Hammad Zaidi is a founding partner and CEO of the Ryz Sports Network, a Sports FAST Channel showcased on every major FAST platform in the United States. Hammad also founded The Lonely Seal Company Group, The Lonely Seal Impact Fund, Film Bite, The Story Oasis Fund, Lonely Seal Releasing, The Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay & Music Festival, and Lonely Seal Streaming. He is one of 1,200 Priority Cinema Buyers worldwide. Hammad is also on the Board of Directors of Cinema Without Borders and on the Advisory Board of the Master’s in Entertainment Leadership and Management (MELM) at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). Additionally, Hammad created “Ogreachiever,” a national Shrek-based billboard campaign designed to inspire children. He won a Telly for writing “Generosity,” a national PSA, and he wrote, produced, and directed “Champions of Hope,” a White House-endorsed national PSA made for the first anniversary of September 11. Champions of Hope played on 5,001 theatrical screens, television networks, and major sporting arenas. It was paid for by Disney and Verizon and released theatrically by Regal Cinemas.
Zaidi has been a jury member, filmmaker advisor, curator, panelist, advisory board member, and world cinema screener at several major film festivals. These include, but are not limited to, Sundance, SXSW, Slamdance, Nashville, Cinequest, Temecula, and many more.
Hammad has served as an adjunct professor, guest lecturer, and panelist at several universities, including his alma mater, UCLA, CSUN, USC, Vanderbilt, Chapman, Avila, The Watkins Film School (acquired by Belmont University), San Diego State, The University of Kansas, The University of Missouri, and numerous others. Hammad Zaidi received his Master of Fine Arts from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television Producers Program in 1994, and his Bachelor of Arts in Media Management from California State University, Northridge in 1992.
