ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Who'll present Sykes with the award? Oh, just his old friend Bill Clinton, that's all. We were already feeling pretty crappy about our own lifetime achievements, and this does not help.
The award commemorates those who make "profound contributions to the music and entertainment industries." The event, at Cipriani in NYC, will feature performances by Sting and Bryan Adams, and will help raise funds for the Foundation's ongoing fight against leukemia, cancer and AIDS.
Sykes' accomplishments at Clear Channel include developing partnerships across myriad media platforms, producing the hugely successful iHeartRadio Festival and spearheading benefits such as the 12-12-12 concert for Sandy relief.
He also produced the post-9/11 Concert for New York City with Harvey Weinstein and Madison Square Garden's James Dolan. Sykes' other philanthropic work has included serving on the boards of the Robin Hood Foundation, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Syracuse University's Newhouse School.
His career prior to arriving at CC includes 21 years at Viacom, where he was part of MTV's founding team, served as President of VH1, the rebranding of which he oversaw (and where he founded the VH1 Save the Music Foundation); he was also Chairman/CEO at Infinity Broadcasting for three years.
Perhaps most impressively, he's managed to withstand the annoying intrusions of this publication for decades. Shouldn't he get an award for that too?
Prior Martell gala honorees have included Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, Clive Davis, Irving Azoff, Monte and Avery Lipman, Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Bruce Lundvall, John Esposito, Joel Katz and Ahmet Ertegun, among others.
