UTA Taps Ketchum Exec Lindsay Wagner as Chief Diversity Officer
UTA has hired Ketchum executive Lindsay Wagner to serve as its first-ever chief diversity officer, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
At the communications consulting firm, Wagner served as senior vice president and head of diversity, equity and inclusion, where her highlights included partnering with the HBCU Week Foundation and helping to establish parent company Omnicom’s Black Together employee resource group through organizing the company’s first-ever global town hall for Black employees. Prior to her time at Ketchum, Wagner worked for almost eight years as an account manager at Brandware PR.
Wagner, a recipient of the Black Public Relations Society of Los Angeles’ Pat Tobin Award, serves as an advisor for the Black-owned maternal health center Kindred Space LA, BIPOC feminist and non-binary focused community center Sovern and Black youth organization The Lantern Network. She also continues to serve as a juror for The Adcolor Awards. As a member of Justice League NYC & CA, a direct action organization that exists to end racial inequality in the criminal justice system, she was part of the team that received the Chairman’s Award at the NAACP Image Awards. Wagner also previously served as executive director of the New York City chapter of ColorComm, which is dedicated to addressing issues relevant to women of color working in communications and media.
“Entertainment sits at the cross-section of culture, storytelling and influence, and therefore it’s critical that we collectively continue to identify and amplify authentic representation inside and outside of the organization,” Wagner said in a statement. “I am honored to join UTA and contribute to this purpose-led team focused on building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community and industry now and for generations to come.
Wagner will jointly report to CEO Jeremy Zimmer and partner and chief people officer Jean-Rene Zetrenne. She will be based in Los Angeles.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Lindsay to the UTA family,” Zetrenne said in a statement. “With her wide-ranging experience and expertise, we know that she will elevate our mission to foster an inclusive environment, which allows for our colleagues to thrive and will attract the most inspiring and dynamic people to our company.”
Among UTA’s previously announced moves in the diversity and equity space, the agency pledged to donate $1 million to social justice causes, raised pay for entry-level positions, provided unconscious bias training company-wide and promoted some senior agents from the global majority to partner and the UTA board.
“As UTA grows, we must continue to cultivate a more diverse, multifaceted and inclusive culture,” Zimmer said in a statement. “Lindsay has a proven track record of pushing the envelope and leading with a fresh and unique perspective. I am confident that she will bring ingenuity to this new role and will be a great steward for the cause.”
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