John Ledford
| John Ledford | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John R. Ledford II August 19, 1968 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Businessman and Producer |
| Known for | Co-Founding A.D. Vision |
John Ledford (born August 19, 1968 in Houston, Texas) is an American entrepreneur, co-founder and former president of anime distribution company, ADV Films (before the company's split). He now serves as President of Sentai Filmworks.
Career
Originally Ledford was avid fan of video games, having dropout of the University of St. Thomas he founded Gametronix, in 1990 as an importer of video game systems and cartridges.
By 1992, he and Matt Greenfield had switched their focus to anime, and founded A.D. Vision (which had been doing business as ADV Films). Within a year, he was making enough profit off anime licensing and distribution that he dissolved Gametronix and focused his attention on ADV.
Within a decade, ADV had cemented its status as a major distributor of anime in North America, releasing titles such Neon Genesis Evangelion and Azumanga Daioh, as well as releasing live-action films on DVD, promoting original film releases, a venture into extreme wrestling with Combat Zone Wrestling, and even inaugurating a cable network (The Anime Network). Ledford also managed the US version of Japanese manga magazine, Newtype.