Elaine Paul '85

Alumni Achievement 2018
Chief Financial Officer, Strategy and Business Development, Hulu
Pacific Palisades, CA

Elaine Paul is the Chief Financial Officer, Strategy & Business Development at Hulu. As CFO she partners with Hulu’s executive management team, CEO, and Board of Directors to drive growth and efficiency at one of the fastest growing digital media companies.  Elaine joined Hulu in 2013.
Elaine has served as Hulu’s CFO during a time of pivotal change and disruption in the industry.  As CFO, Elaine manages strategy and development, financial planning and analysis, controllership and accounting, tax and treasury, and she established an advanced analytics group to work with the company’s data to provide critical business insights.  At Hulu the finance group serves as strategic partners to their business unit counterparts and senior leadership, using data-driven analysis to provide value-added insights and actionable recommendations. 

During Elaine’s five-year tenure, Hulu has more than tripled in subscribers and revenues and is investing in exclusive acquired and original content, marketing, technology, and product to achieve significant double-digit growth.   In addition to its Subscription Video On Demand Service (SVOD), in 2017 Hulu launched a Digital Over The Top Pay TV service offering a bundle of 60+ sports and entertainment channels streamed linearly and on demand.   Hulu has enjoyed critical acclaim with its Emmy- and Golden-Globe award-winning content, including its breakout original series The Handmaid’s Tale.

Elaine was honored as one of 12 members of the Multichannel News’ Wonder Woman Class of 2018.  Wonder Women celebrates the accomplishments of industry decision-makers who have helped pave the way for younger generations of women in the evolving worlds of multichannel TV and related media businesses.  Elaine was profiled in Variety’s 2016 Power of Women LA Impact report celebrating the achievements of women in the entertainment business and highlighting women who are decision-makers at media companies.

Prior to joining Hulu, Elaine served as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development at the Walt Disney Company where she led various acquisitions, new business initiatives, and strategic investments both domestically and internationally, including Disney's original investment in Hulu in 2009. In addition to her tenure in Corporate Strategy and Development, she previously served as Vice President, Business Development for the Walt Disney Internet Group where she led a team responsible for developing strategic partnerships and increasing monetization of the online assets of the company.

Prior to her time at Disney, Elaine worked as an Associate at McKinsey & Company and a Financial Analyst at Morgan Stanley & Company. Elaine holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a B.A. in Economics and History from Stanford University.

Elaine has served on the Board of Directors of Starlight Children’s Foundation, has served as the President of the Stanford Club of West LA, and chairs fundraising efforts for Stanford and Harvard Business School. She   has served on the Vestry of St. Matthew’s Parish and the Board of Directors of St. Matthew’s Parish School, her children’s K-8 Episcopal school in Los Angeles.

Elaine lives in Pacific Palisades, California. She is married to Darren Seidel and has three children ages 15, 13, and 10.  Elaine enjoys the outdoors, standup paddle surfing, hiking, and adventure travel.
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Casady School is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory, Episcopal day school serving students in pre-k-12. Educating Mind, Body, and Spirit.
Casady School is a PreK-12, independent, college preparatory Episcopal day school committed to deeper-level learning. Casady School welcomes a student body that reflects the diversity of the world around us and therefore does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, nationality, or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, and other school-administered programs generally accorded or made available to students at the School.