Paramount has hired Rene Augustine as senior vice president of global public policy.
Augustine comes to the role after serving as deputy assistant attorney general in the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2019 to 2021. She has also served on committees at the Kennedy Center, including as a Trump appointee to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts and then as co-chair of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.
She previously held senior roles at the White House, including as Special Assistant to Trump during his first term and senior associate counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office. She previously served as Associate Counsel in the White House Counsel’s Office.
In the new role, Augustine will “be responsible for developing strategic policies that advance our business objectives and building key diplomatic relationships that are important for advancing those objectives globally,” according to a memo sent to staff by Makan Delrahim, Paramount’s Chief Legal Officer.
Her appointment also comes as Paramount pursues a hostile takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which would require regulatory approval, if Warner Bros. accepts the bid, and as David Ellison continues to shape Paramount under his new vision after taking over as CEO in August. Warner Bros. has accepted Netflix’s all-cash $72 billion offer.
Augustine begins in the role on Feb. 17 and will be based in Washington D.C. She reports to Delarhim.
She holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law and a B.A. in political science from Duke University.
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