Richard Plepler is Founder of EDEN Productions, a film and television production company formed in January 2020with an exclusive multi-year deal with one of the hottest new streaming services, AppleTV+.

Since its launch, EDEN has produced such critically acclaimed fare as the riveting and award-winning limited seriesBlack Bird (July 2022) written and produced by best-selling novelist Dennis Lehane, starring Taron Egerton and PaulWalter Hauser (winner of a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award); the powerful four-part documentary seriesLincoln’s Dilemma (February 2022), which The Daily Beast wrote “should be required viewing for every American”;and the highly provocative talk show The Problem with Jon Stewart (2021-), which has already impacted change ingovernment policy. Atop its upcoming slate is the much anticipated event series on Benjamin Franklin’s vital eightyears in France, starring Michael Douglas in the lead role and based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff’s book,and the crime drama series Firebug with Dennis Lehane as creator, writer and executive producer, and Taron Egerton as star and executive producer, inspired by true events around serial arsonists in California.

Plepler had a 28 year career at Home Box Office, Inc., where he started as Executive Vice President from 2002 -2007, Co-President from 2007 - 2012 and was named Chairman and CEO in September 2012, leaving the companyin March 2019. A brand known for excellence, HBO curated over 3,000 hours of content on its platforms, includingoriginal series, documentaries, specials, original movies, talk shows and sports. During his tenure as CEO, HBOexperienced its largest growth in company history while continuing to raise the bar with some of the mostinnovative, honored, and critically-acclaimed programming on television. Plepler led the creation of the company’sstandalone streaming service, HBO NOW®, which launched with Apple in March 2015 and was a transformativemove as it enabled the company to go directly to the consumer. Upon Plepler’s departure, HBO and Cinemaxboasted 140 million global subscribers and HBO Now represented over 20% of its subscription revenue becomingthe foundation for the streaming service, HBO Max®.

Under Plepler’s leadership, HBO greenlit some of the most successful series including Emmy® Award-winnersGame of Thrones, Veep, Silicon Valley, Big Little Lies, Girls, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Newsroom, Barry,Succession, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Notably, Game of Thrones, HBO’s most viewed series ever,continues to hold the record for the most Emmy Awards® ever won by a scripted series with a lifetime total of 59Emmys®. Overall during Plepler’s leadership, HBO was recognized with 190 Emmy Awards® with wins in all majorcategories and 9 Golden Globe Awards®.

Plepler has received numerous accolades during his career, including being inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame byThe Cable Center (2018) and Broadcasting and Cable magazine’s Hall of Fame (2013); named Media Person of theYear by The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (2014); earned the Directorate Emmy Award® for hisimpact on the industry from the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (2015); the prestigiousDriver of Change Award at the FT ArcelorMittel Boldness in Business Awards (2015); and the Variety VanguardAward for contribution to the TV business (2017).

Plepler serves on the Board of Directors for the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Advisors for the NewYork Public Library, in addition to also serving on the National Advisory Board of the Hutchins Center for Africanand African American Research.

Plepler resides in Connecticut with his wife Lisa and daughter Eden.