Many people in the worlds of philanthropy and culture have wondered what the next move would be for Darren Walker who, over 12 years as president of the Ford Foundation, became a high-profile and influential thought leader before stepping down last fall.
Few could have predicted he would head to Hollywood.
On Friday, Walker, 66, was named president and chief executive of Anonymous Content, the production and management company whose lead investor is Emerson Collective, a company steered by the entrepreneur and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs.
“It’s rare to find both creative and fiscal talent in one person,” said Powell Jobs, 62, who has worked closely with Walker as a Ford trustee. “He is a disciplined, clear strategist and manager and understands and celebrates creative culture.”
The selection signals a new chapter for Anonymous Content, which has produced acclaimed projects like the film “Spotlight” and the television show “Schitt’s Creek,” but has lacked clear definition since the death of its founder, Steve Golin, in 2019. Last year, the company cut about 15 percent of its staff.
Walker’s appointment is symbolic of change of another kind, given how he transformed the Ford Foundation into a social justice leader. And he does not fit the traditional profile of a Hollywood mogul, as a gay Black man raised in Louisiana and East Texas by a single mother who worked as a nurse’s aide.
But while some may question his film and television bona fides, others say Walker’s unconventional input is exactly what Hollywood needs as the entertainment industry grapples with consolidation, recent labor strikes, the Los Angeles fires, A.I. issues and a decline in production.
“He reshaped philanthropy — this is a chance to reshape how we think about this moment,” the filmmaker Ava DuVernay said. “A visionary is a visionary.”
Walker — who will start next month and divide his time between Los Angeles and New York — said the move felt like an outgrowth of his experiences, which include his current position as board president at the National Gallery of Art in Washington (which he will keep). He has also served on nonprofit boards like those of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and continues to serve on corporate boards like Bloomberg L.P. and Ralph Lauren.
“Storytelling shapes culture, informs how we see ourselves and how we see the humanity in others,” Walker said. “And Anonymous is an iconic storytelling and talent organization.”
“The thing that is needed most now is leadership, courage and capital,” he added. “There is no doubt that there are things I have to learn. But I will also bring some fresh perspectives.”
Dynamic, gregarious and dapper, Walker has become known as “the connector of connectors,” who has smoothly navigated the worlds of culture, politics and business, cultivating bold-faced friends like the Obamas and Steven Spielberg. He has visited George Clooney in Italy. Oprah Winfrey in Hawaii. David Geffen on his yacht.
The many different parties held recently to honor Walker’s tenure at Ford were hosted by the likes of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in New York and the film producer John Goldwyn in Los Angeles.
“Darren comes to this with more relationships than many people who have been in this business a long time,” said Richard Plepler, the former head of HBO whose Eden Productions has an exclusive Apple TV deal. “Not only would I not bet against him, I would put money on him.”
Walker could benefit from the recent upending of the studio system. What the future of movies and television will look like is anyone’s guess. “It’s an opportunity moment,” said Bryan Lourd, the chief executive of the talent agency CAA, adding of Anonymous Content, “the company needs a galvanizing force.”
Greg Berlanti, a television writer, director and producer in Los Angeles, welcomed Walker’s appointment as a healthy disruption. “He is going to be a breath of fresh air in this town — we can use more leaders who take risks,” he said, “especially in a time when people are a little disheartened because of the ways in which the business is both diminishing and changing.”
Walker has a long track record of working with creative people, given Ford’s support of artists like Amy Sherald, curators like Denise Murrell and institutions like the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
He had some experience with film at Ford, developing JustFilms into a large documentary fund and supporting programs at the Sundance Institute Director’s Lab, Participant Media and the Tribeca Film Institute.
Despite this challenging time in Hollywood, Walker said he is optimistic about the enduring appetite for quality projects and talent. “A well-capitalized, independent organization — with leadership and courage — can do great things, even during difficult times,” he said. “Talented people are feeling fragile and vulnerable like never before. That is regrettable, but it’s also an opportunity for Anonymous, because Emerson takes a long-term view of their investments.”
Anonymous Content, in turn, is getting a chief executive who comes with some potent stamps of approval; Walker has been awarded the Order of Arts and Letters, France’s highest cultural honor (2022); the Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II (2023); and the National Humanities Medal from President Biden (2024).
He’s also been one of Time’s annual 100 Most Influential People, Rolling Stone’s 25 People Shaping the Future, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Ebony’s Power 100 and Out magazine’s Power 50.
Walker has come in for his share of criticism — for supporting the replacement (rather than elimination) of Rikers Island prison; for his handling of the controversial Philip Guston exhibition; and for what some see as Ford’s favoritism toward Walker’s friends, such as Agnes Gund’s Art for Justice Fund and a $10 million grant to endow Thelma Golden’s position as director and chief curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem.
But many see in Walker’s personal story the embodiment of the American dream, given his trajectory from the first preschool class of the federal Head Start program to the University of Texas — where he earned bachelor’s and law degrees — to becoming a corporate lawyer and bond trader.
Walker served as vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation and chief operating officer of the Abyssinian Development Corporation in Harlem. He has 20 honorary doctorate degrees.
Indra Nooyi, who knows Walker from her years as chief executive of PepsiCo, where Walker served on the board, and from the National Gallery, where she’s on the board, said Walker would provide Anonymous Content with “direction, vision and contacts.”
Perhaps most crucially, Walker has a powerful force behind him in Powell Jobs as one of the wealthiest people in the world, who has invested in start-ups, politics and philanthropy. Emerson Collective, a limited liability company, has backed efforts like OpenAI, Stripe, The Atlantic and a project to build a new city in California.
Powell Jobs and Walker share a commitment to progressive causes, some of which have lately been targeted by the Trump Administration, such as the executive order to dismantle D.E.I. efforts.
Walker said he hopes to produce content that reflects a range of viewpoints, but that he eschews self-righteous polemics.
“The best storytelling is not lecturing or finger-wagging,” he said. “It’s intelligent, discreet, with powerful messages embedded that deeply touch you.”
As to whether he would prioritize D.E.I. in promoting talent at Anonymous Content, Walker said a heterogenous team is good for business, not an end in itself. “I have always believed that our North Star is excellence, he said. “We can’t get to excellence without diversity.”
Robin Pogrebin, who has been a reporter for The Times for 30 years, covers arts and culture.
The post For His Next Act, Ex-Ford Foundation Leader Heads to Hollywood appeared first on New York Times.
