The Lede Company
Founded 2018 · 257 employees · 1 known investors
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LEDE is a culture-first agency providing storytelling and audience engagement services for brands, talent, and organizations across the media landscape. It works with corporate and brand clients and manages relationships with leading talent.
Also known as Lede · Lede Company
Founders & leadership
The Lede Company was founded in 2018 by Christine Su.
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026The Lede Company is a full-service strategy, public relations, communications and social impact consulting firm working across corporate, entertainment, brand and nonprofit sectors. It describes itself as a women-founded cultural advisory that applies a culture-first approach to storytelling and engagement for brands, talent and organizations. The firm helps clients establish and manage their public presence, spanning brand strategy, reputation and crisis management, internal and external communications, content and campaign development, events and activations, talent and influencer work, and sustainability and advocacy programs.
The business is organized into seven interconnected divisions: Brand, Strategic Communications, Content, Social Impact, Brand Partnerships, Events, and Talent (Talent + Music). The Talent and Music division represents entertainment figures across television, film, music, publishing, modeling, sport, digital and theater, building campaigns around film festivals, red carpets, awards, brand partnerships and philanthropic work. The Brand division serves fashion, beauty, sports, wellness, automotive, CPG and technology clients from global leaders to growth-stage and emerging companies. Strategic Communications advises Fortune 500 corporations, film studios, streamers, media conglomerates, technology companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, nonprofits and C-suite executives. The Content division supports launches and ongoing promotion of feature films, series, short films, podcasts, books, documentaries, festivals and special events, while the Impact division builds purpose, philanthropy, sustainability and CSR programs.
Founding story
The founders launched the firm in June 2018 without taking clients from their prior employer, observing standard non-solicitation conventions; talent they had previously worked with at 42West began contacting them within days of the news breaking. The company describes four co-founders joining forces to create a culture-first approach to storytelling and engagement for a rapidly changing media landscape.
Business model
Lede operates as a consulting and agency business, engaging clients across its seven divisions on retained and campaign-based communications, brand, events, partnerships and social impact work, and collaborating across divisions to serve a single client with multiple services.
Traction
Company figures cite 7+ years established, 150+ corporate and brand clients, 240+ employees, 250+ talent clients and 140+ cultural moments across 5+ global offices. Reported campaign outcomes include $9.4M in earned media value for a Pharrell Louis Vuitton 2026 collection and 23 billion media and social impressions for the Academy Museum Gala, where the firm managed the red carpet for more than 250 attendees. Its relationship with Pharrell Williams spans more than 10 years.
Latest developments
Shamrock Capital invested in 2024, with Mike Lasalle, Co-President and Partner at Shamrock Capital, listed as a board member. In June 2025 the firm acquired Element Brand Group via an LBO, broadening brand strategy and integrated marketing capabilities. Recent client work includes talent casting, social and PR amplification for Audi's national campaign for the 2026 Audi Q3.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positioned as an industry leader in entertainment public relations working with A-list talent and fast-growing brands. In its first year the firm was ranked number two on Observer's Most Powerful PR Firms list, described by the publication as its highest-ever ranking for a first-year agency, and it has been included among top-50 PR firm rankings.
The company frames its cross-divisional structure as its core advantage, with seven distinct but interconnected practices operating as a unified system across industries and audiences, and combines entertainment talent representation with corporate, brand and social-impact communications in one firm.
Go-to-market
Client acquisition is driven by the founders' and teams' entertainment and media relationships, cross-selling across the seven divisions, and visibility from high-profile campaigns and cultural moments such as the Academy Museum Gala and marquee brand activations.
Entertainment talent including actors, musicians, authors, models, athletes and digital creators; consumer and luxury brands; Fortune 500 corporations, studios, streamers, media conglomerates, technology companies, hedge funds and private equity firms; nonprofits, institutions and C-suite executives. Named clients include Pharrell Williams, Levi's, Audi, Meta, Illumination, the Academy Museum Gala, Emma Grede, Sabrina Carpenter, Will Ferrell, Idris Elba, Gracie Abrams, Charlize Theron, Emma Stone, Kerry Washington, Rosalia and Penelope Cruz.
Geography
Headquartered in Los Angeles and New York, with international offices in London (opened 2022) and Paris (established through the 2023 OBCM acquisition). The company states 5+ global offices. One directory listing places the headquarters in Beverly Hills, California.
History
The firm was founded in June 2018 by Sarah Rothman, Amanda Silverman and Meredith O'Sullivan, three senior publicists who departed 42West. Christine Su, previously CEO of Heir Agency in New York, joined later in 2018 as a fourth co-founder and co-CEO, adding fashion and lifestyle brand capability. Lede opened a London office in October 2022, its first international location, and in June 2023 acquired Paris agency OBCM, rebranding it Lede Paris. Shamrock Capital invested in 2024 and lists the company as a current portfolio holding. In June 2025 Lede completed an LBO acquisition of Element Brand Group, adding consumer brand strategy, creative and culture practices.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsLede completed a leveraged buyout acquisition of Element Brand Group, adding consumer brand strategy, creative and culture practices to its existing entertainment, fashion and social impact offering.
Shamrock Capital lists Lede in its portfolio with a 2024 investment date and current status; Mike Lasalle, Co-President & Partner at Shamrock Capital, is listed as a board member associated with a July 2024 investment.
Lede acquired the Paris-based agency OBCM and rebranded it Lede Paris under managing director Olivier Bourgis, extending its European footprint into fashion, hospitality and luxury brand work.
Lede opened an office in London, its first location outside the United States.
By the end of 2018, its first year of operation, Observer placed Lede second on its Most Powerful PR Firms list, which the publication noted was its highest-ever placement for a first-year agency.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- The Lede Companyledecompany.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does The Lede Company do?
- The Lede Company is a women-founded strategy, communications and social impact agency serving talent, brands and organizations.
- Who founded The Lede Company?
- The Lede Company was founded by Christine Su in 2018.
- Who are The Lede Company's investors?
- The Lede Company's investors include Shamrock Capital.