Avi Arad Biography

Avi Arad (born August 1, 1948) is an Israeli-American businessman. He became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s, and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, a Marvel director, chairman, CEO and the founder of Marvel Studios.

Early life and career

Arad was born in Giv'atayim, Israel, to refugees from Poland, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He spent his childhood in Giv'atayim, and grew up on Superman and Spider-Man comics translated into Hebrew. In 1965, he was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He fought in and was wounded in the 1967 Six-Day War, and spent 15 days recuperating. Arad finished his military service in 1968.

In 1970, Arad moved to the United States and enrolled at Hofstra University to study industrial management. He worked as a truck driver and Hebrew teacher to put himself through college, and graduated with a BBA in 1972.

Marvel Comics

Along with Toy Biz co-owner Isaac Perlmutter, Avi Arad came into conflict with Carl Icahn and Ron Perelman over control of Marvel Comics in the wake of its 1996 bankruptcy. In the end, Arad and Perlmutter came out on top, with Toy Biz taking over Marvel Comics in a complicated deal that included obtaining the rights to Spider-Man and other superheroes that Marvel had sold earlier. He was involved in Marvel's emergence from bankruptcy and the expansion of the company's profile through licensing and movies.

Later career

On May 31, 2006, Arad resigned his various Marvel positions, including his leadership of Marvel Studios to form his own production company, Arad Productions. Although he is still producing projects for Marvel, his first feature outside Marvel was the August 2007 film Bratz: The Movie. Future ventures include: an adaptation of the manga Ghost in the Shell; an adaption of Brandon Mull's best-seller teenage fantasy, Fablehaven; an adaption of James Patterson's award winning teenage novel Maximum Ride; an adaption of BioWare's award-winning video game franchise, Mass Effect; the adaptations of two Sony PlayStation properties, Uncharted and inFAMOUS; and the adaptation of Hideo Kojima's video game Metal Gear Solid.

On August 25, 2010 it was announced that Arad was given a chair with the American branch of animation studio Production I.G in Los Angeles, California.

Producer filmography

• King Arthur and the Knights of Justice (1993)
• Double Dragon (1993)
• The Bots Master (1993)
• Iron Man (1994)
• Fantastic Four (1994)
• Spider-Man (1994)
• The Incredible Hulk (1996)
• Generation X (1996)
• Silver Surfer (1998)
• Nick Fury: Agent of Shield (1998)
• Blade (1998)
• Spider-Man Unlimited (1999)
• The Avengers: United They Stand (1999)
• X-Men Evolution (2000)
• X-Men (2000)
• Blade II (2002)
• Spider-Man (2002)
• Daredevil (2003)
• X2 (2003)
• Hulk (2003)
• The Punisher (2004)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004)
• Blade: Trinity (2004)
• Elektra (2005)
• Fantastic Four (2005)
• X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
• Ghost Rider (2007)
• Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
• Bratz: The Movie (2007)
• Iron Man (2008)
• The Incredible Hulk (2008)
• Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)
• The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
• Robosapien: Rebooted (2013)
• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)