Meet The Team

The strength of our management team is derived from our blend of experience, creativity, the vision and ability to engage global audiences, and a clear understanding of not just “what’s next” but “what’s best.” As leading curators of popular culture, the EAM team is dedicated and prepared to ensure the continued success and profitability of the company by delivering innovative ideas for the creation, distribution, monetization and protection of intellectual property assets.

Debra Wise

An entertainment attorney admitted to practice in New York (1986) and in California (1988), Debra Wise's law practice concentrates on representing a broad range of high-profile clients in music, film and television and digital media on a worldwide basis. She secures and negotiates recording, publishing, management, distribution, touring, merchandising, licensing, partnership and Internet agreements, as well as devising strategies to help her clients protect and monetize their intellectual property rights. Debra's clients have received or been nominated for the Academy Award®, Golden Globe®, Grammy®, American Music Award, Billboard Music Award, ASCAP and BMI Awards, SAG Award, and the Emmy®. Her producer and songwriter clients have achieved sales in excess of 200 million records and earned over 72 RIAA Gold and Platinum awards.

Greg Johnson

A native Angeleno with deep ties to the entertainment industry, Greg Johnson is one of LA’s power brokers and a founder of Grand Cru Entertainment Management with a roster of top pop culture music artists. Greg has an expansive working knowledge of all aspects of the record, publishing, branding, merchandising and tech industries and strong networking relationships. Having come from a family of world-renowned artists - including his aunt Carmen DeLavallade (recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts) and Geoffrey Holder (fine artist and legendary three time Tony®-winning director and choreographer of The Wiz) - Greg’s inherent understanding of artists, intellectual property assets and the entertainment industry is a key to EAM’s success. Greg’s work with numerous contemporary artists including Eminem, Jay-Z, Drake, Dr. Dre, Pink, Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Kanye West, Logic, Khalid, Rihanna, Celine Dion, and Aloe Blacc - among others - has resulted in 30+ Grammy® nominations (including 7 writer-producer wins), 100+ synch placements and 3 CLIO Award-winning writers.

Michael Eames

Michael Eames is the founder and President of PEN Music Group, Inc., a full-service independent music publisher that is currently celebrating its 27th Anniversary. Prior to starting PEN, Michael was a trained composer, songwriter, and pianist with experience in film scoring who studied music at Cornell University and UCLA Extension. Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Michael worked for Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and the management and music supervision firms The Derek Power Co. and Seth Kaplan Entertainment. He then segued to Don Williams Music Group where he oversaw the international activities and film & television department and was responsible for song catalogues such as Jimi Hendrix, Chicago and Roy Orbison amongst numerous others. Michael was the President of the Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) from 2015-2018 (and Vice President of the organization from 2013-2014) and also serves on the Independent Publishers Advisory Council (IPAC) of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA). Michael co-wrote the recently released Roman & Littlefield book Introduction To Music Publishing For Musicians with Bobby Borg, with whom he also teaches the UCLA Extension class Music Publishing: A Creative And Business Perspective.

Wayne Coleman, CPA

Wayne Coleman is Founder and Chairman of Capstone International, Inc., Financial Services Team, Inc., The Royalty Compliance Organization, and Royalty Information Technology Services, Inc. Wayne was with Touche Ross & Co. before becoming a partner of Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman (GR&F) in 1971, a partner of Coopers & Lybrand in 1989, and a joint venture partner with Moss Adams in 1994. He started the GR&F Nashville office in December 1971 as its first managing partner. He later moved to Los Angeles as the partner-in-charge of many business management clients and the royalty examination and entertainment asset valuation departments. In 2001, Wayne established his own companies to provide financial consulting, business valuation procedures, royalty and due diligence examinations, licensee examinations, copyright administration systems, litigations support, and tour accounting support. He has directed and supervised teams from Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis, Nashville, and London to provide his services within the United States and throughout the world. Under his direction, his investigations and services have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars. Wayne's client list reads like a who's who of the music industry including Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, Madonna, LucasFilm, EMI, Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and dozens of other superstar artists and entertainment companies.

Fernando Batista

Fernando is an experienced investor and advisor in venture capital and private equities. He holds degrees from both USC and the Johns Hopkins University.  His career began in music as Tour Accountant for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Sting. Among other things, he worked with the World Bank Group, including the International Finance Corporation for 10 years, developing an environmental portfolio under the aegis of the Global Environment Department. He left international banking and moved to the high technology world for a five-year stint serving as co-Founder and CEO of a US/Germany data and applications hosting company before eventually turning his interest in contemporary art into artist representation with his own gallery venture. His specialty is the combination of macro analysis with a vision for future markets and opportunities.