Hollywood’s New Leaders of 2023:

AI. IP. Branding. Technology. Release windows. Fandom. Culture. DEI. Marketing. Touring. Publicity. Promotion. Social media. Partnerships. Finance. International ties. Not to mention human nature.

It takes a profound understanding of many of these concepts and disciplines to qualify for Variety’s New Leaders feature, which each year highlights the creatives and executives in film, TV, music, agencies, management, law and talent newly emergent at the forefront of the entertainment industry.

But most of all, it takes, well, leadership.

Classical definition: Leadership is the ability of an individual or group to influence and guide followers. But that doesn’t do full justice to the idea. True leadership involves setting an example and inspiring people to do their best work. And letting them do it.

Or, in the words of the late astronomer and communicator par excellence Carl Sagan: “Being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.”

Such an ethos explains the attitude of the TV executive on this list who finds reward in having taken a chance on hiring a TV director who ended up surpassing his expectations. And the film VP who mentors her juniors by encouraging them to ask questions and make mistakes. And the label exec who signs new talent on the basis of who they are as a person just as much as their music background.

The following list contains multiple examples of people who rose in their careers because they had the good fortune to work with bosses who let them fly and shine. And now that they’re in positions of leadership themselves, they’re ready to pay it forward and mentor the generation that will follow them.

Jackie Ward

Senior Associate
Ramo Law
(Law)

Ward, 31, has established herself as a prominent production attorney in Los Angeles. On the cutting edge of rights-and-clearances deals in emerging media, her work is impactful on the client level as she shapes productions from the ground up. She’s currently working on negotiating both sales and acquisitions of several complex properties, helping her clients navigate which rights are essential as they make their idea a reality. She has most recently worked with Kevin Hart’s production company Hartbeat, Lion Forge and Imagine, as well as the upcoming Rebel Wilson starrer, “Bride Hard.”

An approach: “My job is to advocate for these new structures and architect the deals on behalf of my clients in order to maintain maximum exploitation optionality and rights valuation,”
she says.

View the entire list of Hollywood’s New Leaders at Variety.