L.A. Reid

Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American music executive, musician, songwriter, record producer, author and former television music competition judge. He has served as the chairman and CEO of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, the president and CEO of Arista Records, and the chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Music Group. Reid was also the founder and CEO of Hitco Music Publishing and the co-founder of LaFace Records. Over the course of his career he has worked with artists including Fifth Harmony, Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Boyz II Men, Outkast, Toni Braxton, TLC, Mariah Carey, Avril Lavigne, Paula Abdul, Pink, Justin Bieber, Meghan Trainor, Rihanna, Kanye West, Usher, Ne-Yo, 21 Savage, Young Jeezy, Ciara, Zara Larsson, Jidenna, Jennifer Lopez, Future, Travis Scott and Rick Ross. He appeared as a judge on the first two seasons of the U.S. version of the television show The X Factor, but in December 2012 announced he would not be back for the show's third season, saying he wanted to focus on his leadership at Epic Records.