User:EWChristine/Jay Sures

Jay Sures is an American entertainment industry executive and talent agent, currently serving as co-president of United Talent Agency.

Early life and education
Sures was born in Canada and raised in Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he has also served as an assistant visiting professor for the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

Career
Sures' career with United Talent Agency (UTA) began with the agency's establishment in 1991, working in the mailroom and assisting co-founder Peter Benedek. He became a talent agent when UTA first formed, and was promoted to partner in 1998. Sures joined the board of directors in 2003. He and David Kramer held managing director roles starting in 2010, and both became co-presidents in September 2017. Sures is also a co-founder of the UTA Foundation, the agency's non-profit organization.

Sures leads the agency's television departments, which focus on broadcasting, news, and television (non-scripted and scripted) talent, as well as the acquired Greater Talent Network speakers division. He began managing UTA's news and broadcast division after leading the agency's 2014 acquisition of N.S. Bienstock.

Sures was appointed to the Television Academy's Executive Committee in 2014, and inducted into Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 2016. In June 2017, Sures and Kramer, along with UTA's chief executive officer, Jeremy Zimmer, ranked number 33 on The Hollywood Reporter list of the 100 "most powerful people in entertainment".

In the 2018 edition of journalism-focused website MediaIte’s annual list of top players in the news business, Sures was the sole agent recognized because “being influential from behind the scenes often results in having more power than those names you know.” The piece added that Sures “is that guy in the news world. In fact, there is no one else even close.”

Throughout his career, Sures has represented Glenn Beck, Henry Bromell, Don Lemon, Steve Levitan, Chuck Lorre, Norah O'Donnell, Darren Star, Jake Tapper, Chuck Todd, Elizabeth Vargas, and Larry Wilmore, among others.

Personal life
Sures is a political activist and a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party. In 2016, he hosted a fundraiser luncheon for Senator Tim Kaine, then Hillary Clinton's selection for vice president in the U.S. presidential election. Earlier in the race, he had supported Joe Biden. He pledged his support for Democratic candidate Gavin Newsom, in California's 2018 gubernatorial race.

Sures joined the Entertainment Industry Foundation's board of directors in 2008, and later held the vice chair role. He currently serves as co-vice chair on the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center's board, and received the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Foundation's Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award in 2007. In 2014, Sures was honored at Chrysalis' annual Butterfly Ball, which recognizes professionals in the film, music, and television industries for their "creative excellence and philanthropic endeavors".