Susan Rice returns to Netflix board amid Hollywood strikes

Former White House adviser Susan Rice is returning to Netflix amid the writers strikes in Hollywood that have already impacted projects across major studios and networks, according to reports.

Rice, who stepped down as a domestic policy adviser for President Biden in April, will re-join the streaming platform’s board of directors after being appointed this week. Her term will expire after the 2024 annual meeting.

She served on the Netflix board from 2018 until 2020 and stepped down to join the Biden administration in January 2021.

“We are excited to welcome back Ambassador Rice to Netflix’s Board of Directors,” co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a statement. “Susan made many valuable contributions when she first joined and we know that her proven track record and operational expertise will be invaluable going forward.”

Rice will work alongside insiders and media veterans — including company founder Reed Hastings, Sarandos and Peters, as well as former Disney TV chief Anne Sweeney and Axel Springer head Mathias Döpfner. Other members of the board include venture capitalists Jay Hoag and Tim Haley and Microsoft president Brad Smith.

“I am pleased to rejoin the Netflix Board. Netflix’s unmatched commitment to lifting the stories of people around the world is unique and compelling,” Rice said, according to the press release. “I look forward to contributing my breadth of international and domestic experience at this time of challenge in the entertainment industry.”

Despite strikes by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA, the union representing many actors in Hollywood, Netflix has experienced a resurgence in subscribers. The spike can be partially attributed to the company’s password sharing crackdown that began in May 2023.

The strikes have shut down movie and TV studios in Hollywood, but Netflix has reported an 8 percent rise in subscriptions in the second quarter of 2023 and $8.19 billion in revenue, according to CNBC.