stars Insights
Hollywood Issue:
Hollywood as a Laboratory for 21st Century Leadership and Organization
4 August 2026

• The Hollywood Model
  Roland Deiser, Chairman of the Center for the Future of Organization at the Drucker School of Management and stars alumnus, argues that Hollywood offers one of the world’s most sophisticated laboratories for leadership under uncertainty. Rather than relying on hierarchy and control, filmmaking succeeds by orchestrating temporary ecosystems of highly specialized talent around a shared vision. The article explores how collaboration, respect for craft, storytelling, purposeful leadership, and the ability to pivot in the face of disruption enable extraordinary outcomes. As organizations increasingly operate through ecosystems, cross-functional networks, and rapidly changing environments, Hollywood’s practices provide a compelling blueprint for leading beyond the traditional industrial-age organization.
• The Guest in the Room
  Academy Award-winning director Adam Davidson sat down with Roland Deiser to share an unexpected lesson from Hollywood: some of the most demanding leadership happens when you are responsible for execution without owning the vision. Over decades directing acclaimed television series such as Lost, Rome, Six Feet Under, and Deadwood, Davidson learned that success depends on quickly understanding an organization’s culture, building trust, and contributing your own expertise without overpowering the established creative direction. Rather than imposing authority, effective leaders learn to ask the right questions, read unwritten rules, and create conditions for others’ ideas to flourish. Davidson’s experience offers a powerful model for leading through influence, adaptability, and deep respect for a shared purpose.
• Hollywood’s Structural Reset
  Mark Young, former senior executive at NBCUniversal, Disney, Fandango, and Rotten Tomatoes, explains why Hollywood is undergoing one of the most profound business transformations in its history. Streaming, platform economics, AI, gaming, and changing consumer habits have fundamentally reshaped how value is created, shifting power from content ownership to customer relationships and data. Traditional studios now face the difficult challenge of reinventing themselves while still operating legacy businesses built for a different era. Young argues that the lessons extend far beyond entertainment: every industry must rethink its business model, capabilities, and competitive landscape as platform ecosystems replace traditional value chains. The critical leadership question is no longer how to improve the old model, but what business you are actually in.

Rethink Leadership in a G-Zero World
Toni Schoenenberger, Founder and Executive Chairman of stars
Published in the Q1 2026 issue of the SID Directors Bulletin by the Singapore Institute of Directors.

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