Romola Ratnam
SVP, Head of Impact & Inclusion
Speaker Bio
Romola Ratnam is a Senior Vice President and Head of Impact and Inclusion at Endeavor, overseeing all corporate social responsibility initiatives and DEI efforts across the company globally, and leveraging Endeavor’s vast network to drive social change. Throughout her career, Ratnam has advocated for equity and inclusion and implemented solutions to democratize industry access for underrepresented and marginalized groups, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals and people with disabilities.
Ratnam is responsible for launching Endeavor Impact, Endeavor’s social impact brand focused on four key pillars: equity, democracy, industry inclusion and sustainability. Ratnam also leads the Endeavor Foundation and has realigned its activities to support overall industry inclusion, funding programs that align with its mission to ensure that the sports, entertainment and fashion industries are accessible to all and reflective of the populations that live in our communities and consume our content. Under her leadership, WME forged a partnership with Color Of Change and Michael B. Jordan, #ChangeHollywood, to drive racial and social justice across Hollywood. The company has committed to thirty-three actions to increase equity internally and in Endeavor’s spheres of influence across the industry. This partnership has since expanded to include IMG for #ChangeFashion, and an inclusion rider for the fashion industry was co-authored and publicly released in February 2022.
Ratnam and her team also developed and run Endeavor’s virtual Industry Education programs, including Summer Series, NXT and the Excellence Program, created in partnership with Sean Combs. To date, these programs have provided 24,000+ students with industry coursework, masterclass sessions with senior executives, and opportunities to enter and succeed in sports, entertainment and fashion. Endeavor has hired over 50 participants from these programs into the company. Prior to her current role, Ratnam was Director of Corporate and Sports Partnership at UNICEF USA, and previously served as a Co-Executive Director of the SEED Project – a sports and education non-profit based in Senegal. She began her career at the National Basketball Association in Global Business Development, with a focus on their philanthropic unit, NBA Cares.