Lisa Rich has spent her career influencing the influencers. As an EP with 10 years of freelance experience, seven years with MJZ and now, in her newly-created role as COO for Smuggler, she's helped guide the careers of directors such as Craig Gillespie, Clay Williams, Fredrik Bond and Henry-Alex Rubin. It's the part of her job that she revels in the most, instilling it with a mix of what she terms "head and heart."

Rich's passion for mentoring extends beyond the players already in the industry into the halls where the future influencers tread. In 2003, she created and taught a class in commercial production called "The Shortest Film" at the University of Southern California, where she's still in contact with many of the grads. This past year has seen her contribute to two of the most boundary-pushing projects in the ad space - Microsoft's Halo 3 "Diorama" via McCann Erickson, SF and MJZ, LA and Burger King "Whopper Freakout" via Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Smuggler.

As for the company for which she now presides over the day-to-day operations, Smuggler continues its push in the new media arena with the official launch of HoneyShed in partnership with droga5 and Publicis, and an upcoming project with CAA's new media division. Rich is currently in the process of crafting her vision for Smuggler as it plans its first staff retreat to discuss where the company's been, "how it's grown, and what we see for the future."

I have a long family history in the entertainment business. My mother, Elaine Rich, was supervising producer of Dynasty and Charlie's Angels. My grandparents were vaudevillians. My uncle is [jazz drummer] Buddy Rich. And my father, Mickey Rich, was a jazz saxophonist and director. One of my daughters, Kate, is an assistant director. We actually are three generations of female DGA members. We're probably the only family who can say that. I was the first woman admitted to the Director's Guild as a first AD without going through the training programs and my daughter is the youngest woman to be a second AD.

I studied sociology at the City University of New York because I was into social protest and activism. Maybe it was just the times. This was 1969: the summer of love and social protest. I became involved in the underground film scene in Berkeley and worked on any kind of filmmaking I could to hone my craft.

I freelanced and lived in San Francisco until the mid-'70s and then moved to Los Angeles and started working in commercials and low budget features. I worked with a company called Dove Films where Haskell Wexler worked. He later opened Wexler-Hall with Conrad Hall and I was asked to be EP. We did spots for Miller Beer and Pacific Bell [and] for all the major advertisers because these were two Academy Award-winning cinematographers who were also directors. They would just bring us suitcases full of cash and say, "Bring back three spots. We don't have any scripts but you go out with the creatives and bring home the spots."

After Wexler-Hall, Haskell and I moved to Harmony Films and then decided to go into partnership with a company called Cinematic Directions. I have twin daughters. They were then six years old and I realized I'd missed a lot of their childhood and that I needed to take time away from commercials so I started working from home. I was fundraising for their independent school and met a woman who became my writing partner, Jeanne Fauci. We became interns on the staff of Star Trek and wrote special episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. We're actually a footnote in the Star Trek Encyclopedia.

When [partners/EPs] Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody asked me to join Smuggler, I was given the opportunity to again work with passionate young talent and help them develop their careers. They asked me to come here because Smuggler is a six-year-old operation that has grown from a small company - not a mom and pop, because they're like two pops - to one with an amazing culture that encourages its employees to grow and to learn in their jobs. It has the right rhythm for me - it's energetic, passionate and enthusiastic, but it remains in touch with the fact that as passionate as these directors are about the art and the work, they're equally passionate about doing it with love and enthusiasm for the people they work with. The people here are so dedicated. They fight for this company and the directors in a way that is much more personal. We're not just closing jobs because we want to add to the overall billings of the company. We're doing it to create careers for directors that will last.

Kudos
Shawn Lacy, Co-founder/EP, Biscuit Filmworks>
Lisa and I met five years ago at an AICP Christmas party. I was told that she was a woman in the business I must meet - that I would instantly connect with her. I did. She has a commitment, passion and energy for this business that is inspiring. There are few people, let alone women, as smart and as dedicated as she is. She would have been successful in any industry she chose - lucky for us, it was ours!