Biography
Bernie Cahill is an Activist Founding Partner and currently oversees the careers of artists such as Bobby Weir, Dead & Company, Grateful Dead, GRAMMY Award winner Dwight Yoakam, Empire of the Sun, The Lumineers, Alec Benjamin, and Michael Franti & Spearhead. Cahill, along with Dead & Company's co-manager Azoff/Moir, has overseen the rise of Dead & Company into a record-breaking stadium act including headline performances at Folsom Field, Citi Field, Fenway Park, Dodger Stadium and most recently they set Wrigley Field's all-time attendance record. Over the last five years, Dead & Company tours have consistently ranked in the top 25 of the Top 100 Worldwide Tours according to Pollstar including their most recent Summer Tour which topped Billboard's mid-year Top Boxscores chart, Current Boxscore chart and Hot Tours tally. In addition, The Lumineers' III: The World Tour ranked in the Top 10 North American Tours according to Pollstar. Equally important, through a series of partnerships pulled together by Activist, The Lumineers successfully offset 150% of the entire carbon footprint for the tour, including fan travel. The Lumineers' III: The World Tour was deemed "climate positive" by Reverb. Cahill is currently an elected 2020-22 Governor serving the LA Chapter of The Recording Academy. He previously served as an elected 2019-2020 Advisor to the LA Chapter Board of the Recording Academy Governance.
Cahill also runs the Activist film/tv talent department and leads a team that manages iconic actors including Oscar, Golden Globe, 2x Tony and Olivier Award nominated Ken Watanabe (Last Samurai, Inception, Godzilla, King and I on Broadway) and Tony Award winner David Alan Grier (Carmichael Show, Cool Kids, Race, Soldiers Play). 2021 finds Watanabe filming Tokyo Vice for HBO Max in which he plays the lead in the dramatic tentpole series directed by Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, Collateral). Grier stars opposite Jamie Foxx in the Netflix Original Series Dad, Stop Embarrassing Me. Grier also just received his 4th Tony nomination for his lead role in a Soldiers Play on Broadway. Activist has an active Film and TV production slate that Cahill oversees, including more than half a dozen producing projects in the last 12 months that have been set up at major studios and networks including FX, Endeavor Content, WME/HBOmax, and Universal Content Partners.
Cahill advises Activist partner Tony Khan on all media related initiatives including Khan's incredibly successful media and live entertainment business - All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Together, Khan and Cahill were able to secure a "historic" 400 hours of prime time programming for AEW on TNT running through 2024. Until recently, Cahill served as a board member of the media company Genius Brands International, Inc. (Nasdaq:GNUS). In addition, Cahill advises the Khans' on non-sports related programming for the Jacksonville Jaguars' Daily's Place and Fulham FC's Craven Cottage.
Cahill represents the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that works to dismantle white supremacy in the South. His work with the 50 year old institution includes developing podcasts, scripted and unscripted projects made for both film and television, and connecting with audiences through digital content creators.
In early 2020, Cahill oversaw the creation of the Activist Foundation and the Activist Artists Fellowship, which he Co-Chairs with partners Greg Suess and Caitlin Stone. The foundation and fellowship were founded on the idea of "open source activism" to encourage collaboration, create a forum for sharing best practices and to provide resources for activists in their own communities and around the world. Cahill is the former co-chair of the USO Entertainment Advisory Board, as well as a former board member of both InsideOUT Writers and Facing Forward. Today, Cahill and his partners remain actively involved in numerous philanthropic and activist causes including MusicCares, HeadCount, UJA - Federation of New York, Robin Hood Foundation and others.
Prior to Activist, Cahill was an intellectual property attorney specializing in talent representation, music publishing, licensing and digital rights management. He then co-founded Roar Management where he established and ran its music division. While at Roar, Cahill and Maher led the department that managed three-time GRAMMY Award winner Zac Brown Band. During their decade plus together, Zac Brown Band won the Grammy for Best New Artist and grew into a stadium act with dozens of sold out stadiums shows, including attendance records at Fenway Park and Coors Field. In addition, Cahill was instrumental in starting and building Z. Alexander Brown wines which today is one of the leading wine brands in the US by volume. Cahill, along with Activist partner Greg Suess, were central in helping Zac Brown fundraise and successfully launch his state-of-the-art non-profit, Camp Southern Ground, for children and military families. While at Roar Cahill also oversaw all client brand partnerships and integrations for clients including Chris Hemsworth, Cobie Smulders, Ken Watanabe and others. These partnerships included global campaigns for brands such as American Express, Hugo Boss, Tag Heuer, IWC, Jack Daniels, Dodge, Budweiser and more.
Over the years Cahill has been acknowledged as a leader by his peers and the industry. He's been featured on the Billboard Power 100, Billboard Impact List, Billboard Nashville Country Power Players and is a NATD Honors recipient.
