CAA has hired Dasha Smith as its Chief Operating Officer. Smith, a 2020 SBJ Game Changers honoree, most recently served as the NFL’s EVP/Chief Administrative Officer, a role she had held since 2019. She will report directly to CAA Co-Chairman and CEO Bryan Lourd and be based in Los Angeles.
At the NFL, she helped shape the league’s enterprise strategy and oversaw technology, AI and innovation, data and analytics, human resources, social responsibility, philanthropy and league office administration. She also oversaw league committees, including the social justice committee and the compensation committee. She was the only woman of color in the NFL’s C-suite.
Before joining the NFL, Smith was EVP and global chief human resources officer for Sony Music Entertainment. She was also managing director in the office of the chairman at alternative investment firm GCM Grosvenor, where she led several corporate functions. She spent nearly 10 years at Time Inc., where she led global employee relations and employment law functions and worked as a senior attorney focusing on M&A.
Smith began her legal career at Latham & Watkins, Covington & Burling and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. She sits on the boards of financial advisory firm CAPTRUST and investment management firm Cohen & Steers.
