hollywood
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Meredith O’Sullivan and the value of being trusted
A publicist’s reputation travels with other people’s names. Meredith O’Sullivan built hers into The Lede Company, then helped give that company a life beyond Hollywood.
Santiago Pozo and the audience hiding in plain sight
Two free cinema tickets started Santiago Pozo’s education in the movie business. At Arenas, he spent three decades persuading Hollywood to pay attention to the Latino audience already buying tickets.
Dick Lippin and the business of paying attention
Before he built an entertainment PR firm, Dick Lippin counted people entering a college library. Four decades into The Lippin Group, he is still interested in what makes somebody stop, listen and care.
Dick Lippin and the business of paying attention
Before he built an entertainment PR firm, Dick Lippin counted people entering a college library. Four decades into The Lippin Group, he is still interested in what makes somebody stop, listen and care.
Cindy Osbrink and the Business of Beginnings
She opened a talent agency in one room in 1993. Cindy Osbrink’s career reveals what it takes to recognize a young actor, help them grow, and keep starting again.
Shannon Barr knows who belongs in the room
Before Brian White became a repeat holiday host, Shannon Barr noticed the dancer in the actor. Her career in Hollywood publicity has been built around that kind of attention - and the decision to make room for people early.
Jeremy Zimmer and the art of being useful
Before he co-founded United Talent Agency, Jeremy Zimmer fixed an interviewer’s broken chair. Decades later, the former CEO is taking career questions on Twitch - still looking for something he can help put right.
Brian D. Fox and the business of the first impression
Before the movie posters came a toy blimp with a message that lit up. Brian D. Fox carried that appetite for attention from a spare-bedroom agency into Hollywood advertising, then into the business of getting independent films seen.
David Ellison and the price of the next act
He began with an airplane and a part in a movie. Two decades later, David Ellison leads the company above Paramount and Warner Bros., with a much larger audience waiting to see what happens next.
Janice Min
Janice Min is the CEO, editor-in-chief and co-owner of Ankler Media, the Hollywood insider newsletter-turned-media-company she built with Richard Rushfield starting in 2021. Before The Ankler, she spent two decades reshaping celebrity and entertainment coverage: as editor-in-chief of Us Weekly (2002-2009) she turned a struggling weekly into a cultural juggernaut, and as editorial director and later co-president of The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard she engineered one of the most celebrated print relaunches of the era. She has won an Emmy and multiple National Magazine Awards, and CNN named her one of the most consequential media figures of 2023.
George Strompolos
George Strompolos is the co-founder and CEO of Promise, a Venice, California studio built from the ground up for the generative AI era to produce films and series. He co-created the YouTube Partner Program in 2007, founded the creator-economy giant Fullscreen in 2011, and sold it to AT&T/WarnerMedia in 2018 in a reported $845M deal. At Promise he is building MUSE, a production workflow platform that threads generative AI tools through the filmmaking process, backed by Peter Chernin's North Road, Andreessen Horowitz, and Google's AI Futures Fund.
David Tokheim
David Tokheim is a senior executive at Adobe where he has served since 2013, most recently elevated to SVP, CXO Americas Industry and Canadian Sales (April 2026). Previously VP of Experience Cloud leading the Media & Entertainment, Communications, and Travel/Hospitality verticals, he has spent his career at the intersection of digital media, advertising technology, and enterprise software. Before Adobe, he was EVP & GM at Six Apart Media (growing its blog audience to 220 million monthly uniques), SVP at Fox Interactive Media overseeing monetization across MySpace and IGN, and VP of Marketing at IGN Entertainment where he built strategic programs for brands like Pepsi, EA, and Walmart. A UCLA English grad turned ad-tech veteran, he champions AI-driven personalization and content velocity as the defining imperatives of modern customer experience.
Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart is a Philadelphia-born comedian, actor, and entrepreneur who turned a rough start - booed off stage as 'Lil Kev' - into a $450 million empire. One of the most followed entertainers on the planet, he has sold out arenas worldwide, headlined Hollywood blockbusters, received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2024, and built a portfolio of businesses including tequila brand Gran Coramino (which crossed $200 million in lifetime retail sales), Fabletics Men, and media company HartBeat. In 2026, he struck a brand partnership with Authentic Brands Group and was the subject of a Netflix live roast featuring The Rock, Katt Williams, and Tom Brady.
Adam Mitchell
Adam Mitchell is CEO at Mitchell & Associates Talent, a SAG-AFTRA franchised boutique agency headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico with California operations - named one of Hollywood's top 7 agencies by Backstage.com. The agency represents hundreds of actors across commercials, studio films, streaming platforms, voiceover, and television, with credits spanning Breaking Bad, Stranger Things, Star Wars, and Disney productions. Operating at the intersection of the Southwest and Hollywood, Mitchell & Associates has built a family-like culture that distinguishes it from larger, impersonal agencies while punching well above its weight in major market bookings.
Michael Ovitz
Michael Ovitz is the most powerful talent agent in Hollywood history and co-founder of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which he built from a $21,000 bank loan into the dominant force reshaping how entertainment deals are made. After departing with a $140 million severance from Disney's presidency, Ovitz reinvented himself as a Silicon Valley investor and advisor, backing Palantir, helping architect Andreessen Horowitz, and investing in 200+ companies. At 79, he remains a live wire: he reportedly convinced Bill Ackman to pursue a $64 billion takeover of Universal Music Group and is slated to become its chairman.
Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher is a venture capitalist, actor, and entrepreneur who transformed from sitcom star to one of Silicon Valley's most successful celebrity investors. As General Partner of Sound Ventures, he's built a $250M+ portfolio including Airbnb, Uber, Spotify, and Robinhood, with 35 exits and 7 unicorns. Beyond investing, he co-founded Thorn, a nonprofit using technology to combat child sexual exploitation, and has helped identify over 31,000 trafficking victims. From biochemical engineering student to Hollywood leading man to tech heavyweight, Kutcher represents a rare bridge between entertainment and venture capital.
Guy Oseary
Guy Oseary is an Israeli-American music manager, venture capitalist, and entrepreneur who has guided Madonna's career since 1992 and co-founded Sound Ventures with Ashton Kutcher - a $1B+ VC firm with early bets on Airbnb, Uber, Spotify, and now OpenAI and Anthropic. Once the teenage chairman of Madonna's Maverick Records who signed Alanis Morissette, Oseary has quietly become one of entertainment's most consequential dealmakers - turning a free internship offer into three decades of industry-defining moves at the intersection of music, tech, and culture.
Will Smith
Will Smith is a Philadelphia-born actor, rapper, and producer who built a $350 million empire spanning music, film, television, and digital media. With over $10 billion in worldwide box office receipts, four Grammy Awards, and an Academy Award for Best Actor (King Richard, 2021), he is one of the most commercially successful entertainers in history. Known as 'The Fresh Prince,' Smith transitioned from teenage rap star to global movie icon before a 2022 Oscars incident with Chris Rock triggered a career reckoning - one he has been navigating with characteristic resilience through his 2025 album comeback, a National Geographic travel series, and an upcoming I Am Legend sequel.