Dawn Ostroff

Dawn Ostroff is an executive in the media and entertainment industry, with a career spanning broadcast television, film production, digital media, and audio streaming. Ostroff began her professional journey as a journalist, working as an anchor and reporter at WINZ, a CBS All News Radio affiliate, before transitioning into the entertainment business. She later held senior positions at 20th Century Fox, Michael Jacobs Productions (Disney), and the Kushner-Locke Company, building the creative and strategic instincts that would define her career. During her leadership at Lifetime Entertainment, the network rose from sixth place to become the top-rated cable network in prime time.

Ostroff's reputation as a network builder was cemented when she helped launch The CW Network, a joint venture between CBS and Warner Bros., and served as president of entertainment. During her tenure, she was instrumental in developing series such as "Gossip Girl," "Everyone Hates Chris," and "The Vampire Diaries." Before that, she served as president of the UPN Network, a subsidiary of CBS, where she developed the reality series "America's Next Top Model," which ran for 23 seasons. Her ability to identify culturally resonant programming and build loyal audiences earned her repeated recognition on the Hollywood Reporter list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment.

Ostroff co-founded and launched Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE), a studio and distribution network for film, television, premium digital video, social, and virtual reality. At CNE, she produced film projects including "Only the Brave," adapted from a GQ feature; "The First Monday in May"; and "The Old Man & the Gun" with Robert Redford, as well as TV series including "Last Chance U" on Netflix and "Vanity Fair Confidential" on Investigation Discovery. Through its digital franchises, such as Vogue's "73 Questions" and WIRED's "Autocomplete Interview," CNE produced thousands of videos, garnering billions of views.

Ostroff then joined Spotify as chief content and advertising business officer, overseeing all global content, content operations, and advertising revenue. She drove significant growth in the company's advertising business and focused on expanding the music streaming service into other forms of audio, primarily podcasts. Ostroff signed Higher Ground Productions, the production company of Barack and Michelle Obama, to produce a slate of exclusive podcasts for Spotify, and negotiated exclusive podcast deals with Kim Kardashian West, Joe Rogan, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle. Under her leadership, Spotify's podcast catalog grew from fewer than 200,000 titles to more than 5 million, establishing Spotify as the leading podcast platform.

Beyond her executive roles, Ostroff has served as an independent director at Mattel, a global leader in toys and family entertainment, where she is a member of the compensation committee. She also serves on the New York University Faculty of Arts and Science Board of Overseers and has previously been a trustee of The Paley Center for Media. Her honors include recognition on the Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Power 100 and the New York Women in Communications Matrix Award. In 2026, she joined the board of directors of Moloco, an AI advertising firm. Ostroff continues to be a prominent voice on the future of content, creativity, and the evolving relationship between audiences and storytellers in the media and entertainment industry.