David Linde (born February 8, 1960) was the CEO of Participant,[1] chairman of Universal Pictures, co-founder of Focus Features, partner in the New York production company Good Machine, and owner of Lava Bear Films, where he produced the film Arrival.
[7] In New York, he worked as a paralegal for Paramount Pictures from 1984 to 1988[6] where he supervised sales of select international theatrical rights;[8] and then as co-head of the international department at Fox Lorber Associates from 1988 to 1991[6] where he directed the sales of more than 300 independently produced film, documentary and television titles.
[10] While at Miramax, he oversaw the international distribution of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite, Wes Craven's Scream and Anthony Minghella's multi-Academy Award-winning The English Patient.
[16] In 2002, Linde and his partners sold the Good Machine companies to Universal Pictures and created Focus Features.
[18] Linde oversaw a slate that featured Roman Polanski's The Pianist, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation and Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener, as well as Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain.
[19] During Linde's tenure at Focus, the company was honored with 53 Oscar nominations resulting in 11 Academy Awards.