A tech trailblazer, Hildebrandt drives Fox to the forefront of innovation while championing the next generation of women executives in entertainment. A recognized thought leader in her field, she guides the development and implementation of emerging technologies across all of Fox, the most notable being the AI-powered features found throughout the recent launch of Fox One, Fox Corporation’s wholly owned direct-to-consumer streaming service.
How are you preparing your teams for what’s next? The most important principle is to always be building something yourself. You can read and study about the impact of emerging technologies, but nothing substitutes for hands-on experience with the tools to really build your own intuitions for the art of the possible.
What’s a piece of advice you ignored that you’re glad you did in hindsight? A common piece of advice in networking is to connect with people on their own domain expertise, to signal that you also are an expert and build trust that way. This is wrong. The best counter-advice I ever received was to connect with new people by listening to them, and offering something orthogonal that would be actually net new. I’ve spent about seven years in Hollywood now, and when I meet Hollywood executives, it is always more interesting for them to hear about how my experience in the Department of Defense designing wargames, or at Palantir building software in a unique culture, shapes my current thinking, than to hear me opine on Hollywood.
Is there a movie, show, song, or book you wish you had created yourself? If I’m dreaming, then the obvious choice is “Lord of the Rings” for the sheer ambition of the project. The world building is unmatched for me—Tolkien invented multiple languages, every place and people has a backstory stretching thousands of years, and the geography has internal consistency and logic. Then, he masterfully weaves grand timeless themes with intimate personal journeys. Peter Jackson’s film adaptations are also fantastic and the cultural impact across gaming and other disciplines is enduring.