24 Oct Bad Robot, Great Company
As head of culture and social impact at entertainment company Bad Robot Productions, Alex Sewell is leading his company and the industry
Alex Sewell is the head of Good Robot, Bad Robot Productions’ culture and social impact division. Charged with leading Bad Robot’s corporate social responsibility and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, Sewell is at the forefront of this work in the entertainment industry.
Prior to joining Bad Robot, Sewell managed inclusion initiatives and executive office operations within the Will and Jada Smith Family Foundation. He has also consulted on social impact initiatives across the entertainment industry. Sewell began his career in Washington, DC, where he served as an executive and political aide in the US Senate and within the Obama administration. He brings his depth of experience in public service, campaigns, and advocacy to the critical work of fostering culture change within the entertainment industry. A Chicago native, Sewell currently resides in Los Angeles.
Sewell sat down with Diversity Woman to talk about his role, his career trajectory, and his thought leadership on building inclusivity and advancing women and people of color in the entertainment industry.
Diversity Woman: What are your primary responsibilities and roles at Good Robot?
Alex Sewell: My portfolio as head of Good Robot entails cultivating and maintaining industry partnerships, developing and implementing internal- and external-facing social impact campaigns and public statements, and implementing best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion across the company’s work, as well as managing our impact investment portfolio.
DW: Good Robot and Bad Robot have sponsored an impressive number of initiatives to increase diverse voices in storytelling in the film industry. Can you tell us about a couple of these campaigns and how they have been successful?
AS: In February 2022, Bad Robot proudly partnered with The Black List, a platform for film and TV writers to showcase their screenplays to industry members. Our initiative provides fee waivers for 500 underrepresented writers to host their scripts on the website for one month and receive a free script evaluation by industry professionals. The partnership also includes eight community partner organizations that distribute the fee waivers to diverse communities. Currently, we have the following participating organizations: Art in the Armed Forces, Barcid Foundation, The Black House Foundation, Gold House, The Latinx House, Outfest/Outfest Fusion, RespectAbility, and Women in Film. Each partner has shared its slate of fee waivers with the goal of creating a new pipeline for underrepresented writers to showcase their work. This initiative is ongoing, but we believe it has provided access and opportunity to many deserving underrepresented writers across our industry.
DW: Why are diverse voices and talent especially critical in the entertainment industry?
AS: Diverse voices and talent are critical to the industry, telling a fuller, richer picture of the mosaic of our nation, our world, and the human experience. We miss out on so much value, such rich history, and important, illuminating perspectives when we don’t hear from or experience people and stories outside of our own. It is also critical that opportunities exist for people who want to showcase their talent, their art, and their perspective with the world. These opportunities should exist equally for people across our industry and all walks of life. The critical work of providing equal access and opportunity for all remains a tremendous but achievable work in progress across our industry.
DW: What is the “Bad Robot rule”?
AS: The Bad Robot rule is our internal hiring practice, whereas for every open position in the company, we interview a candidate pool that is representative of the US population. Our goal is to ensure that our hiring teams have an opportunity to interview an accurate representation of the diversity and talent of our nation. This hiring intentionality has had a measurable impact on our staff composition. Currently, Bad Robot employees are 53 percent women, and 45 percent identify as a person of color.
DW: In the summer of 2020, Good Robot stepped up its efforts to expand and strengthen anti-racist movements. Why did it make this commitment, and where did it direct these efforts?
AS: In 2022, Bad Robot and the Katie McGrath & J.J. Abrams Family Foundation were proud to mark the third year of our five-year joint commitment of $10 million to organizations and leaders fighting against systemic injustice and building an equitable society for all. We have all witnessed, and many have experienced firsthand, the traumatic events of our nation’s history and more recent occurrences. Compounding this trauma, voter suppression efforts are underway across our country that disproportionately target communities of color and youth. This year, we focused our efforts on protecting democracy for all. We were proud to support several organizations on the frontlines of this fight and those reaching other vital areas of concern.
DW: What brought you to Good Robot?
AS: There is a clear alignment of values and purpose, and that’s important to me. As a department, Good Robot is a direct investment in the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Centering social impact in everything, including content, is a brave new space for the entertainment industry. I’m proud to work for a company and lead a team at the forefront of this work.
DW: Tell us a bit about your upbringing, and describe a leadership lesson you learned early in life.
AS: My greatest leadership lesson has been learning to center my values in every role I’m blessed to take on. I’m a native of the south side of Chicago and was very fortunate to have parents and grandparents who instilled in me the value of civic participation, showing up in and for my community, and honoring the people and communities that I represent. I’ve allowed those values to guide me in career decisions, whether to become a political science major in college, take a leap of faith to move to Washington, DC, to serve on Capitol Hill, and now in LA, within the entertainment industry. I care about advancing not only the policies that can change our culture but also the people and communities impacted by our work.
DW: What career advice would you give new college graduates of color who want to break into the entertainment industry?
AS: Your perspective, lens, and experiences can add value wherever you go. If you are not being valued, then it’s not the right fit. Find people and organizations that align with your values and vision, be willing to compromise with integrity, and maintain a tribe of people who can support you in navigating your career’s ups and downs and fulfilling the vision and purpose you have for your life.
DW: How does your company advance women into leadership positions?
AS: Bad Robot is committed to equity in the workplace. We are co-led by our company’s co-CEO, Katie McGrath, and nearly every department at Bad Robot is led by a fantastic woman—leadership from our TV, film, production, audio, live, operations, and other departments. We are genuinely proud of our commitment to equity in the workplace for all. We are also proud to support equity movements in our industry and society through our impact portfolio and clear public stance in support of women’s rights, health, and equity.
DW: What are you proudest of in your business career?
AS: The proudest moments of my career have happened during these last few challenging years in our nation. I’ve been proud to be a part of a company that leads with our values publicly and follows through on our commitments during this critical time. I’ve had the privilege of working for great leaders in public service. Still, I’ve appreciated this work’s direct and evolving impact on the workplace, our industry, and our society over the longer term. DW
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Find people and organizations that align with your values and vision, be willing to compromise with integrity, and maintain a tribe of people who can support you.
