Philippe Dauman

Philippe Pierre Dauman (born March 1, 1954) is an American investment banker and media executive who served as president, chief executive officer, and chairman of Viacom Inc. from September 2006 until August 2016.

Born in New York City to French émigré parents—his father a magazine photographer—Dauman attended the Lycée Français de New York, earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University, and obtained a law degree from Columbia University.

Philippe Dauman was born on March 1, 1954, in New York City to French immigrant parents. His father, Henri Dauman, was a Holocaust survivor and photographer for Life magazine who emigrated from France after World War II. Dauman grew up in New York City alongside a younger sister, with the family speaking French at home as children of immigrants. He attended the Lycée Français de New York, an elite French-language academy on the Upper East Side.

Philippe Dauman married Deborah Ross, daughter of Howard and Muriel Ross of New York, on September 24, 1977. The ceremony took place in an Episcopalian church, reflecting Ross's background, while Dauman's father was a French Jewish Holocaust survivor who emigrated to the United States in the 1950s and married a non-Jewish woman.

Beyond the foundation, Dauman has held civic roles on boards aligned with media, telecommunications, and healthcare. He served on the Executive Committee of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and as a trustee for the Paley Center for Media, an institution preserving and interpreting media history. Additionally, he was a board member of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, contributing to governance in regional healthcare delivery. These positions reflect Dauman's professional background in media while extending to public-interest oversight in related sectors.