WORK FRIENDS
Carrie Byalick
President, Spartina Industries
A publicist-turned-manager-turned-producer, Carrie Byalick is an entertainment industry vet who’s seen it from many different angles. “I tried standup comedy,” she even shares. “It's the hardest thing in the world to do.”
But today, it’s the culmination of all her experiences that has prepared her for the role as President of Spartina Industries. Here, she works alongside founder Stephen Colbert as he produces new projects and—most timely—plans the next chapter of his career with The Late Show coming to an end in May of 2026.
Byalick is no stranger to starting a new career chapter. After years as a publicist, including as Senior Vice President at ID PR, she launched her own management firm, B. Company, building a client roster that included America Ferrera, Josh Radnor, Jessica Williams, and Zoë Chao. Her pivot to producer happened almost by accident, as she describes it, thanks in large part to Colbert, with whom she’s worked for over two decades.
At Spartina, Byalick has developed original projects, including After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson, which she executive-produced, and Pickled, a celebrity pickleball tournament benefiting Comic Relief. “Talk about learning how to do something on the fly,” Byalick says of the sports-comedy event.
Of course, for a producer, learning on the fly seems like part of the job. So does curiosity, vision, a strong point of view, collaboration, and a heck of a sense of humor—all of which Byalick has in spades.
“You have to take risks in your career, and you have to take risks in your fashion.”
ON GETTING A FOOT IN THE DOOR
I had no idea what a publicist was or did, but my concentration at The Gallatin school at NYU was “hero worship in the media.” (It's sort of hilarious that that became the crux of my career for many years.)
I heard about an internship at PMK through a friend of mine who was also at NYU. PMK was the tentpole public relations agency. It was run by two incredible women: Leslee Dart and Lois Smith. They took me in and put me to work learning about what it meant to be the liaison between the actor and the media. There was no social media, no cell phones. It was picking up the telephone and having conversations with the goal of getting your client into print. I really loved it from the get-go.
The other internship I had while at NYU was at Saturday Night Live, as the talent department intern. It was so exhilarating to watch that process, to be a teeny, tiny part of running errands for these incredible minds, and to watch live television come to life.
Essentially, interning was my foot in the door of the business. By the time I was 20, I was already in a groove and had a real understanding of how to be a publicist, why I wanted to do it, and why I was a good fit for that career.
ON BETTING ON HERSELF
I was a publicist for many, many years. But I got to a point where I felt like I had more in me creatively. A lot of my clients were not just relying on me for publicity. It became, "Do you think I should do this TV show or this play? Would you read this and tell me if you think it's funny? What am I missing in my career?"
America Ferrera, who was my client for many years as a publicist, had let go of her longtime management and half-kidding said to me over breakfast, "I wish you could just be my manager." I was like, "LOL, maybe I will." I had been approached at times by some really incredible peers in the industry who asked me if I would ever want to be a manager. So, I started to do the thing that I think everybody should do when they're at a crossroads in a career: ask questions.
I reached a point where it was time to take a bet on myself, and I started my own management company. I had one client at the time, America, who really saw and believed in me and thought that I could do this.
ON PERSONAL STYLE
I have a big personality, and I like that my clothes are an extension of it, whether I'm feeling badass and want to wear a suit, or super feminine and want a flared skirt with a cinched waist. My clothes are a branch of my creative brain.
Because I have such a strong POV and sense of style, it adds value when I walk into a room. When I want to convey an idea, people trust me because, not only am I put together, but I'm confident in the execution of my style. My ideas and the reason I believe in something is because I'm so comfortable in the clothes that I wear. Because I know who I am and how specifically they express who I am.
Even when I was a publicist, all the other publicists wore black, but I would wear color. The point was not to steal the client's thunder, but I also wanted to feel like myself. And I'm not saying I'm always right—maybe I should have worn more black in the sea of publicists on a red carpet—but I don't regret anything. I think you have to take risks in your career, and you have to take risks in your fashion.
ON BECOMING PRESIDENT OF SPARTINA INDUSTRIES
We had a global pandemic—I don't know if you heard, it was a bummer—and at the time I was working from home. Everything was actually going okay, considering I had started this company a few years prior. I had a nice working roster of incredible people.
Stephen was always my publicity client, and because he was in New York hosting a show, it was easy for me to continue working with him as a consultant when I started my business. He had a project he was curious about, so he asked me to see if anyone had the rights to it, and I accidentally fell backwards into this role of producing partner.
From there, it evolved to a fully fledged production company that he created while doing The Late Show. There needed to be a person who could run it, and he asked me, very respectfully, "I know you have a job, and I know you have all these clients, but is this something you would want to do?” There was no way I was going to say no.
ON WORK AFTER THE LATE SHOW
My day-to-day job is to strategize and develop how to execute the projects we will be ushering into the world.
Working with Stephen for over 20 years—and Evie [Colbert], who's a principal in the company—we have such a clear understanding and the same taste and desire to do things and work with people that light us up. People who are respectful, work hard, bring joy, add value, and enjoy what they’re doing. Those are the main pillars of what we do at Spartina and what we hope to continue to do moving forward.
Once Stephen lands the plane on The Late Show, he will have clarity on his own direction. All I really have to do is take his lead. And, on the record, for all of the Argent fans out there and beyond, he will not be running for office ever.
“My clothes are a branch of my creative brain.”
She’s Worth a Follow
Find Carrie on Instagram.
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