Shane Smith

Shane Smith CNBC next 25
Benjamin Wachenje

Title: Co-founder and CEO, VICE

Born: September 28, 1969, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Education: Political economy, Carleton University

Early Marker: Bought out a community newspaper in Montreal in 1994 and reinvented it as punk publication VICE, which he subsequently moved to New York in 2001.

Big Idea: Having turned VICE into a multiplatform international media company for global millennials driven by video, social and mobile, his empire now stretches from online video and TV production, filmmaking, a record label, a book imprint, marketing agency and international arts festival. Smith is increasingly expanding VICE News' original news reporting and documentaries in part in partnership with HBO, for which it produces an Emmy-nominated newsmagazine show.

Wave of the Future: Media disruption

Latest Special Reports

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    CNBC Changemakers: Women Transforming Business is an annual list spotlighting women whose accomplishments have left an indelible mark on the business world.

  • Geoff Cutmore, Steve Sedgwick and Karen Tso lead you into the open of the European markets.

  • The Just 100 is an annual ranking of America’s largest publicly traded companies on issues that define 'just' business behavior and reflect the priorities of the American public, produced in partnership with research nonprofit Just Capital.

CNBC25: Rebels, Icons and Leaders