Austin Hearst
Austin Hearst is an American business and media executive, film producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He plays a leadership role at Hearst Corporation as a member of the Board of Directors and vice president of special projects for Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, the operating group responsible for the Hearst Entertainment interests in cable television networks, including ESPN, Lifetime, A&E and HISTORY.
Hearst is the Founder of Chestnut Holding LLC, a private equity and agricultural development company. He partnered with architect Philippe Stark and hotelier Alan Faena to develop the Faena Hotel+Universe in Buenos Aires. The investment into the building, first built in 1902 as a grain storage facility, was in excess of $100 million. He was co-chair of the Architecture Committee for the Hearst Tower while working with Sir Norman Foster to construct one of NYC’s Landmark buildings.
In fashion, Hearst was one of the first investors in Tory Burch. Other investments in this sector included Candela, Jack Rogers, and Soludos. In consumer products, he has been an initial investor in Voss Water and Tipa, among others. In 2015, he and his wife, designer Gabriela Perezutti Hearst, launched and founded Gabriela Hearst LLC, a luxury fashion label. As a principal and founder of Bridge Builders Collaborative, he’s made investments in the mind fitness sectors including Headspace, eMindful, Happify, Pear Therapeutics and Interaxon. He is also a founder of CHAP – a community health acceleration partnership and initiative.
Hearst is actively involved in a wide range of civic, philanthropic and global humanitarian causes, including early childhood development projects with Save the Children, the government of Bhutan, and community agricultural projects in South Sudan. He was awarded The National Humanitarian Award in 2014 from Save the Children and serves on the Board of Directors for Save the Children Action Network. Hearst also serves as the Chairman for the non-profit cultural center, Pioneer Works, and serves as an advisory for The Blue School.