Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, WME’s head of worldwide literary, speakers and conference divisions, is taking on a new role at the company.
Mark Shapiro, president at WME’s parent company, Endeavor Group Holdings, on Thursday shared with staffers that “Jennifer has decided to move on from her agenting responsibilities and focus on building her brand partnerships and live events platform.”
Shapiro made the exec announcement days after Endeavor officially decided to forgo its plan for an initial public offering, postponing the move for the time being. “Endeavor will continue to evaluate the timing for the proposed offering as market conditions develop,” the company said Friday.
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Walsh, who had been with the company for nearly two decades since the agency acquired her firm The Writers Shop, is transitioning from her day-to-day agenting role to focus on live events.
The executive previously led Oprah Winfrey’s “The Life You Want” arena tour in 2014, as well as Arianna Huffington’s “Thrive” conference tour. Walsh will advise the company’s events business, including the touring event that she founded in 2016, Together Live.
Together Live has 10 events — featuring a rotating group of musicians, comedians and stars sharing their “own raw, inspiring stories of finding purpose and community” in front of live audiences — planned in the next month alone nationwide, backed by brand name sponsors like Procter & Gamble. Last year, Together Live partnered with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine content company for a tour.
Shapiro’s memo to staff is below.
We wanted to share with everyone that Jennifer Rudolph Walsh will be transitioning into an exciting new role for us. After serving in a senior leadership and client facing capacity with WME for nearly 20 years, Jennifer has decided to move on from her agenting responsibilities and focus on building her brand partnerships and live events platform. Fortunately for us, Jennifer will continue working with WME, advising our books and lectures divisions and the live events business that she incubated within the agency.
There is no better way to describe Jennifer than simply as a force of nature. After the William Morris Agency acquired her boutique book agency in 2001, Jennifer led WMA and later WME to be the #1 book agency in the publishing industry — a position we still firmly hold today. A fierce advocate for her colleagues as well as some of the culture’s most important voices, she has been responsible for bringing thought leaders like Sheryl Sandberg and Brené Brown as well as prize winning fiction writers like Alice Munro and Sue Monk Kidd to audiences around the world.
An entrepreneur at heart, Jennifer’s creation of WME Live has been transformational for our book business. WME Live has launched tours for Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington, and most recently Together Live — an initiative co-founded by Jennifer and our client Glennon Doyle. Together Live brings intersectional and diverse women storytellers to stages around the country. Heading into their fourth year, they’ve seen 50,000 people and counting. This year, partnered with P&G and Walmart, they are launching a podcast, shooting a pilot from the road for NBC, and have an anthology publishing with Random House.
Yet beyond her professional achievements, Jennifer’s most significant role has been in shaping the culture of WME. She has helped launch many of our cultural initiatives that continue to this day and have strengthened our bonds even further. Jennifer has also mentored countless former and current employees who have flourished under her guidance. Her leadership and counsel will have a lasting impact on all of us.
Jennifer has been discussing and planning this transition with us for awhile, and I’m truly thrilled that it has now come together.
Please join me in congratulating Jennifer on this next ambitious chapter.
