Why Hollywood Executives Are Fashion’s New Power Hire

To build his team at Gap Inc., chief executive Richard Dickson is increasingly looking about 400 miles south to scout talent.

Since January, the San Francisco-based company has hired two Hollywood veterans to top roles: Former Paramount executive Pam Kaufman was named its first chief entertainment officer, charged with handling licensing and partnerships across film, television, music and sport, while Lourdes Arocho, who was previously senior vice president of Paramount global consumer products and experiences , was named senior vice president and head of licensing in May. They’re just two of the latest entertainment figures to make the jump to fashion. Ralph Lauren appointed NBCUniversal News Group chairman Cesar Conde to its board in January, and in February, United Entertainment Group vet Jennifer Sutherlin was named vice president of E.l.f. Beauty’s entertainment arm, E.l.f. Made.

For decades, fashion and beauty brands have looked to Hollywood to find ambassadors and campaign stars. But as cultural relevance has increasingly become a brand’s most valuable commodity, they’re more inclined to hire the people who understand that world best.

“We are in the entertainment age,” said Isabelle Chouvet, co-founder of global communications group The Independents.

The content brands create, be it short-form series like Marc Jacobs’ team-up with “I Love LA” star Rachel Sennott or jeweller Alexis Bittar’s episodic “Bittarverse” social media content, has become almost as important to their public perception as the products they sell. As shoppers have become wiser to traditional entertainment-adjacent marketing tactics, it’s this sort of creativity that allows them to break through.

“The consumer is … seeing through product placement and celebrity endorsement,” said Geoff Cook, partner at international creative studio Base Design, adding that his agency now receives fewer tactical requests like refreshing visuals from clients, but rather questions about how they can be culturally relevant.

These jobs are increasingly appealing to entertainment industry vets. Hollywood has had a bumpy few years, with effects from the pandemic and 2023’s simultaneous writers’ and actors’ strikes lingering. 2025 saw a 16 percent year-over-year decline in shooting days in Los Angeles compared to 2024, according to data from FilmLA, the city’s official film office. Fashion can look like a more stable alternative. Plus, there’s an attraction in being on the other side of the growing intersection of fashion and entertainment.

But fashion brands looking to hire from the entertainment industry need to think about how they will best fit into the wider organisation’s existing structures, whether in newly developed roles like Gap’s chief entertainment officer position, or devoted teams like E.l.f. Made. They’ll also need to be mindful of how to appeal to people accustomed to working in Hollywood, with budgets that are fully dedicated to entertainment.

“Ensuring they have the right commitment from the brands to invest in resources will be critical to their success,” said Lisa Yae, managing partner of retail and luxury goods for Creative Artists Agency (CAA) executive search, adding that spans the ability to pursue licensing partnerships and having the internal capabilities to develop and deliver new programmes.

Recasting the Boardroom

There is strong crossover between entertainment and fashion work, with both media and product teams requiring a consumer-oriented mindset.

“The people that are coming in from entertainment will help the fashion people to shortcut the ins and outs, the knowledge required of operating in that industry, of doing deals, of the network,” said Cook.

Kaufman, for example, worked in consumer products at Paramount, which translates to her licensing role at Gap. E.l.f.’s Sutherlin, meanwhile, leverages her entertainment agency expertise and network in brokering and negotiating relationships with talent. Since joining the team in February, she has managed talent relationships and contracts for campaigns including true crime mockumentary “Vanity Vandals,” featuring “Bridgerton” star Phoebe Dynevor, and a “Survivor” parody with comedy creator Delaney Rowe and “Survivor” contestant Tiffany Ervin.

The best entertainment talent will also have a keen sense for what title or talent will take off next, whether it’s finding up-and-coming names to star in a campaign, like Rhode launching its March campaign featuring “Love Story” star Sarah Pidgeon just weeks after the series premiere, or a show to do a product collaboration with, like last year’s many “The White Lotus” team-ups with brands such as Banana Republic and resortwear label Camilla. They also need to work closely with counterparts at studios to stay abreast of projects coming down their pipeline, while also keeping partners up-to-date on rapidly changing projects.

“It’s about communication,” said Robert Oberschelp, Warner Bros. Discovery’s president of global consumer products. “You look at the world of fashion and how quickly things can change.”

Chanel, he said, reached out to Warner Bros. two weeks before its Métiers d’Art 2026 show last December to enquire about partnering up to produce a bag and cashmere pullover emblazoned with the “Superman” logo — a few months after the new film’s release — recreated to include the brand’s interlocking Cs, adding to the narrative of the show set in the New York City subway system.

Yae said the biggest shift she’s seeing is in IP, with brands seeking out the sharpest ways to insert themselves into pop culture through licensing. Entertainment hires have a particular ability to act as a “filter of what works and what doesn’t,” said Cook, ensuring that any collaboration or content is aligned with the brand’s identity.

“The healthiest relationships we have are when everything is laddering up to a global brand officer that has oversight of, let’s say, digital and brand and experiential,” he said. “[The risk is] when they start getting siloed or bifurcated.”

Call My Agent

Brands that haven’t hired out of Hollywood yet are still taking steps to adopt a more entertainment-centric marketing strategy — primarily, working with agencies that specialise in the space. With that demand growing, more agencies are pivoting to meet it.

For instance, with its latest acquisition, The Independents added Phantasm Group, which works with a roster of award-winning directors to produce both campaigns and feature films alongside brands like Saint Laurent and Lacoste. The goal with the purchase was to up the calibre of entertainment teams and directors The Independents could offer clients.

“They will make our content production capabilities much more relevant to brands,” said The Independents’ Chouvet.

At creative studio Chandelier, which counts Khaite and Rhode among its clients, chief creative officer Michael Scanlon’s filmmaking background — he trained as a director and has produced a number of short films — helps inform the world-building the agency is known for. It also influences the sort of talent he seeks out in hiring.

“I’m not necessarily looking for people who worked in advertising or even necessarily have a ton of experience with brands,” said Scanlon. “What we’re doing is a blend of art and advertising.”

For example, the firm’s head of story, Emily Bernstein, a former performance artist, was hired because of her ability to think in concepts and expression, said Scanlon. Having a team with these backgrounds can help in getting clients to develop their “sensory palette” around their brand, Scanlon added.

This ethos is tangible in Chandelier’s work for Khaite. The stores’ soundtrack shifts between what he calls “David Lynchian” ambient sounds and rock-and-roll, meant to reflect the edgy downtown character of the brand.

“You really start trying to shape this character, so that when you’re making casting decisions, when you’re making styling choices, you’re always thinking, would this person do this or that in my movie, in my world?” he said.