Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith Tap Three Black Execs For Westbrook Media Company

Black executives in the entertainment industry are steadily climbing the leadership ladder.

According to an exclusive from Variety, Westbrook Media —  a digital subsidiary of Westbrook Inc. launched by founders Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Miguel Melendez, and Ko Yada — has shared that it’s tapped three seasoned executives — Sterling Milan, Jabari Hearn, and Drew Miles — for senior roles at the company.

Seasoned producer Sterling Milan joins the company as the full-time head of original content, following his recent stint as an in-house executive producer, showrunning and directing series and specials for Westbrook Media originals.

In a statement shared with Variety, Lukas Kaiser — SVP, head of content at Westbrook Media — said: “I’ve been a friend and a fan of Sterling’s for over a decade — and bringing him on to lead the creative side of production on numerous projects over the past few months has been a joy. We’re thrilled to bring him into the Westbrook Media family to help bring our robust development slate to life.”

Additionally, Jabari Hearn, who previously worked in a series of marketing roles at Lyft, Google, and Nike, now joins Westbrook Media as senior VP marketing for brand and entertainment.

Hearn will work closely with newly-recruited executive Drew Miles — formerly with Variety — who will operate as the senior director of business development and partnerships for Westbrook Media.

“Both Jabari and Drew have demonstrated their innovative approach to brand storytelling and partnerships,” Westbrook Media president Brad Haugen shared in a statement. “We are excited for the two of them to bring their ingenuity and prowess to the team as we continue to expand our growing marketing services and work with brands and entertainment partners to connect to their consumers in an impactful way.”

Altogether, Milan, Hearn, and Miles have 30-plus years of experience working alongside some of the biggest companies in media and other industries as well.

Westbrook Media’s hope for these three leaders is to further propel the company’s mission and provide tools that will continue to “empower artists to tell stories that connect with a global audience,” according to the Calabasas, Calif.-based company.