If you’ve ever looked up your favorite actor from your latest Netflix binge, you’ve probably used IMDb.
The company, which stands for “Internet Movie Database,” is just that—an online database of information about films, television shows, video games, podcasts, and the people who create them.
Col Needham founded the company in 1990 and sold it to Amazon in 1998. He stepped down in 2025 after 35 years at the helm, and the company’s chief operating officer Nikki Santoro stepped up to take on the top job. Prior to IMDb, Santoro held leadership roles at Amazon, Microsoft, and the Weather Channel.
As the entertainment industry grapples with a rapidly changing landscape, from AI innovation to tariff volatility, Santoro aims to expand IMDb’s role as a go-to resource for fans and professionals alike. She spoke with Fortune about how the company is implementing AI, tips on leading during times of uncertainty, and why she doesn’t think of herself as the company’s first female CEO.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Fortune: What lessons have you learned from your various roles?
Santoro: I gravitated to the [jobs] where you work on a small team, but you have a big impact. No one’s above anything. When you’re running a startup, you’re also buying the soda, you’re cleaning out the bathroom, right? You have to be willing to do anything and everything to make your mission successful. That for me has been that throughline across all of these different experiences. Even in big companies like Amazon, you’ll find smaller organizations that are very mission driven, like an IMDb, and that has been sort of the sweet spot for me and in my career.
What does it mean to be the first female CEO of IMDb?
I think of myself more as the second CEO at IMDb than the first woman CEO, but it’s an honor. It’s an honor to follow Col Needham, who built IMDb from this passion project into the world’s leading entertainment website.
Throughout my career as a woman in technology, it’s definitely a different experience. You have to always prove yourself, and that’s something I’ve just never shied away from. Hard work has really been part of how I just am, how I show up in any role, whether it’s CEO, or whether it’s [as] a line-level person who’s building software and designing products.
How are you planning to run things differently or expand upon the work of your predecessor?
Col and I are still in touch regularly about the state of the business. His transition to founder and executive chair has been smooth. I’m really grateful to have him continue on as an advisor and a public ambassador of IMDb.
[IMDb] is 35 years [old] this year, and when we look to the future, it’s about serving the next generation of entertainment fans and professionals. The entertainment industry is rapidly moving, but so is technology, and so we’re at this intersection where technology and entertainment come together.
For fans, we’re really looking at how you help people find the next favorite thing that they’re going to watch. How do you connect them with other like minded fans to get recommendations and dive deeper into insights on the stories?
For professionals, it’s all about harnessing AI to develop networking features and content so that they really have the comprehensive data, tools, and resources to build their careers and make meaningful connections. So whether you’re a fan discovering what to watch or an industry insider determining what to green light, we really want IMDb to be essential to your entertainment journey.
What is IMDb’s stance on AI?
We’ve seen it as a powerful tool to enhance how we can serve our customers, who are fans and professionals in the industry. We’re focused on using AI to create more personalized discovery features [for fans] and helping [professionals] to do their jobs, make more informed decisions and drive their careers. We really know that AI is changing how people work across the industry, and we’re embracing it to speed up innovation, but understand that there are risks and challenges with this technology.
We are focused on being transparent with our customers on how we use AI and making sure that we are doing it in the most ethical and positive way for our customers.
What do you think makes a good leader?
My favorite leaders to work with and emulate are leaders who are not embarrassed or afraid to ask questions. When I’m diving into something new, I seek out experts, regardless of where they sit in the organization.
For me, I just love it when I get to see people light up [as] they’re showing a demo of their work or they’re teaching me something that I don’t know.
Once, I asked a leader I was working with why he would ask such simple questions in a meeting. He did it partly to understand, which is really important, but also so that the person went home and told their family that today at work, they got to explain to the “VP of whatever” this answer that they knew so well, and they got to really show off their skill set and expertise.
That really clicked with me. That’s something that I really take to heart. I try to make sure that I don’t just learn, but I truly understand, so that I can champion the work and the ideas of the people on my team. The thing I found is that being upfront about not having all the answers and staying open to different approaches leads to the best insights.
A lot of bosses are asking themselves how to lead during times of uncertainty. How do you proceed when things get a bit hairy?
There’s so many changes that happen every day, and the most important thing is to keep your team focused, motivate them, and keep them aligned with the company’s mission. Now that I’m CEO of IMDb and working at a company that celebrates movies and TV, I can really understand and appreciate the power of a compelling narrative to inspire and motivate. My approach really is to connect day-to-day work to our larger mission through storytelling. Instead of just reviewing metrics in team meetings, I share stories about how our work really impacts people.
