Master entrepreneur and visionary Russell Simmons has influenced virtually all aspects of business and media: in music with the co-founding of the immensely successful original Def Jam Recordings; in the fashion industry with the trail-blazing Phat Farm, Baby Phat, Run Athletics, and Def Jam University clothing lines; in film with Simmons Lathan Media Group; in television with HBO's "The Def Comedy Jam" and "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry"; on Broadway with the Tony Award winning stage production "Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway", and numerous other ventures in the financial services industry, mobile communications, and philanthropy. A native New Yorker, he is the proud father of two daughters.