Dawn Ostroff

Early life and education

Ostroff was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1960. She had an early introduction to music, her father being a concert promoter who worked with Frank Sinatra. Ostroff holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University.

Career

Ostroff began her career in news as a reporter for WINZ, a CBS affiliate in Miami. She also worked in local news at WPLG and WTVJ in Miami. She later held senior positions at 20th Century Fox, Michael Jacobs Productions (Disney) and the Kushner-Locke Company.

Lifetime

From 1996 to 2002, she served as executive vice president of entertainment at Lifetime Television and led the network to become the #1-rated cable network in prime time.

UPN Network

From 2002 to 2006, Ostroff served as president of the UPN Network, a subsidiary of CBS, where she developed the popular reality series America's Next Top Model, along with other programs including Veronica Mars and Everybody Hates Chris.

The CW

Beginning in 2006, Ostroff launched The CW broadcast network - a joint venture of CBS and Warner Bros. - and served as president of entertainment. Ostroff was in charge of programming, digital initiatives, branding, marketing, research and sales. As president, she developed several TV series, including Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries.

Condé Nast Entertainment

Ostroff and Condé Nast CEO Bob Sauerberg co-founded and launched Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE) in 2011, a studio and distribution network for film, television, premium digital video, social, and virtual reality. Additionally, through its digital franchises, such as Vogue's "73 Questions" and WIRED's "Autocomplete Interview," CNE made 5,000 videos, garnering more than 11 billion views in 2017.

Spotify

Ostroff joined Spotify in August 2018 as Chief Content Officer. She led all aspects of content and distribution operations, including global advertising, global original content, content marketing, industry and creator relationships, and licensing.

During Ostroff's time as Chief Content Officer, she focused on expanding the music streaming service into other forms of audio, primarily podcasts. She signed Barack and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground Productions, to produce a slate of exclusive podcasts for Spotify. She also negotiated exclusive podcast deals with Kim Kardashian West, Joe Rogan, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. She is also responsible for overseeing the acquisitions of digital media company and podcast network Gimlet Media, the podcast creation tool Anchor, digital media firm Parcast, and Bill Simmons's The Ringer.

Ostroff helped Spotify increase the number of podcasts from 185,000 to 3 million, as of January 2022, and in 2020, the company's stock more than doubled.

In January 2023, it was announced that Ostroff would be departing Spotify.

Board memberships

Ostroff serves on the board of New York University College of Arts & Science. In June 2020, Activision Blizzard appointed her to its board as an independent director. She has also served on the board of directors for Westfield Corporation and on the City Year LA board. Ostroff is also one of the listed directors for the Tom Brady-backed digital NFT company Autograph and is on the board of trustees for the Paley Center for Media. She also served on the board of American entertainment company Anonymous Content.

Ostroff joined Paramount Global’s board of directors in May 2023 as an independent, non-executive director. She stepped down from the position in 2024.

In February 2024, it was announced that Ostroff joined Mattel Corporate’s Board of Directors.

Awards and recognition

• Hollywood Reporter 2021 Women in Entertainment Power 100 (2021)
• New York Women in Communications Matrix Award (2021)
• Billboard Power List (2020)
• Rolling Stone The Future 25 (2019)
• New York Women in Film & Television MUSE Award (2014)
• AdAge Women to Watch (2012)

Personal life

Ostroff resides in New York City with her husband Mark Ostroff and their four children.

References

References

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2. "An Update on January 2023 Organizational Changes".
3. Steigrad, Alexandra. (December 11, 2013). "Dawn Ostroff Talks Condé Nast's Digital Strategy".
4. Guider, Elizabeth. (October 11, 2012). "Conde Nast Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff Predicts 'Digital' Competition for Broadcasters". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
5. Variety Staff. (June 26, 2018). "Spotify Names Dawn Ostroff Chief Content Officer". Variety.
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7. Gaffney, Adrienne. (September 5, 2019). "Dawn Ostroff Has Always Been Ahead of Her Time".
8. (October 2, 2020). "Alumna shares her journey from reporter to Spotify chief content and advertising business officer". FIU News.
9. (June 26, 2018). "Dawn Ostroff Exits Conde Nast to Become Spotify's Chief Content Officer". The Wrap.
10. (June 26, 2018). "Dawn Ostroff leave Condé Nast Entertainment for Spotify". Screen Daily.
11. Poggi, Jeanine. "Q&A: Dawn Ostroff has some thoughts for video pivoters". Ad Age.
12. "How Condé Nast went from magazine publisher to entertainment company".
13. "Conde Nast's Dawn Ostroff on Turning Magazine Articles into Movies and New TV Plans".
14. (June 26, 2018). "Spotify, Nodding to Broader Ambitions, Hires Chief Content Officer". [[The New York Times]].
15. (September 9, 2019). "Dawn Ostroff's plan to turn Spotify into the ultimate podcast hub". [[Los Angeles Times]].
16. Ioannou, Lori. (December 3, 2020). "Meet the Woman Who Got Joe Rogan and Michelle Obama to Spotify".
17. Shaw, Lucas. (2020-12-15). "Prince Harry and Meghan Will Produce and Host Podcasts for Spotify".
18. Ioannou, Lori. (January 21, 2021). "Ava DuVernay Inks Spotify Deal to Produce Exclusive Podcasts".
19. Tartaglione, Nancy. (2019-02-06). "Spotify Buys Podcast Players Gimlet Media & Anchor; Eyes $500M in 2019 Deals".
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23. Hayes, Dade. (2023-01-23). "Spotify Content And Ad Business Chief Dawn Ostroff Departing As Company Cuts 6% Of Workforce".
24. Goldsmith, Jill. (June 11, 2020). "Spotify's Dawn Ostroff Joins The Board Of Activision Blizzard".
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26. "NYU Board of Overseers". NYU Arts and Science.
27. (April 9, 2021). "Dawn Ostroff and Michael Rapino are advising NFT startup Autograph".
28. (April 1, 2022). "Paley Center Adds To Its Board Of Trustees And L.A. Board Of Governors".
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31. Goldsmith, Jill. (2023-03-17). "Paramount Global Adds Dawn Ostroff To Board".
32. Toonkel, Jessica. (10 April 2024). "Four Paramount Directors to Step Down as Company Discusses Skydance Merger". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
33. (2024-04-11). "Paramount Confirms That Board Members Will Step Down at Annual Meeting Amid Skydance Deal Talks".
34. "Julius Genachowski and Dawn Ostroff Join Mattel Board of Directors".
35. (April 9, 2021). "Dawn Ostroff - Chief Content & Advertising Business Officer, Spotify".
36. Barnes, Steve. (August 4, 2021). "News of Firms: Weber Shandwick's Judith Harrison Earns Matrix Award".
37. (January 26, 2022). "The 2022 Billboard Power List Revealed".
38. (September 20, 2019). "Future 25: Dawn Ostroff, Chief Content Officer at Spotify".
39. Cox, Gordon. (October 12, 2014). "Maggie Gyllenhaal, Wanda Sykes Among Women in Film and Television's 2014 Honorees".
40. Ives, Nat. (2012-06-04). "Women to Watch: Dawn Ostroff, Conde Nast".
41. Daniels, Soriya. (June 24, 2004). "Balance Paramount to UPN Head Ostroff".