Paradigm Talent Agency on Thursday said that it has hired former WarnerMedia executive Shakira Gagnier as the agency’s new vice president of diversity and inclusion.
The agency, like others in Hollywood and companies across the country, has attempted to take deliberate steps to improve diversity and inclusion in its workplace. In this new role, Gagnier will be responsible for developing and executing strategies that help drive that goal.
“It’s exciting to be creating this role at Paradigm and helping the entire Paradigm team shape the future of the company,” Gagnier said in a statement. “Guiding conversations and change about workplace diversity is something every company needs to do, and Sam impressed me with the earnest and urgent way he spoke about this evolution being essential.”
“I look forward to investing all levels of the company in that foundational journey — together, we will create a culture and workplace that reflects the inclusive ambitions of the company’s leadership and mirrors the diverse roster of artists the agency represents,” she continued.
Paradigm said in a release that it plans to make Gagnier a key member of the agency’s executive team, working with senior leadership, HR, and the agency’s administration to integrate diversity and inclusion strategies and new practices, programs, and processes company-wide.
The plan is for Gagnier to help guide employee engagement, defining a clear pathway to promotion for existing staff and instituting enhanced recruiting, training, mentorship, and development opportunities. Serving with the agency’s management, she will evaluate key metrics to assess, measure, and track results of initiatives and guide progress.
“Today is only the first of many steps that the leadership at Paradigm will take to stress diversity and inclusion as a core value of our agency,” Paradigm CEO Sam Gores said in a statement. “Shakira brings an extraordinary range of experience working at some of the industry’s most prominent media companies. Everyone at Paradigm shares a renewed commitment to ensuring our company better reflects the artists we represent, the audiences they entertain, and the wide
r world. We welcome Shakira and look forward to working with her on this important journey.”
Gagnier has held a wide range of leadership positions across the entertainment industry, especially with an eye toward diversity and inclusion. She joins Paradigm from WarnerMedia, where she played an integral role in producing the first virtual global enterprise inclusion race equity intensive for all HR professionals across eight countries as the company’s director of learning and development.
At Warner’s Otter Media, Gagnier co-led We Gather, a conference created to connect and empower the female workforce. Prior to WarnerMedia, Gagnier served as vice president of people, diversity and inclusion, and engagement at Fullscreen Media, where she produced the company’s first people development department and created IGNITE, a people leader program with 50% parity between male and female emerging leaders.
Her first leadership role in entertainment came as senior manager of learning and organizational development at Universal Music Group, where she served on the board of Universal Music’s Women’s Network, a collaborative community of over 500 women across UMG.