Ted Sarandos was born in Phoenix in 1964 and built his early career in video distribution before joining Netflix in 2000, when the company was a DVD-by-mail business. He became chief content officer and later co-chief executive, alongside Greg Peters, and has been the principal architect of Netflix's evolution into a global production and distribution platform.
Under his leadership Netflix has commissioned originals across every major market, redefined how television series are released and structured the streaming economics that legacy studios spent years trying to match. He has also overseen the company's expansion into advertising-supported tiers, gaming and live programming.
Sarandos is widely regarded as the most powerful single commissioning executive in global entertainment.