Verve Partners Elects Bill Weinstein as CEO

On the eve of its anniversary, Verve appointed founding partner Bill Weinstein as its first CEO in the agency’s thirteen years. The decision was made by the partnership and announced by its co-founders Adam Levine and Bryan Besser during a company-wide meeting with a grateful and excited Weinstein, who thanked all members of the Verve community for their support and belief.

In Besser and Levine’s candid speech, they emphasized the need to add additional structure as the independent agency adds resources to its core film and television business while expanding into new areas of client representation.

“As we continue to evolve, we recognize the need to formalize our company’s management organization to bring greater accountability, efficiency and excellence to our core mission of nurturing creative talent,” Besser said on behalf of the partnership.

The appointment follows the agency’s doubling in size since March 2020, including expansion into talent, theater, publishing and IP, audio/podcasts and nonfiction, as well as the agency’s first acquisition, which was acquired by TV directing agency New Deal Mfg. . Co and the opening of the first office in New York.

Weinstein was at the forefront of Verve’s key decisions, including the company’s negotiations with the WGA (which became the first major agency to sign the code of conduct in May 2019), and later that year worked to make Verve the standard for assistant pay set. introduced in response to the #PayUpHollywood movement. Weinstein also played a pivotal role in directing the agency’s response to Covid-19, establishing protocols and procedures that allowed Verve to retain all employees during the first few weeks of the pandemic, and ultimately to number of colleagues and clients during the Increase work from home time. Guide the company’s return to office in March 2022.

This latest announcement follows a year of continued expansion and organizational alignment for the talent agency, with significant hires across multiple teams including audio/podcasting, talent ventures and nonfiction. In addition, Verve recently promoted a number of agents to senior positions within the company, including Liz Parker & Parker Davis as Co-Heads of Film, Felicia Prinz & Chris Noriega as Co-Heads of TV, and Tyler Reynolds as TV Director. Weinstein and Verve’s leadership also expanded the business support teams with several additions in Human Resources and Operations, Learning and Development, and Finance.

“I am incredibly grateful and honored to have been chosen for this position by my partners and colleagues. Verve’s customers, community and culture remain my top priority and I am excited to have the opportunity to lead this special group into a very bright future,” said Weinstein.

While the newly created position will evolve Weinstein’s responsibilities, he will continue to represent clients, demonstrating Verve’s continued commitment to the core principle of nurturing creative talent at all levels of the company. Weinstein works with clients such as JD Payne & Patrick McKay, Emmy nominee Sara Hess, Emmy nominee Jac Schaeffer, Oscar winner Michael Arndt, Mike Jones, Adele Lim, Oscar nominee Meg LeFauve, John August, Oscar nominee Allison Schroeder, Brian K Vaughan, Oscar nominee James Schamus and Oscar winner Geoffrey Fletcher.