
Eli Cherenfant ’13, Executive, Creative Artists Agency
Photograph by Isaiah Kim
Creative Counsel
By Greg Levinsky
At the legendary Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Eli Cherenfant is scripting careers. As team lead for CAA’s Executive Search and Human Capital Consulting division in Los Angeles, Cherenfant and his global team serve as trusted advisors to professional sports franchises, global media conglomerates, talent-led production companies and more as they look to hire senior leaders across all functions.
“In addition to working on hiring, corporate structuring and compensation analysis, a major part of my job revolves around developing business by showcasing our team’s services and impact to potential clients,” says Cherenfant, who was CAA Executive Search’s first hire in 2016. “We also emphasize diversity. We’ve placed several presidents and CEOs from underrepresented backgrounds at some of the most prominent organizations across sports and entertainment.”
Cherenfant received his undergraduate degree from Northeastern — and sold hot dogs at Fenway Park for some extra cash during his student days. Postgrad, he clerked at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and worked as a staff attorney with Williamson & Melendez — also his final law school co-op. After grinding through CAA’s notoriously competitive rotational program in New York City, Cherenfant became one of the firm’s fastest-minted executives.
According to Cherenfant, in his own career and for the positions he scouts, the key to success is “relentless persistence and patience.”
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