Robert Opatrny
Bob has over 40 years of experience as a corporate entertainment lawyer, board member, and invester/entrepreneur in the music, media and marketing sectors. His career has been strongly influenced by his passion for music.
Bob plays piano, violin, bass and guitar. While in college, he sang in the Glee Club, directed and arranged for a men’s acapella group, and played in rock bands. He also studied orchestral conducting. He received a B.A. in both Music and Literature from Yale University. Bob received a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1981, after which he spent close to a decade as a corporate attorney at two major Wall Street firms. Realizing he could combine his passion for music with his legal skills, he opened his own practice in the entertainment industry, representing musicians and producers. He also provided pro bono legal services through the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts organization, representing musicians unable to pay for legal assistance.
In 2000, Bob co-founded and acted as General Counsel to Pump Audio, Inc., which licensed music of independent musicians for use in television, advertising and film. The company grew to become a significant international source for licensed production music. Getty Images acquired Pump in 2007. Bob then served as General Counsel to WhoSay Inc, an online marketing platform for over 2,000 celebrities and influencers, enabling them to manage relationships with fans. Commercially, the platform presented a unique and effective means for brands to reach buyers through authentic content marketing and media targeting. Viacom acquired WhoSay in 2018. Bob was also an investor in and served as Counsel to Videolicious, Inc., which licenses a proprietary video creation phone app, used by a number of Fortune 500 companies. Squarespace acquired Videolicious in 2019.
Bob has been on the Board of the Jazz Foundation of America, headquartered in New York City, for over 25 years, and serves on the Operations and Finance Committee. The mission of the JFA is to provide emergency assistance to senior Jazz and Blues musicians in critical situations such as housing, medical help, disaster relief, and educational and employment programs.
Bob is now retired, and he and his wife Susan Sutherland spend most of their time in Naples, and they spend summers at their house in upstate New York. Bob enjoys studying jazz piano, fishing, playing golf, and playing electric bass in a rock band when in Naples.
