Veteran business and media executive Sarah Chase has been named COO and executive producer at Wild Bill, a creative content production company and commercial agency jointly run by co-founders Samantha Hart and James Lipetzky. Chase spent much of her career working under the close mentorship of actor Alan Alda. Prior to joining Wild Bill, she served as COO at Alda Communication Training Company (ACT), teaming with Alda to build it into a multi-million dollar company that was structured as a one-of-its-kind private-public partnership with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. All of ACT’s profits were contributed to the Alda Center to further enhance research and innovation in STEM communication.
Chase also served as executive producer and voiceover artist for Alda’s award-winning podcast, “Clear+Vivid®.” Chase helped Alda and co-executive producer Graham Chedd develop the podcast for Stitcher. Chase produced over 100 episodes for the podcast, which has since had over 11 million downloads. Notable guests she worked with directly include Tom Hanks, Paul McCartney, Julie Andrews, Madeleine Albright, Tina Fey, Michael J. Fox, Judge Judy, Isabella Rossellini and Sarah Silverman.
Alda said, “Sarah has been COO of my company and executive producer of my podcast, ‘Clear+Vivid®,’ for the past four years, and I’ve seen her skill and ingenuity in full bloom. Wild Bill is lucky to have landed her. I think all of us who have worked with Sarah will boast one day that we were smart enough to choose her.”
Hart commented, “In a time when so few companies are hiring, we are confident that it’s a valuable investment to enlist Sarah Chase’s immense talents. We were drawn to her enormous breadth of experience in communication-focused businesses. Her track record with Mr. Alda’s company is impressive–having helped develop and build it into a multi-million dollar entity. She’s also launched several media ventures, digital start-ups, cable networks, and podcasts. Sarah is an incredibly passionate and articulate woman, who immediately connected with the unique culture and spirit of Wild Bill.”
Chase said. “From my first meeting with Samantha, I totally understood her vision for the future of content creation and immediately related to the creative vibe. Coupled with James’ directing talent, visual perspective, and storytelling passion, we will forge ahead, no matter what is happening in the world, to navigate Wild Bill into this newly emerging world of ultra-connected, authentic storytelling and purpose-driven content production.”
Specializing in authentic stories for nonprofits, brands and start-ups, Wild Bill has created content for United Way, American Express, The Benjamin Marshall Society, Microsoft, and the L.A.-based non-profit A Place Called Home, to name a few. License to Operate, their 2015 feature documentary about reformed gang members in Los Angeles won Best Documentary Feature at the Highland International Film Festival. The agency is now expanding its 2019 short on the life of famous Chicago architect Benjamin Marshall into a pilot for a series with producer Valerie Gobos, and Hart’s literary memoir, “Blind Pony” will be released this fall.
