Dawn Ostroff is president of Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ), an award-winning next generation studio developing and producing projects across film, television, social and premium digital video, and virtual reality.
Since its founding in 2011, CNÉ has 25 active film projects including the feature films “Granite Mountain,” starring Josh Brolin and Miles Teller slated for a October 2017 release, and “The Old Man and the Gun” starring Robert Redford and Casey Affleck, which recently wrapped production. Additionally, CNÉ currently has six unscripted television series in production and on the air, and multiple pilots sold to various television networks. CNÉ’s digital video network was launched 2013 and produces more than 5,000 videos annually. CNÉ content delivered more than 4.5 billion video views in the past year, won its first Emmy Award in 2015, and received multiple Academy Award nominations for its short-form film digital content, including Best Documentary (Short Form) for “Joe’s Violin.” CNÉ also operates The Scene, the first platform dedicated to premium digital video, as a mobile-first, video social platform with a mobile app available in the iTunes App store.
Ostroff’s most recent film producing credits include “The Old Man and the Gun” (producer), “Granite Mountain” (producer), “The First Monday in May” (producer), “Army of One” (producer), and “Dollhouse” (executive producer). Her most recent television producing credits include “Last Chance U” (executive producer), “Gentleman Lobsters” (executive producer), “The Fashion Fund” (executive producer), “The New Yorker Presents” (executive producer), “Geeks Who Drink” (executive producer) and “Vanity Fair Confidential” (executive producer).
Prior to joining Condé Nast in the fall of 2011, Ostroff launched and led the new CW broadcast network, a joint venture of CBS and Warner Bros., beginning January 2006. As president of entertainment, she was responsible for all aspects of the CW’s creative efforts, including programming, digital initiatives, branding, marketing, research and sales, and developed a multitude of groundbreaking hit series—among them, “Gossip Girl,” “The Vampire Diaries” and “America’s Next Top Model.” In an effort to engage the digital CW generation across multiple platforms, Ostroff and her team developed cutting-edge strategies for streaming in order to leverage content and revenue opportunities.
From 2002 to 2006, Ostroff served as president of UPN Network, a subsidiary of CBS, where she oversaw all areas of the network’s business—programming, digital, branding, marketing, sales, finance, research, legal and publicity, and more.
Before UPN, Ostroff served as executive vice president of entertainment at Lifetime Television, where she headed up programming and production, scheduling and acquisitions, including Lifetime Original Movies, prime-time series, specials, documentaries and sports, as well as all programming for Lifetime Movie Network and Lifetime Real Women. In the five years that Ostroff led Lifetime Entertainment (1996–2002), the network rose from sixth place to become the #1-rated cable network in prime time.
Earlier in her career Ostroff held senior roles at 20th Century Fox Television, Michael Jacobs Productions (at Disney) and the Kushner-Locke Company. She began her career working at several local channels in news as an on-air reporter and a producer.
Ostroff has a BS in journalism from Florida International.