In entertainment, leadership takes many forms, because it's needed in many ways at many different steps of the creative process. It could be finding the right story. Signing the right client. Packaging the right product. Developing the right promotional campaign. Amplifying the right message. Identifying the right launchpad. Leveraging success in the right way to create more of it. And there are hundreds of steps in between these that are just as crucial.
Variety's annual New Leaders list hopes to identify some of the undersung individuals who provide the connective tissue between idea and execution, messenger and message, property and platform. The 45 names selected in 2024 honor advancement, innovation, accomplishment and greatness across a broad spectrum of disciplines, from social media expertise to legal acumen, production oversight to personnel management, artist development to strategic partnerships.
Tulani André 
VP, social media National Geographic Ensuring the iconic 136-year-old brand has a thriving social media presence sounds like a daunting task, but André and her growing team engage 810 million-plus followers across multiple platforms, including several YouTube Original series featuring young, diverse hosts and creators. A fourth YouTube channel, Nat Geo En Español, launched last year. Drawing new generations to National Geographic is her top priority. André says diplomacy courses and her master's degree in conflict resolution have benefitted her career. "Most importantly, it's [been] vital in letting [people] know that their own experiences and knowledge are respected and valued even when working in a space that can often be unknown for them."
Kelsey Balance 
Image Credit: Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal Senior VP, global scripted series Universal International Studios Whether in English or another language, the 200-plus scripted TV projects Balance oversees share a common thread: They all build on the studio's history and dedication to creating content with global appeal while seeking out diverse, emerging voices. In the past year she's overseen Season 2 of Peabody-winning "We Are Lady Parts," and developed highly anticipated titles like "All Her Fault" with Sarah Snook and "The Day of the Jackal" series starring Eddie Redmayne and is working on a new Lena Dunham project for Netflix. "Television is a team sport. Making a great series requires collaboration, trust, perseverance and passion. When you have that, everyone wins," Balance says.
Maddy Bilder 
Project director 26 Keys Bilder joined Noah Hawley's Austin-based company last April, overseeing project management of the company's film and television programming, including highly anticipated 2025 FX series "Alien: Earth." "We are motivated and excited about increasing production in Texas and telling specific, well-produced stories that also uplift unique filmmakers, artists and tradesmen in our community," Bilder says. Previously, Bilder served as senior producer of Film & Television Development at Texas Monthly Magazine, where she collaborated on the development of numerous projects based on Texas Monthly journalism, including Netflix's "Hit Man," the three-part Max docuseries "How to Create a Sex Scandal" and upcoming Paramount+ series "Landman."
Jessamine Burgum, Kara Durrett 
Image Credit: Durrett photo courtesy Getty CEO, founder, Pinky Promise President, Pinky Promise In the last year, Burgum and Durrett produced and/or financed festival hits "The Last Showgirl," starring Pamela Anderson, "I Don't Understand You" and Andrea Arnold's "Bird." They recently wrapped "Eleanor the Great," Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut starring June Squibb. The shingle is committed to bring diverse voices to the screen; however, for female filmmakers, "I think we have a pipeline issue. Right now everyone is leaning on filmmakers who have had success in the past which tends to not be diverse voices. The industry needs to lift up a new generation of filmmakers," says Burgum. Adds Durrett: "Unfortunately it's only gotten harder for everyone, especially POC and underrepresented filmmakers. I think during the pandemic there was a movement to really encourage for DEI programs to exist, and now that so many companies have downsized, they tend to be the first ones to go.� �
Colin Campbell 
Head of development Omaha Prods. Campbell oversees Omaha's project slate across live events, television and film, and was instrumental in the company's 2021 launch. He's led the development of Omaha's Emmy-winning flagship property, "Monday Night Football With Peyton and Eli," and over a dozen productions at various networks and streamers. "This new generation of individuals entering our industry is excited and eager to innovate. The people we've hired are incredibly optimistic about the entire development process, and it's really pushed us to challenge established norms and bring fresh ideas to the table," he says.
Sam Campos 
Image Credit: CBS VP, drama development CBS Studios Since joining the company in 2021, Campos — who mentors emerging writers through the CBS Writers Program — has developed hits like "Elsbeth" and the Kathy Bates-led reimagining of "Matlock," which previewed to positive buzz. She has two more premieres this season, "NCIS: Origins" and "Watson," which build on genre-defining franchises and IP from CBS Studios' library. "Telling your truth in this medium … can help people feel a little less alone in the world. It can change hearts and minds," Campos says. "I really carry this in anything and everything I do, whether it's a pitch, general, notes or even lunch with my co-workers.
Josie Craven 
VP, film and television Hello Sunshine In short order, Craven rose from assistant to Hello Sunshine's president of film and television to co-producing "The Morning Show," producing "The Last Thing He Told Me" and co-producing features like Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell's "You're Cordially Invited." A "Legally Blonde" fan, Craven is excited to be on the creative team for "Elle," a series based on the movie. "Growing up I was always an athlete, and in high school I played softball. I think learning the value of being on a team has helped me feel confident in knowing my role and not comparing or competing with others around me," Craven says.
Jenn Cron 
Head of partnerships, North America Wondery At podcast network Wondery, Cron has won bidding wars to acquire and license shows including "Morbid," "SmartLess," "Baby, This Is Keke Palmer," "Armchair Expert" and "New Heights With Jason & Travis Kelce," often structuring nontraditional deals to include video and consumer products components that take advantage of parent company Amazon's wide reach. An aspiring thespian in her youth, she studied both acting and engineering in college, and it's serving her well in her current role. "I'm geeking out on building financial models and redlining contracts, but also I'm involved in the creative and meeting with talent and finding new shows," she says.
Alexis Cueva 
Senior artist relations manager Amazon Music Cueva has been instrumental in leading the Amazon Music Breakthrough Program, which aims to promote emerging artists at the most critical moment of their career. This past year saw the Los Angeles-based Cueva spearhead campaigns and partnerships for Benson Boone, Ayra Starr, Chappell Roan, Stephen Sanchez and Lola Brooke — the latter of whom Cuevas worked with across Amazon Fashion, Amazon Live and Amazon Studios. Days apart from Brooke's deluxe edition release of her album "Dennis Daughter" in April, the rapper appeared in Prime Video's "Hip Hop World," where she explored Paris for the first time alongside photographer and music executive Lenny S.
Elsie De Marziani 
Image Credit: IVAN APFEL Senior director of AVOD for streaming and digital NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises De Marziani oversees Telemundo's strategy for AVOD, streaming and digital platforms, including its social media accounts (Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram). She played a key role in Telemundo's exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the 72nd Miss Universe pageant, which drew 113 million video views, an increase of 88%, and worked with her team to set a new benchmark for digital engagement during the 2023 Billboard Latin Women in Music special with more than 57 million views. "Compared to linear TV advertising, AVOD platforms often provide more insights into viewer demographics, making ad campaigns more effective," says De Marziani, a native of Ecuador. "The ability to measure ROI and adjust campaigns in real-time is a big draw for marketers."
Steven Demmler 
Image Credit: Evander Lipps Writer, producer, CEO Talon Entertainment Finance The son of a Radio City Music Hall Rockette and a father who worked as a stagehand on "Saturday Night Live" for 48 years, Tampa-based Demmler put himself on the showbiz map this year as exec producer and co-financer of a pair of films, Paul Schrader's "Oh, Canada," starring Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi that bowed at Cannes earlier this year, and "Bookworm," starring Elijah Wood. He also purchased South Side Studios, an 11-acre soundstage complex outside of Dallas he's renovating that's scheduled to reopen later this year. "I'm trying to take intelligent risk adjusted shots that maybe are small by themselves, but over time will add up to something large and meaningful and lasting," says Demmler, who's also shopping a pair of self-penned scripts.
Aislinn Dunster 
VP, creative development 3000 Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment With a blockbuster film version of Delia Owens' "Where the Crawdads Sing" under her belt, Dunster is currently overseeing post-production on Taika Waititi's adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's "Klara and the Sun." Working at 3000 Pictures, the only studio division conceived in partnership with a publisher, Dunster developed a cross-disciplinary knowledge of both creative and business practices. "It's learning the cadences of publishing, and then tailoring that to identify the best Venn diagram of what works in film and TV," she says. "If I could tell myself [from] 10 years ago anything, I would say 'stay curious and kind,' so find what you love and devour it constantly."
Mickey Down & Konrad Kay 
Showrunners The duo behind the HBO hit "Industry" recently inked another three-year deal with the cabler, which renewed the show for Season 4. "Industry" skewers the world of high finance, class and capitalism, and it's filled with characters working who are monsters but easy to root for. "The secret is to never think of them as awful and to write them from a place of love and understanding. Then: make sure you cast world-class actors whose naturalism and humanity root the audience in their experience even when they're making questionable choices," they say in an email. They also directed for the first time in Season 3. "It was mainly a huge amount of fun and very fulfilling. It felt like a very logical and streamlined extension of our creative process having written so much of the show. To be able to execute something that was as close to our mind's eye as we could hope for felt very rewarding. We have enor mous faith in our cast and crew, and with their support, they made it feel easy."
Kristi Eddington 
Partner Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich Goodell & Gellman Eddington has been negotiating big deals for high-profile clients including Zoe Saldaña (Season 2 of Paramount+'s "Special Ops: Lioness," the lead in Cannes hit "Emilia Pérez," for which she shared best actress accolades with her co-stars), Dan Levy (Emmy hosting gig, homes.com commercial campaign, directorial debut, "Good Grief "), Eva Longoria (Eddie Murphy film "The Pick Up") and Lucas Bravo ("Emily in Paris"). She's closed major brand partner- ships for clients such as Rachel Bilson (21 Seeds Tequila campaign) and Matthew McConaughey (new spirit Pantalones Tequila). "Each of my clients has their own personal brand, and it's important to make sure that whatever product or service they're partnering with fits within that brand," she says.
Danielle Esparza 
Agent WME New York-based Esparza has established herself rising player on the comedy scene, running point on Alex Edelman's deal for his HBO special "Just for Us," as well as the show's worldwide tours following its Off-Broadway and Broadway runs, and the sale of Pete Holmes' Netflix special "I Am Not for Everyone," and shepherded Mekki Leeper's Fintech Live U.S. tour. Other clients including Rachel Sennott, Ashley Gavin, Tony Baker, Joel Kim Booster, Sabrina Wu and Jordan Jensen. "I like identifying talent and watching them grow and flourish and being able to feel like you were a part of something that you like," says Esparza.
Maria Fortese 
Director, development Amblin Entertainment Fortese and her dedicated team have Netflix's "Carry-On," starring Taron Egerton and Sofia Carson, set for release this December. "I'm excited about working with new filmmakers and writers and helping to bring their visions to life. One of the amazing things about working at Amblin is that we have the ability to support emerging talent and unique ideas." Fortese also guided Netflix's "The Thursday Murder Club," directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Helen Mirren and Ben Kingsley. Previously, she served as executive assistant to Michael Bay, earning credits on "Bumblebee" and "A Quiet Place."
Nick Frontiera 
Senior lead, marketing & strategy Amazon MGM Studios Frontiera oversaw the global campaign for the darkly funny dystopian Amazon series "Fallout," highlighted by an interactive post-apocalyptic experience at SXSW 2024 and a "200 Years of Free Stuff" giveaway that awarded two survivalist prize packages, the Vault-Dweller Pack (including 10,000 cans of corn and beans) and the Wastelander Pack (featuring 250 tubs of protein powder and 300 cans of bug spray). The series scored 16 Emmy nominations, a real feat for a science fiction series based on a video game. "I love working with directors and producers to bring their vision to life in a way that is meaningful and at scale, but also adding a strategic perspective that expands the vision or helps open up to new audiences," he says.
Lauren Hansson 
Image Credit: Spiderbox Associate Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton Hansson negotiated a number of big deals for Amazon MGM Studios, including overall pacts with Ryan Gosling and his new production company General Admission and Tessa Thompson's Viva Maude, and an agreement with Sony to produce the game show spinoff "Pop Culture Jeopardy." She also handled numerous matters for podcast network Wondery (most notably, a deal with Dr. Seuss Enterprises) and tech giant Meta. A first-team All-American track star at Duke University, Hansson says, "I feel like I still have that energy in me that I developed as an athlete where you're competitive and you're pushing yourself, trying to be better every day."
Kris Heller 
Agent IAG Heller reps Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone, who won a Golden Globe and SAG Award for "Killers of the Flower Moon" and earned an Emmy nomination for "Under the Bridge"; Lindsay Lohan, who is seeing a career renaissance with various projects including "Freakier Friday"; Cary Elwes ("Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," "Operation Fortune"); and Yale Prods. ("Midnight," "Fog of War"); and with Gary Oldman, supports CEO Jim Osborne, as well as Sharon Stone and Donnie Yen.
Timothy Hinshaw 
Founder & CEO Free Lunch More than a decade ago, Hinshaw purchased the domain for Free Lunch, an agency dedicated to bridging the gap between culture and corporate America. "These things take time," he says of bringing his vision to life — time that has clearly paid dividends. In January, Free Lunch debuted its first project: a special barbershop commercial that partnered the NFL with Mitchell & Ness for the Super Bowl. By the time Amazon streaming records were being broken with Free Lunch and PGLang's "The Pop Out – Ken & Friends" Juneteenth concert, AEG had already caught wind of the magic. As part of the strategic partnership they've struck with Hinshaw, he'll secure hip-hop, R&B and gospel tours for their global touring division starting with a series of performances by Stevie Wonder that kicked off this month.
Charles Hopkins, Wesley Adams 
Director, development & production Concord Originals Director, development & production Concord Originals The duo's support of exec VP Sophia Dilley's Emmy-nominated docuseries "Stax: Soulsville U.S.A." reflects Concord Originals' position at the intersection of music, theater and the screen. Adams executive produced feature docs "Shari & Lamb Chop" and "Let the Canary Sing" about Cyndi Lauper, and is working on Jennifer Lopez's limited series reimagining "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella." Hopkins executive produced the Paris Barclay-directed documentary, "Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It," while also expanding Concord's commitment to LGBTQ+ filmmakers of color by partnering with NewFest to allot five filmmakers $20,000 each to make short films for next year's NewFest Pride. "Assume everyone in the room brings something to the table," Adams says. "I believe in the value of leveraging people's individual strengths in service of a bigger goal, and it� ��s a philosophy I apply in working with my direct team, colleagues from other divisions of Concord, producing partners and creatives alike."
Zach Kaplan, Danielle Shebby 
Image Credit: CAA Agent, motion picture talent CAA Agent, motion picture talent CAA There's a strong chance that Kaplan and Shebby represent one of your favorite actors. Some of Kaplan's notable deals include Paul Mescal's starring role in "Gladiator II," Ayo Edebiri in "After the Hunt" and Josh O'Connor in "Challengers. "I often find that I can recognize something truly special by the enthusiasm and passion in the way it's spoken about," says Kaplan, who also counts Dev Patel, Andrew Scott, Sally Hawkins and more as clients. "The opportunity to facilitate the realization of my client's aspirations is why I'm so passionate about my work," says Shebby, who orchestrated deals for Florence Pugh to star in "East of Eden" and "Thunderbolts." Her client list also includes Lily Collins, Emma Roberts and Naomi Ackie, to name a few. What's the key to their success as agents? "If I'm not doing the reading, I have no point of view," says Kaplan. Shebby shares a similar view: "Be forever curious. Read voraciously. Provide an informed point of view. Believe in what you do."
Jimmy Knowles 
Global head of experiential Canva Knowles spearheaded May's successful Canva Create at L.A.'s SoFi Stadium. He notes that they transformed the stadium into an "immersive playground for creators, bringing together over 3,500 attendees from around the globe for an event that featured 30-plus sessions and 50-plus speakers" such as Bob Iger, Mindy Kaling, Adam Grant and Guy Kawasaki. He also is proud of the Canva Magic Print Shop in partnership with Disney at August's D23. With big aims for both B2B and B2C growth, Knowles is leaning into Canva's intensely collaborative spirit. "We have this saying (about) knowing when to let go of your Lego," he says, "and I feel like that is something that's powered my leadership style."
Vivian Kwok 
VP, casting 20th Television As the cast of "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" stood onstage at Comic-Con's Hall H before 6,000-plus screaming fans this year, it validated Kwok's insistence in finding the right actor for each part — Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries and the rest of the cast were hits with the fans. She did the same with Hulu's Jimmy O. Yang-starring series "Interior Chinatown" and AppleTV+ limited series "Imperfect Women." Previously head of 20th Television's research department, Kwok was encouraged to pivot to casting in 2019 and never looked back. "When communicating, lead with kindness but also be direct; surround yourself with people you respect and who you think are smarter than you in other things; and try to make your boss' life easier," Kwok says.
Joanne Lee 
Exec VP, head of film & TV Jackson Pictures The recently wrapped sci-fi thriller "Flowervale Street," starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, afforded Lee a chance to level up the scope and scale of her producing work. The daughter of immigrants, she was marked by a slew of moviegoing experiences that imparted the magic of storytelling and how a good tale transcends language barriers. Lee's also working on "Children of Blood and Bone," from director Gina Prince-Bythewood, and based on Tomi Adeyemi's best-selling book for Paramount. "I find keeping an open mind with a healthy dose of patience have helped unlock certain projects and opened doors," she says.
Sam Lehman 
Associate Latham & Watkins Lehman was a member of the Latham & Watkins teams that advised on two of the year's biggest deals, Skydance Media's $8 billion takeover of Paramount Global and KKR's $1.85 billion sale of its majority stake in Chord Music Partners to UMG and Dundee Partners. Prior to enrolling in law school at UCLA, the Minnesota native spent two post-undergrad years teaching inner city kids in St. Louis. "I felt like the law was kind of the perfect continuation of teaching in a sense, because you're constantly looking out for the interests of other people," says Lehman, who also has a pro bono practice focused on finalizing adoptions for Los Angeles area foster families.
Josh Love 
Partner, Entertainment & Media Industry Group Reed Smith Love has closed more than $2 billion in music catalog transactions for artists, songwriters, institutional investors and music companies, including Concord Music Group's $468.8 million acquisition of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund and more than $500 million worth of deals for Lyric Capital Management, highlighted by its purchase of country star Jason Aldean's catalog. His career path was set when he had an epiphany at a music festival. "I realized that there must have been like 100 lawyers that worked on this thing, and I had to figure out what the hell a music lawyer was and how I can get my foot in the door to do that," he says.
Ben Lynn 
Director, standup & comedy formats Netflix Armed with a goal to "create a space where comedians can be comedians," Lynn joined Netflix in 2017 and has help develop its stand-up department into a powerhouse of both talent and programming. He counts Taylor Tomlinson's 2024 "Have It All" special and the streaming giant's marathon "Netflix Is a Joke" festival among the most challenging (and rewarding) projects he's been a part of, and looks forward to piloting more live specials like "The Roast of Tom Brady" in the future. "I think people really want to laugh again," Lynn says. "My job is knowing how to hook our fans and ensure they tune in."
Anna Meacham 
Founder & CEO Huxley Meacham's six-year-old London publicity firm Huxley has an eclectic client list that includes music acts Charli XCX, Jack Harlow, Skepta and Sky Ferreira, fashion designers Aaron Esh and Francesco Risso, fashion magazine Arena Homme +, casting director Najia Li Saad and clothing retailer Supreme. "Originally, I wanted to be a Spice Girl, but when 'Pop Idol' came on the TV and I learned about people who worked with the artists, that was more exciting to me," says Meacham, who dropped out of school at 16 to work as a P.R. intern. "So it really is a job I always wanted to do, and I will never take it for granted."
Kaiti Moos 
VP, production & development Headgum Podcast Network This past year saw Moos launch 12 new shows for Headgum, increasing the indie podcast comedy network's slate by one-third — and she won't be slowing her roll anytime soon. By the end of 2024, Moos will have added a dozen additional titles to the podcast company with notable upcoming projects from Ego Nwodim, Lamorne Morris and the "Handsome" trio Tig Notaro, Mae Martin and Fortune Feimster. "We're taking bold risks with new content while investing in successful shows," says Moos, who has been instrumental in Headgum's transition from an audio-only network to a leader in video podcasting. "Podcasts are now as essential as late-night and morning shows for press runs."
Matt Morris 
Image Credit: Mikayla LoBosso Exec VP, pop/rock A&R Interscope When Morris first landed an internship with Interscope back in 2011, he was a blogger from West Virginia with admittedly "very little in the way of connections." Nearly 14 years later, he's become the connector, the one responsible for signing Olivia Rodrigo (who spent 2024 on a sold-out global arena tour), boygenius (who landed three Grammy wins in January) and Kali Uchis (who debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in January for "Orquídeas") to the label. "The work we do is so much bigger than me as an individual. I try to keep that top of mind at all times," Morris says.
Kiely Mosiman 
VP, agent Wasserman Music Although she grew up the daughter of an independent music venue owner, Mosiman never considered the music industry as a possible career path. "I had planned to go to law school," says the Kansas native, who pivoted after an internship with the Paradigm agency. At Wasserman, Mosiman proved critical in signing breakout musician Chappell Roan, for whom she devised a live performance strategy that culminated in more than 100,000 tickets sold in North America. "When we knew there was no ability to keep up with demand, we looked at ticketing differently and came up with solutions to keep prices fair," she says.
Billy Offer, Lily Safran 
Agent UTA Agent, TV lit UTA As a child, Offer would listen from the backseat as his dad, veteran entertainment attorney Robert Offer, made dealmaking calls in the car. Today, he's making his own big deals, structuring financing for indie films including Oz Perkins' sleeper horror hit "Longlegs," Daniel Roher's narrative debut "Tuner" and David Michôd's "Christy Martin," starring Sydney Sweeney, as well as MRC and Radio Silence's joint venture to finance and produce low-budget horror films. As an agent in UTA's independent film group, "I definitely get to play producer," he says. "I love running around, hustling, trying to get movies together and solving problems with my friends." Over the past year, Safran has been instrumental in securing deals for clients including "Ginny & Georgia" creator Sarah Lampert; "Colin From Accounts" creator Harriet Dyer; Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, who are behind the "B uffy" adaptation for Fox Searchlight, with Safran having also secured a two-script deal for them at Amazon; as well as producer/director Geeta Patel ("Under the Bridge") and Philippa Goslett, for which Safran secured an overall deal with HBO, where she serves as a co-executive producer on "House of the Dragon." "As the business evolves and the mediums through which we consume television change, I believe the one constant that will continue to drive commercial and critical success is the process of identifying, developing and amplifying singular creators with distinct points of view," says Safran.
Ali Roland 
VP, drama development Sony Pictures Television Having played an instrumental role in securing the classic Hasbro board game Clue after a months-long bidding war, Roland is enjoying breathing new life into a property with which she has a special childhood connection. Roland continued to oversee SPT's deals with studio veterans Eric Kripke and Paul Grellong as they prepare for "The Boys" spinoff "Vought Rising," starring Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash. Roland also played a key role in securing new overall deals with Gail Berman ("Wednesday"), Lesli Linka Glatter ("Love & Death") and Third Rail Prods. "I remind myself to remain calm under pressure," she says, "and approach the big and small tasks with the same level of care."
Elizabeth Rothman 
Senior VP, theater and creative development Bad Robot Bad Robot has Emmys and an Oscar, but it wasn't until this year that it scored its first Tony Award, for the Broadway revival of "Appropriate." She also guided Bad Robot Live's "Cabaret," starring Eddie Redmayne, and hit "Gutenberg! The Musical!," which reunited Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells. Upcoming projects for Rothman include a West End production of "Barcelona," starring Lily Collins, and the Broadway return of "Waiting for Godot," reuniting Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. "When I started to gravitate towards producing theater, it felt easy and natural," says Rothman, who started her career at the Manhattan Theater Club.
Sophia Sofferman 
Associate Pryor Cashman Sofferman represents Latin music stars including Don Omar, Tokischa and Paulo Londra, while simultaneously handling high-profile litigation, including the defense of more than 100 artists (including Pitbull, Ricky Martin and Justin Bieber) in an ongoing copyright case in which the plaintiff is claiming ownership of the "dem bow" beat that is the foundation of reggaeton music. An actor and singer in her youth, she began her career riding the tour bus as a production coordinator for Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh. "I'm able to tap into that experience and look at the holistic analysis and the long-term goals, whether it's an artist going on tour or an exhibitor thinking about starting a global production," she says.
Daniel Spencer 
Associate Fox Rothschild Spencer has advised Bloomberg Media on the management and exploitation of its intellectual property catalog, as well as its original production slate, including its deal for the podcast "The Deal With Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly." He also negotiated Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's historic pact to serve as the first female director of a "Star Wars" film. According to Spencer, the much ballyhooed industry contraction hasn't resulted in reduced deal flow. "Even if traditional media is slowing down, there is so much user-generated content out there and deals to be made surrounding that," he says, including "multimillion, sometimes billion-dollar deals surrounding podcasts."
Simone Spira 
Executive, Unscripted Development & Production OBB Media Spira, in partnership with Sabrina Carpenter, developed, sold and is executive producing the singer's upcoming holiday special for Netflix, "A Nonsense Christmas"; Spira also served as an executive producer on OBB's live stream of the iHeartRadio Music Festival for Hulu, featuring the Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Doja Cat and more, in addition to executive producing the upcoming renewal of the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball TV Special for ABC/Hulu. Spira's credits also include Demi Lovato's holiday special for Roku, which hit No. 1 on the platform. "Demand for eventized programming continues to be at an all-time high in the streamer era as audiences seek out more monoculture moments to connect over," she says. "Distributors are eager to bring new and exciting content to at-home audiences that will ultimately position themselves as part of the pop culture conversation."
Cheryl Wei 
Image Credit: Larry Lettera/ Camera 1 Partner Davis Wright Tremaine The youngest partner ever in Davis Wright Tremaine's transactional entertainment department, Wei handles a wide range of deals spanning everything from animation ("Rick and Morty," prodcos Rough Draft Studios and Titmouse, anime-centric streamer Crunchyroll), comedy (HBO's "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver") and documentaries (Netflix's "McGregor Forever" from Tom Brady's Religion of Sports) to studios such as Legendary Pictures and Amazon MGM. Wei says the favorite part of her job is "being able to play a role in the creation of content and be a part of storytelling that impacts so many people — whether it inspires, makes us laugh, changes minds, makes us feel seen, sparks social change or purely entertains."
Christine Yi 
General partner Gold House Creative Equity Fund Based in New York City, Yi leads investments and development programs for independent Asian Pacific creatives and companies. Gold House Creative Equity Fund launched in May 2023, and has backed 15 feature films, including the Sundance-winning drama "Didi," and two animation studios. "There's rapidly increasing diversification within the Asian Pacific community, with new, award-winning stories that reclaim narratives, while subverting stereotypes and showcasing multi-ethnic identities and cross-racial solidarity. We're focusing where others have not." Yi has launched 16 accelerators for artists and entrepreneurs with industry partners like Netflix, Spotify, Endeavor and East West Bank.
US comedian Tony Hinchcliffe speaks during a campaign rally for former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York on October 27, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) 