John Ridings Lee
Member Since
2009
John Ridings Lee, Jr. is a co-founder and principal of Ridings Mackler Entertainment (RME) a development and co-production company with extensive experience in working with original concepts, source materials and adaptations from estate libraries for both feature film and television. In feature film, RME maintains access to film financing through a Dallas based hedge fund for the purpose of financing or co-financing the development of motion pictures in all genres, particularly those with strong international l appeal, in order to enhance presale opportunities in the global marketplace. In television, RME has established relationships with a variety of writers, and has developed a slate of original half-hour comedy and one-hour dramatic series, in single- and multi-camera formats for broadcast, cable and syndicated distribution.
Prior to moving to California, Mr. Lee was the co-founder and CEO of the Akuratus Corporation, a recognized technology company that develops, licenses, and maintains a suite of web-based software products designed to automate the business processes of independent school districts. Akuratus also owned the Akutrust Division which converted school district permanent records to digital format, housed them in a secure datacenter and served those records back to school districts administrators in compliance with state and federal regulations such as FERPA, HIPAA, and NCLB.
Prior to Akuratus, John was CFO of North American National Life Insurance Company where he oversaw both accounting and financial reporting. In addition, he performed investment analysis, capital budgeting, inter-company transactions and M&A analysis. Mr. Lee is a Dallas native having graduated Cum Laude from Southern Methodist University where he earned degrees in Business Administration, Economics, and Political Science. John is an accomplished artist having produced over 300 works of art and shows his work in galleries in Texas and California.