Shardé Simpson’s interest in the music industry began at Columbia University, where she spent her three years in college interning at Def Jam Recordings and in the Copyright Department at Sony Music. After graduating a year early, she joined JAY Z’s Entertainment Conglomerate Roc Nation in 2008 as one of its first employees. Spending nearly a decade at the company, she worked her way up by serving in multiple departments and learning the entertainment industry from the ground up. She advanced from executive assistant to A&R Administration and ultimately to the Business and Legal Affairs department, where she negotiated agreements, registered master recordings, and managed sponsorship partnerships.

As co-founder of Simpson and Reed, she brings strategic dealmaking, creative advocacy, and deep industry insight to a distinguished client roster that includes record labels and Grammy-winning artists.