Irene Hedges

SVP, Corporate Business Development and Strategy, Warner Bros. Entertainment

Irene Hedges is a highly accomplished business executive with a proven track record of success in corporate strategy, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. With over 15 years of experience working in various leadership positions in the entertainment industry, Irene most recently served as SVP of Corporate Business Development and Strategy at Warner Bros. In this role, she executed strategic growth projects, led M&A activities, and launched new business ventures across all of Warner Bros.’ divisions, including film and television, brands and franchises, video games, themed entertainment, consumer products, and retail. During her tenure at Warner Bros., Irene led several major M&A transactions, including the acquisitions of multiple video games studios, which transformed Warner Bros. into a leading global games publisher, and strategic expansion into branded retail, which increased Warner Bros.’ geographic reach. She also incubated new businesses, negotiated investment opportunities, and oversaw a variety of business development initiatives. Irene began her career at Morgan Stanley, where she served as a Senior Analyst in the Global Wealth Management Group and an Investment Banking Analyst in the Real Estate Group. Irene is an active member of the Harvard College Fund Associates Committee and Harvard College Schools and Scholarships Committee. She also volunteers with Project Angel Food. Irene holds a BA with Honors in Economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Articles by Irene Hedges

How Shaun Merritt Vibe-Coded Karrot.ai As A Solo Builder

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Shaun Merritt, cofounder and CTO of Karrot.ai, a LinkedIn ABM tool. Shaun was kind enough to share a comprehensive breakdown of how...

7 Steps to Build a Product That Sells Itself

Learn the 7 steps to product-led growth (PLG) to build a product that sells itself. Drive activation, boost conversions, and scale efficiently with Wes Bush from ProductLed....
Balancing self-care and startup pressure as a founder

The Founder’s Mental Health Playbook: What I Learned After Nearly Burning Out

A hard-won guide to staying mentally healthy while building a startup I founded Stitcher, the podcast platform, in 2007 and ran it for seven years until we sold in 2014....

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) for Early Stage Companies

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) for Early Stage Companies

In our latest session from the Mucker Growth Series featuring Ethan Smith from Graphite, we explored AEO, a significant new approach for optimizing visibility in AI-driven search, particularly relevant as...

Startup Guide to AI Visibility Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

Startup Guide to AI Visibility: Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

Introduction Today, users aren’t just searching on Google. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI systems for advice. AI visibility is the new frontier of brand awareness....

Practical Uses of AI Automation for Startup Operations

Practical Uses of AI & Automation for Startup Operations

In a recent Mucker Growth Series session, we invited Rock Vitale, Founder & CEO of Easie, to share how he’s helped early-stage teams move from manual, fragmented workflows to streamlined,...

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