Zeeshan Zaidi

Zeeshan Hussain Zaidi (born August 26, 1974) is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter living in New York City, USA. He is also an internet entrepreneur. He is the lead vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, and founder of The Commuters, an alternative rock band. He is the co-founder and President of Host Committee, Inc., a social media-based nightlife and event production service. Zaidi held executive positions at Sony BMG Music Entertainment, RCA Music Groupand Arista Records before he joined LimeWire as Chief Operating Officer. Zaidi is also a member of the New York State Bar Association and is involved in public policy and international affairs as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Zaidi was born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada to parents originally from Pakistan. His family moved to Manila, the Philippines when he was 5, and he studied at the International School Manila until graduating from high school. Zaidi then moved to the United States to attend Harvard University, where he graduated in 1996 with an AB in Economics, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. He then attended Harvard Law School, graduating with a Juris Doctor (JD) cum laude in 2000, and Harvard Business School, graduating with a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with honors in 2000. He was enrolled in the JD/MBA program at Harvard. He became a naturalized American in 2010 and has said that "America is the country that owed me nothing and gave me everything".

While an undergraduate in Cambridge, MA, Zaidi worked as a producer and engineer, producing the first demo for Grammy-nominated R&B artist Ryan Leslie. In 1998, while at law school, Zaidi won the Grammy Entertainment Law Initiative awardfrom the GRAMMY Foundation. After graduating, Zaidi moved to New York City and worked in the music industry for major labels as a creative and business executive, including VP of New Ventures for Sony BMG Music Entertainment, VP of Digital Business Operations for the RCA Music Groupand Sr. Director of Marketing at Arista Records, where he helped develop the careers of artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne, Usher, Pink and OutKast.

The Commuters

After leaving Sony, Zaidi started work on a solo music project. He collaborated with his childhood friend from the Philippines, Uri Djemal, a New York-based producer, to co-produce the songs Zaidi had written. Before releasing the album, Zaidi decided to form a band and asked Djemal to join. The two then recruited bassist Ben Zwerin and drummer Paul Amorese. The Commuters' first single "As I Make My Way" was released on August 23, 2011. The music video was added to mtvU on September 23, 2011. The Commuters were the Artist of the Week for Channel One News in December 12, 2011. On March 28, 2012, Pure Volume selected "Rescue" as its "Song of the Day". Their debut album Rescue was released on 17th, 2012. The band and Zaidi were also featured by Guitar Worldand DAWN.

Technology career

After leaving Sony Music Entertainment, Zaidi worked at multiple technology companies, including serving as Chief Operating Officer of Selectable Media and Limewire, before starting Host Committee in 2011.