By Ebone’ Parks
The Birmingham Times
Kristena Hatcher’s best advice to live by is: Know your worth and don’t allow anyone else to define that for you.
The Alabama native lives by that quote and hasn’t let anything stop her from becoming a successful woman in her career. Hatcher is a HR Executive at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world’s leading full service entertainment, media and sports agency in Los Angeles, California. Her role at CAA is talent acquisition, establishing and maintaining collaborative partnerships across the business.
Kristena is a graduate of the University of Alabama where she received her Bachelors of Arts in Criminal Justice. She also received her Professional Resources Certification through the HR Certification Institute. In addition, she has completed coursework in Human Resources Management at UCLA.
Before moving to Los Angeles to work at CAA, she was an Executive Recruiter for Morgan Samuels, an executive search firm that places senior executives and C-level talent across industries including digital media and entertainment consumer packaged goods and engineering and contraction.
“I moved to Los Angeles from Birmingham where career opportunities on the business side of entertainment are not as prevalent. I am extremely proud to work at CAA and play a leading role in hiring for a company that represents the most accomplished and iconic artists and brands in the world.”
Her role at CAA is to work with Motion Picture, Television, Comedy and Foundation departments to identify and hire candidates who share CAA’s entrepreneurial spirit and will.
A typical day for Hatcher at CAA is unpredictable, but on a regular basis she is interviewing clients, working with agents and executives on hiring decisions, providing guidance to assistants on career growth.
Kristena owes the “turning point in her career” to her time working at Morgan Samuels. “The experience I gained there was invaluable and prepared me for working at such a multi-faceted global company as CAA.”
When she’s not working, Kristena volunteers as a career motivational speaker to various women group events, UCLA students, and Bresee Foundation at-risk youths; participates in playground building projects for disadvantage kids and prepares and delivers food to the homeless.
She also likes to travel and learn about diverse cultures in different parts of the world. “I also enjoy attending art shows and escaping the city by hiking some of the amazing trails we have here in LA,” she said.
Her motivation comes from her family and the work environment at CAA.
“I am inspired by my family, especially my mom and dad, who are a constant source of motivation,” she said. “Everyone at CAA is passionate about the work they do and about the agency’s clients. Their passion is infectious and inspires me to always do my best.”
