United Talent Agency (UTA) has named Lyndsay Harding as Chief Financial Officer, the talent and entertainment company announced Wednesday.
Harding, who most recently worked as CFO at Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, succeeds Jeff Dalla Betta, a 20-year veteran as UTA’s CFO. Harding will begin her post at UTA on March 19.
UTA is the first major agency to appoint a woman as their CFO.
Harding began her career as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs and then as an associated at JPMorgan Partners. She then made the leap to entertainment as a senior vice president at MGM, and then as CFO at Evergreen Studios.
She then moved to DreamWorks in 2014, where she served as the CFO and was a member of the team responsible for forming Amblin Partners. Recently, she helped structure a partnership with Alibaba Pictures and expanded Amblin’s relationship with Universal’s acquisition of a minority stake in the company.
“Lyndsay is an important addition to UTA’s accomplished senior management team,” said Andrew Thau, UTA’s Chief Operating Officer. “A highly regarded and respected executive, Lyndsay brings tremendous experience both within the entertainment business and finance. As we continue to take advantage of the tremendous transformation taking place in an increasingly complex industry, Lyndsay’s role will be pivotal to our further diversification and growth.”
“Through acquisitions and expansion of its core business, UTA has built a platform that’s poised for tremendous growth,” added Harding. “I’m thrilled to be joining UTA at such an exciting time for the company and to be part of the leadership team that will build on past success to take UTA to the next level. While saying goodbye to my Amblin family won’t be easy, Jeremy Zimmer and the entire team at UTA have created a very special place, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to impact its future direction.”