CAA Motion Picture Agent Risa Gertner Retiring

Risa Gertner, for decades a top rep of writers and directors at Creative Artists Agency, has turned in her retirement papers. She spent 27 years in the CAA motion picture department, and will depart the agency in January.

Among the careers Gertner has helped build include Tony Gilroy, Barry Jenkins, Kenya Barris, Ron Howard, Simon Kinberg and many others. She has been a member of the CAA Board and co-head for 20 years of its Motion Picture Group. Gertner also hired many of the Motion Picture Literary Department’s agents, including a coterie of CAA star dealmakers including Maha Dakhil, Todd Feldman, Joel Lubin, Dan Rabinow, and Ida Ziniti.

More from Deadline

“I am profoundly grateful to have worked with artists whose brilliance and creativity has shaped popular culture for decades,” Gertner said. “And to have done so surrounded by the most inspired and passionate colleagues has been a gift.”

Said CAA Co-Chairman Richard Lovett: “Risa is a world-class agent and leader. She has not only been a guiding force in the motion picture department, hiring and mentoring great agents and executives, but has impacted our entire company. We are forever grateful.”

In addition to her work at CAA, Gertner is on the Board of Advisors at Providence St. John’s Health Center and Broad Sky Partners, a private equity firm. She previously served on the Communities in Schools of Los Angeles (CISLA) Board of Directors.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.