Matti Leshem

Matti Phillip Leshem (born January 2, 1963) is an American entrepreneur, film producer, and branding expert who has founded several entertainment production companies as well as the USA Rock Paper Scissors League. He is founder and CEO of Protagonist, a Los Angeles-based brand management company.

Early life and education

Leshem was born January 2, 1962 in Israel, but spent much of his childhood in the United States. He is the son of Alyssa Leshem and Moshe Leshem, a former Israeli ambassador to several countries, including The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Denmark, and was part of Israel’s delegation at the United Nations.

Leshem moved to New York in 1978 and began his career in theater, performing in off-Broadway productions, including a role as James Joyce in Exiles at the Asphalt Green. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, he started an interactive theater company with his theater teacher, Megan McCombs in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Leshem and McCombs staged their own interactive murder mystery, Hilton Head Homicides. After a year with the production, Leshem relocated to Hollywood.