Hartbeat Expands Senior Leadership Team

Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat has expanded its senior leadership team with the promotion and hiring of several executives, including Disney and NBCUniversal alum Brian C. Price.

Price joins the company as senior VP and head of branded content and creative partnerships, overseeing the company’s new branded content studio, PULSE. He joins from The Walt Disney Company, where he led creative business operations and strategy teams to deliver branded content and marketing solutions, which earned him 30 industry awards. Prior to that, Price was VP of creative partnerships and innovation at NBCUniversal.

Hartbeat also hired Candisse Williamson as executive VP, general counsel, in which she will build out the company’s entire legal function. She joins from Skybound Entertainment, where she served as general counsel and guided franchises such as The Walking Dead, Invincible and Impact Winter. She was the first lawyer to join Skybound in 2018 and built out the legal department. Prior to that, she was VP of business and legal affairs at The Madison Square Garden Company.

Mike Stein, previously head of television at HartBeat Productions, has been promoted to executive VP and head of television and audio at Hartbeat, reporting directly to Bryan Smiley, president and chief content officer. Stein will lead the continued expansion of the audio division, including LOL Radio on SiriusXM and a slate of originals for Audible.

Since joining Hartbeat in 2020, Stein has sold series across broadcast, cable and streaming, including projects set at FX, Apple TV+, HBO Max, Disney+ and more. He also produced True Story for Netflix, the revival of Real Husbands of Hollywood for BET+ and the animated pilot presentation Storytown for HBO Max.

Lastly, Monti Sehmi has been promoted to executive VP and head of finance and operations. He will continue to build and oversee strategic finance and accounting, reporting and operations. Most recently, he helped spearhead the merger and integration between Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions, overseeing the $100 million capital raise led by CEO Thai Randolph.

“As we continue to grow and recruit leaders to help us architect the future of comedic entertainment, these new appointments bring with them a rich and diverse set of experiences, cross-functional expertise and entrepreneurial drive to help accelerate our efforts,” Randolph said. “Brian C. Price is a multiplatform storyteller with the creative vision and comedic sensibility to help evolve Hartbeat’s brand while serving as a thought partner to our advertising partners. Candisse Williamson brings the strategic acumen and deal-making expertise to scale our internal legal function while driving key corporate and commercial initiatives. We’re also proud to continue our partnership with Mike Stein, who has played a critical role in expanding Hartbeat’s TV footprint and is now poised to apply the same level of innovation to our audio efforts. Monti Sehmi has played an integral role in helping to drive profitability and efficiency, which he will continue to do in his new post as we continue to scale the business.”