Will Ward (producer)

William Ward is an American businessman, film producer, and talent manager. He is the founder of Fourward Inc., Fourward Music, and Fourward Ventures. Prior to that, he founded ROAR in 2003. As a manager, Ward has represented some of the biggest names in film, TV, and music. He has produced a number of projects, including Warner Bros.' 2015 film In the Heart of the Sea. In May of 2022, Ward launched a $50M fund to invest in early-stage companies within the Health and Wellness, Sustainability, Media-Tech, and Consumer Packaged Goods sectors.
==Early Life==
Ward grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, the older of two children. His father was in finance and his mother was in real estate. For high school, Ward graduated from a boys boarding school, Baylor School, in Chattanooga. Ward graduated from the College of Charleston in 1993, where he received his bachelors degree in business, with a minor in Japanese. In May of 2023, Ward gave the undergraduate commencement speech at the College of Charleston. 
==Career==
Ward started his career at CAA, commencing in the music department's Nashville mailroom and then promoted to trainee, motivated by his admiration for the Chairman at the time, Michael Ovitz. He was then recruited by Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, to serve as a Motion Picture Talent trainee. Demonstrating a rapid ascent, Ward was promoted to Motion Picture Talent Agent within his first year, representing well-known figures such as Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, Ryan Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, and David Spade.
Following 4+ years at Endeavor, Ward and several partners including Bernie Cahill and Greg Suess established their own management and production company, ROAR. There, Ward navigated the careers of industry talents including Chris Hemsworth, Liam Hemsworth, Cobie Smulders, Ken Watanabe, Brie Larson, and Aisha Tyler. Furthermore, Ward managed and built the career of the Zac Brown Band and co-managed Dead and Co, a new iteration of the Grateful Dead.
In 2013, Ward produced the Warner Bros.' high-budget film, In the Heart of the Sea, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth. 
In 2015 and 2017, Ward was listed on "Billboard's Nashville Top 50 Power Players List" and on "Billboard's Country Power Players List" respectively.
In April of 2018, Ward left ROAR along with 13 key employees to found Fourward Inc., a worldwide management, production, and business development company with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, and Melbourne.
At Fourward Inc., Ward orchestrated a notable business deal that saw a partnership with Chris Hemsworth and Quadrant, a prominent private equity firm, to acquire 600 gyms across Southeast Asia. This partnership also facilitated the creation and subsequent sale of a successful fitness app, Centr, to the Bezos family office's private equity firm, HighPost.
In 2019, Ward launched the publishing company Fourward Music in Nashville. In 2023, Fourward Music launched Fourward Records, signing folk-pop artist, Brenn!, in partnership with Darkroom, as well as indie-rock group Sarah and the Sundays in partnership with AWAL. 
In May of 2022, Ward further diversified his portfolio with the launch and raise of Fourward Ventures, a $50M venture capital fund investing in early-stage companies within the Health and Wellness, Sustainability, Media-Tech, and Consumer Packaged Goods sectors. The venture fund is rapidly gaining recognition in the VC realm, because of Ward's unique access to deal flow.
==Personal Life==
Ward was previously married to former William Morris and UTA power agent Louise Spinner, who built the careers of many stars including Channing Tatum. Ward has 3 children from this marriage. In June 2019, Ward married Christy Jones, a friend from his middle school days. Christy has 3 children from a previous marriage. 
==Credits==
Producing
Year	Project 	Network / Distributor	Notes
TBD 	Untitled Alabama Football Integration Project	Independent 	Executive Producer
2023	Flip The Strip 	HGTV 	Producer
2021	Alex Murdaugh: Death. Deception. Power. 	Oxygen 	Executive Producer
2019	Bad Dream 	Independent 	Executive Producer - Music Video
2015	In The Heart Of The Sea 	Warner Bros. 	Producer
2009	Aisha Tyler Is Lit: Live at the Fillmore 	Comedy Central 	Executive Producer
2006	Pittsburgh 	Starz 	Co-Executive Producer
Category:American people
Category:Businesspeople
Category:Film producers
Category:Talent managers