Cablefax The Magazine - December 2021 - 28

Most Powerful Women
the
Mina
Lefevre
Head of
Development &
Programming
Meta
In addition to overseeing " Red Table Talk
With Jada Pinkett Smith " -which recently
passed the 1 billion views milestone-in
late 2020, Lefevre began spearheading
high-profile original content. She developed
new youth-skewing series like
" Cardi Tries " with Cardi B, Post Malone's
" Celebrity World Pong League " and " Here
for It With Avani Gregg. " This year, she
launched a slate of youth-driven content
starring popular social media creators
such as Sway House, Collab Crib and
Shluv. " What I think is most important,
and something we need more of, is having
women in the room where the decisions
are made, " she says. " This is how we
get women running shows in front of and
behind the camera. "
Ramsey
Naito
President, Animation
& Development
Paramount
Animation &
Nickelodeon
Animation
Naito's star keeps rising, with the ViacomCBS
exec adding Paramount Animation
to her purview in October. The promotion
was one of Brian Robbins' first moves as
President and CEO of Paramount Pictures-a
testament to the high regard he
holds for Naito. Her track record includes
the recently released " PAW Patrol: The
Movie " and the first-ever " SpongeBob
SquarePants " spinoff, " Kamp Koral. "
Naito's continuously working to build an
inclusive and diverse culture for the animation
studio, hiring more than 700 new
employees across dozens of productions
since she joined the company in 2018.
Under her leadership, Nickelodeon held
its first-ever virtual job fair last year, with
nearly 6,000 global attendees. " Many of
us have been working from home since
early 2020. As we look to re-enter the
workforce, I think it's important to focus
28
your needs and revisit skills and interests, "
she says. " Everything shut down
very quickly and the world looks different
than it did a year ago, so try to embrace
the unexpected and be flexible. "
Lily
Neumeyer
EVP & Head of
Development,
Unscripted
Entertainment
Paramount+ &
MTV Entertainment
A native of Buenos Aires, Neumeyer
received her M.D. in psychiatry before
entering TV. This has enabled her to take
a unique perspective on storyline and to
drive mental health representation in unscripted
content. Her hallmark in development
is her holistic view of understanding
the unique challenges that can shape the
future of a young person's life. She sees
a need and meets it. In 2021, when the
pandemic kept people home, she brought
back the iconic " MTV Cribs, " a reality
show about celebrity homes. She says it's
always important for content creators to
maintain vigilance where gender bias is
concerned. " We are constantly policing
language...the job never ends until there
is gender equity at all levels of society. "
Debra
OConnell
President, Networks
Disney Media &
Entertainment
Distribution
OConnell's creative vision and knowhow
has set the entire Disney Media &
Entertainment Distribution Networks team
on a path to success. But her contribution
to the company and industry as a whole
goes far beyond that. She has happily
provided mentorship that only a 20-year
Disney veteran could offer to many seeking
direction. Giving back and providing
insight while watching talented individuals
grow is one of the most gratifying parts of
her career. As a result of her limitless and
vigorous support and involvement, she
was honored with the company's Executive
Champion Award.
www.CablefaxWomen.com
December 2021
Francesca
Orsi
EVP, Programming &
Head of Drama
HBO
If you're looking
for someone with a stellar track record
of backing groundbreaking, culturally impactful
programming, look no further than
Orsi. Eight of HBO's drama series were
nominated for Emmys this year, including
16 for " Mare of Easttown, " in addition
to " Lovecraft Country, " " Perry Mason, "
" Euphoria, " " The Undoing, " " Oslo " and
" In Treatment. " Although the pandemic
resulted in the entertainment industry
grinding to a stop, during that time she
led the development of the critically acclaimed
social satire " The White Lotus. "
Orsi has some simple advice for anybody
plagued with anxiety about re-entering
the workforce: " Find someone who will be
your champion-and be that person for
someone else. "
Sitarah
Pendelton
SVP, Unscripted
Entertainment
Franchises
Paramount+ &
MTV Entertainment
A champion of diversity and inclusion,
Pendelton advocated for MTVE's BIPOC
production company incubator and
brought in one of the women-run firms
to be a production partner on the " Love
& Hip Hop " franchise. She also has made
sure BIPOC and female musical artists
are represented on the show, noting that
she aims to portray both good and bad
life choices of cast members to help fans
identify with them on a " human level. " One
life decision Pendelton made was to take
a work hiatus. Afterward, she took a job
below her pay grade. " What I [gained] was
a renewed love for TV... The adrenaline and
pacing of the show coupled with simply
being back to work in a creative environment
was a good baby step for me. "
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Cablefax The Magazine - December 2021

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