Kogod School of Business
More than a decade after its founding, Kogod’s Business and Entertainment program has garnered a reputation as a talent powerhouse.
It’s reflected not just in the accolades it receives, like when Billboard named Kogod one of the nation’s top music business school in the fall of 2023.
Today, the program has also become a launching pad for the industry's biggest agencies, from Creative Artists Agency to United Talent Agency and William Morris Endeavor (WME).
“We’ve had this incredible run of students who have gotten hired,” said John Simson, Business and Entertainment (BAE) program director and longtime industry veteran. “Some of it has to do with the relationships. The program has been successful in getting students into internships.”
But it’s not just the Kogod alums populating the ranks at the industry’s most prominent agencies that have Simson calling his run overseeing the BAE program among his finest career achievements.
He’s also closely followed the career trajectory of a growing list of alums who started at those agencies and then parlayed their early career experience into roles at some of the industry's most diverse, exciting, and far-reaching sectors.
“Everyone who’s in this business understands that you’re building a resume, you’re building a track record, and you’re doing that so that when somebody has a need, they look at you and go, ‘Oh, you’re the person I want for this position,’” Simson explained. “You’re putting yourself in the right place to transition to something that may actually be what you wanted to begin with.”
We caught up with three young professionals and alums from Kogod’s Business and Entertainment program who followed precisely the track that Simson describes. They branched out to new and exciting opportunities after gaining early-career experience at a central agency—in this case, WME, the juggernaut talent agency founded in 1898 that today represents top artists, creators, and entertainers from music to comedy, film, sports, and beyond.
Aaliyah Lambert (Kogod ’18)
A business and entertainment program minor at AU, Aaliyah Lambert touts Simson himself as a significant factor in initially landing her internship at WME. The position ultimately led to her first full-time job after graduating.
Since her time at WME, Lambert has found herself at the intersection of music, entertainment, and brand marketing in her role at Hart House, the quick-service plant-based restaurant founded by Kevin Hart.
Today, she works with brands freelance and has recently collaborated with Playa Society, a brand specializing in women’s sports apparel. She notes that recent campaigns have seen her work with WNBA and college basketball players. She produced an event at the Women’s Final Four in Cleveland and has plans for the upcoming WNBA All-Star Live.
She oversees collaborations and partnerships today, working alongside the company’s CEO.
Kogod: Looking back, what did you take away from your time at a large agency like WME following your graduation from AU?
Lambert: It truly is a ‘grad school for the entertainment business.’ The experience taught me how to work under pressure, multi-task, and understand the ‘ins and outs’ of touring and what that looks like. I got to work across the spectrum.
How did that experience translate when you made the jump to Hart House?
I was able to use my culture relevancy and understanding of the dynamics of how to work with different talent, influencers, and athletes to kind of parlay that into making bigger moments for the actual brand—whether that was a production shoot that we were doing, or working with the Lakers number one draft pick, or thinking of cool things that Kevin Hart could be doing.
It involved looking at community-driven moments that we could also plug the restaurant into. So I think it just gave me a lot of foresight into understanding how to work with talent and what’s essential when it comes to us asking for something.
What skills are you leaning on as you work with various brands in your current role, and how did your time at Kogod help prepare you for the work you’re doing today?
I feel like my education and understanding entertainment through the program that Kogod offered helped set this foundation of being able to be super multi-faceted, where now it’s like, Ok, I can use what I learned from those classes from my past experiences, to now show up with this fashion-sports crossover, that crosses over into entertainment.
What advice would you give to those just starting out in the industry?
It’s building relationships: of course, with your professors, but I would say really with your classmates. I think about the people I came up with in the program and how I utilized them for mutual support.
Maintaining those relationships with your classmates is essential because you don’t know where each person will end up. And those people will continue to keep your name in rooms you’re not in."
Aaliyah Lambert
Brand Manager, Playa Society
As important as it is to network up, it’s also great to network across.
And then, I think being open to your path changing.
Skylar Tucker (Kogod ’19)
In the five-plus years since graduating, Skylar Tucker has gained a strong foothold working with the music you hear in original films and productions.
She recently served as a music creative for original content at Netflix and holds a similar role today at Amazon MGM Studios, which was founded in late 2023.
In her position, she works with music supervisors and composers, explores original song opportunities and sends out creative briefs.
A New Jersey native, she credits networking opportunities from Kogod faculty members with helping her expand her network as she searched for jobs prior to graduation.
Ultimately, her networking led her to WME, where her career began.
Kogod: How much did your time at a large agency like WME set the stage for your second (and current) career steps?
Tucker: WME was probably one of the best places where I could’ve started my career because it feels like you can go anywhere after you come out of a WME. I didn’t even know I wanted to be in film music then, but when I was there, I quickly realized film music could be a path for me.
I think a big thing that I learned (and you don’t realize it until you’re at your next step) is how much the last place you were at really helped you and how much you soaked up the information…or not.
What was the gist of your role at Netflix?
Our team’s job was doing all of the music for original songs and licensed songs and scores. Our team's responsibility was all the music you hear in a film. It was super fun and very creative.
And now you’re in a similar role at a de facto startup studio in Amazon MGM Studios. What’s that like?
I’m now able to take so much of what I learned at Netflix to help them ‘build the plane while flying it’ here. And I do the same job: music for film.
It’s a newer studio, so they’re open to innovation and finding out what works and doesn’t as quickly as possible. And, since they’re new, they’re not set in their ways yet. That’s been a really big highlight.
Looking back now, what was the most valuable part of your Kogod experience?
I think the most helpful part of being in that program was my peers, to be honest—my direct peers who were either a year above me, a year below me, or the same year as me.
I was involved with so many things. I was on the executive board for three different organizations at one time; I was on the executive board and ran the student-run record label (Second District Records).
It’s not a coincidence that we were booking stuff as a student group on campus, and then my first job out of college was booking things.Being around your peers and creating things with them helps bolster your confidence and reminds you that you can do things outside your AU bubble, too.”
Skylar Tucker
Music Creative, Amazon MGM Studios
What advice would you give to those just starting out in the industry?
I believe in sticking with your Plan A and exhausting all your options. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a 9-5 that can fund that dream. That doesn’t mean you don't have something in the meantime as you’re trying to get to that dream.
But I think the folks that make it through on the other side are the people that keep going, even if that means finding a different way around. I think it’s essential to have that tenacity and not throw in the towel the first time things get a little challenging.
Rich Kepler (Kogod ’19)
Rich Kepler is the day-to-day manager for The Killers, the world-famous rock band. A 2019 business and entertainment program graduate, he started his music journey as a DJ while attending high school in the DC area, learning production and building a network of producers in the DC area.
After beginning his undergraduate studies in the Southeast focused on marine science, he largely stumbled upon AU, Kogod, and the BAE program while attending community college, realizing the BAE program might present an opportunity to turn his hobby into a viable career.
Kogod: How did you leap into pursuing management in music as a career after starting your college years studying marine science?
Kepler: I had no idea what I wanted to do. All I knew was that I was making music on the side, working with my musician friends, showing showcases, and doing stuff like that. I was making zero money, but it was all for fun.
When I got to AU, I kind of went in swinging, because I felt like it was a second chance. I over-compensated. I signed up for every club!
I dabbled in everything I could find and learned the value of a strong network at Kogod. I really connected with the classes. The professors taught us a lot of technical business skills—the business terms for those things I was already doing in real life on the side.
Like many of your classmates, you started at a large agency after college — WME, specifically. How valuable was that experience?
It gives you a lot of grit. The program to enter is rigorous.
I learned how to deal with many different people in different territories, like Mexico and South America, and skills like collecting money and organizational skills. But mainly, I think it was grit in the music industry.
I use a lot of those skills today with The Killers.
Speaking of The Killers, what does a day-to-day manager for The Killers do?
You’re a coordinator. You’re making sure everything is flowing. You’re a liaison. You’re between the press, agent, marketing, or label appearances. Whatever it is, you’re in between, just making sure everything is running smoothly, and that information gets in and out to the band as quickly as possible.
You wake up every day, and there can be a new “fire” anywhere in the world. Right now, the band is in the UK playing a show, so I’m on high alert.
At the end of the day, you just have to do well under stress and manage a bunch of things “burning” at once.
It’s the art of communication.
What advice would you give to those just starting out in the industry?
Just start immediately. Start anywhere. Your biggest asset is your network, so leverage that all the time.
Always ask for things. Don’t bite your tongue. You will doubt yourself, but that’s useless."
Rich Kepler
Day to Day Manager, The Killers
At the end of the day, you need to do what’s best for yourself, look out for yourself, and respect yourself because you won’t get that upfront. It’s not given, it’s earned.
Learn more about Kogod's Business and Entertainment program here.