Tom Rothman

Thomas Edgar Rothman (born November 21, 1954) is an American film executive who serves as Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, overseeing the studio's film production, distribution, and related businesses.

Rothman graduated from Brown University in 1976 with honors in English and American Literature, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, where he also played Division I lacrosse, and from Columbia Law School in 1980 as a two-time James Kent Scholar. Early in his career, he worked as an English teacher and lacrosse coach at Salisbury School in Connecticut and as a law clerk for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York before becoming a partner at the entertainment law firm Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein and Selz, where he represented filmmakers including Spike Lee.

Rothman was raised in a Jewish family in a middle-class environment. His father, Donald N. Rothman, was a prominent trial attorney who co-founded the law firm Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander and established Center Stage, Baltimore's regional theater, in 1963. His mother, Elizabeth "Bette" Davidson Rothman, earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1954—the year of Tom's birth—and later worked as a psychotherapist.

Tom Rothman has been a prominent supporter of arts education nonprofits, particularly those fostering creative talents in film and visual storytelling. In 2019, he and his wife, actress Jessica Harper, donated $250,000 to the Baltimore School for the Arts, his alma mater, to establish the Rothman Endowed Fund in Visual Storytelling in honor of his late parents; the fund supports interdisciplinary initiatives including artists-in-residence programs, master classes, student projects, and film productions. Rothman has also been a key backer of the Fulfillment Fund, an organization aiding low-income Los Angeles students in graduating high school and pursuing higher education, with his involvement rooted in values from his Jewish upbringing.

His philanthropic efforts extend to Jewish community causes, including ongoing fundraising for The Jewish Home for the Aging in Los Angeles. In recognition of his contributions to human relations, Rothman received the Corwin Award from the American Jewish Committee.