Former chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Pictures known for his savvy taste, talent relationships and abilitiy to shepherd projects, Casey Silver began his career in the motion picture industry as a screenwriter. After serving as assistant to director Adrian Lyne on "Flashdance" (1983), he became director of development and production for Simpson-Bruckheimer Productions, where he was instrumental in the development of the original "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984). Prior to joining Universal, he served for several years as TriStar Picture's vice president of production, and was then promoted to senior vice president of production.