A-list star Halle Berry pivots to San Francisco tech exec - SFGATE

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Halle Berry — the history-making, Oscar-winning actress, Netflix film director and former Miss USA runner-up — is leaning hard into being a San Francisco tech executive.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s technology summit Thursday, Berry all but confirmed that she’s pivoting fully into post-actor life with a new position at “medical probiotic” startup Pendulum. When asked by interviewer Ed Ludlow what’s next for her now that she’s a corporate scion in Silicon Valley, she suggested a few moves down the line — but it seems like she’s ready to exit stage left from Hollywood.

The “Monster’s Ball” and “Catwoman” star was appointed the chief communications officer at Pendulum in February; she also is an equity owner and investor at the startup.

“I was in Cannes Lions, came straight from there to here to start to sort of see other things that I’m working on, too — not ready to talk about it yet,” she said. “But yeah, this will definitely be my second act.”

“At 56 years old, I really realized that I’m kind of done being the dancing bear,” Berry added, according to a report from the San Francisco Business Times. “So, I really want to have a second act that’s as meaningful as my first act.”

Actors’ forays into the world of Silicon Valley are often limited to spokesperson deals, for better or worse. (The collapse of FTX is recent proof that celeb brand deals for even the buzziest startups can go south very quickly.) Perhaps the most notable spokesperson for a San Francisco tech firm is Matthew McConaughey, who was appointed as a creative adviser at Salesforce by CEO and good friend Marc Benioff; he reportedly earned a cool $10 million salary to go with the position.

Pendulum peddles probiotics that, according to its website, utilize “DNA sequencing technologies and microbiological assays.” Its slate of products ranges from a $66 bottle of pills “for gut health” to a $215 bottle of Type 2 diabetes management probiotics. (Pendulum's products have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to be clear.) The company has received more than $121 million in funding from the likes of the Mayo Clinic, True Ventures and Sequoia Capital.

Berry — after her directorial turn in 2020 for Netflix’s “Bruised” — seems like she’s committed to stepping away from the limelight and into this new venture, having apparently used the products.

“I feel like I will always be an actor,” she said. “That’s my first love. But I also realize that, as I go down this path of life, I have other interests and I have other things that I absolutely believe in, and I want to use my voice and I want to use my creativity in other ways.”

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