Bestick acknowledged the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

No one saw a global pandemic coming. Nothing emerging from the far side of this will be unchanged. It’s a challenge, but also an opportunity to reimagine so many things: the work environment, how we interact, how we distribute and consume content, how we break careers, how we strategize and manage on a global level. What you have in front of you is a tremendous trauma, and an enormous opportunity.

Paradigm now has to regroup. But the foundation is there, the talent is there, the opportunity to rebuild the business in a new and stronger way is there. All it takes is teamwork and a willingness to see and strive for a better, more hopeful future.

Gores responded with a missive of his own in a statement to Pollstar: “Greg played a vital role in the agency’s growth and successes. I am forever grateful to him. I could not have asked for a more capable executive and counsel these past eleven years. Greg and I have become close friends, and I wish him the happiest, most well-deserved retirement as we look to write Paradigm’s next chapter.”