Cablefax The Magazine - November 2012 - 35

Superna Kalle
GM, Sony Movie
Channel & SVP,
Networks
Sony Pictures
Television
Kalle leads Sony Pictures
Television's TV network business, including Sony
Movie Channel, GSN, FEARnet and 3net, and serves
on the board of FEARnet. She recently created two
programming blocks for SMC, upping viewership
by 52% and 47%. Not too shabby. Superna also sits
on the board of the Indian Film Festival, for which
she fundraises and assists in identifying award
recipients. Superna sees more opportunities for
women in cable than ever before. " For the cable
business to succeed, a diversity of voices needs to
be heard so that programming speaks to everyone, "
she says. " Women are an essential demographic to
this success and thus the opportunity to make an
impact and to be heard is great. "
Michelle Kim
SVP and Chief
Counsel,
Programming
Time Warner Cable
Kim oversees the legal
aspects of TWC's content across all distribution
platforms, including carriage, retrans and rights
agreements. She counts fellow colleague Melinda
Witmer as mentor. " As with everything she does,
Melinda has exploded the conventional contours
of a mentor, which she has been to me throughout
my career in this industry, " says Kim. " Not only has
she been an unwavering advocate, sounding board
and professional lodestar, she has pushed me to
test the bounds of my comfort zone and encouraged
me-both directly and by example-to take risks;
the reward is always worth it. "
Suzanne Kolb
President
E! Entertainment
Television
At the helm of E!, Kolb has
led the network through a
rebrand this year, which featured new programming
(like Nigel Lythgoe's " Opening Act " music series), a
new look and tagline and Eonline revamp. She has
also unified E!'s news outlets into one pop culturethemed
entity. Kolb highlights two mentors. " Len
Fogge gave me my first real shot and I am forever
grateful to him, " she says. " And then there's Ted
Harbert, who said both 'remember, this is fun' and
CableFAX: The Magazine
'don't choke.' Oddly, that combination of sentiments
made sense to me. "
Sara Kozak
SVP, Production
ID, Military Channel,
Destination America
Kozak, or " Koz, " as she's
known to many, leads
original production for ID, Military Channel and
Destination America. This year, she added producing
Werner Herzog's film " Into the Abyss " and his series
" On Death Row " into the mix, complementing an
ambitious programming lineup at the three nets.
She also serves on Discovery's Creative Counsel
and is a two-time recipient of the John Hendricks
Innovation Award. In her free time, she works with
the documentary master class faculty at NY Film
Academy, where she enjoys being a guest lecturer.
Ellen Kroner
EVP, Communications
and Marketing
AMC Networks
Kroner once landed
our PR Exec of the Year
CableFAXIE, and she's no stranger to this list. We'll
tell you why. AMC Nets has her to thank for the
successful comms strategy surrounding its spinoff
from Cablevision in 2011, positioning the company's
execs as thought leaders and driving international
growth-and a whole lot more. Also, we love her
afternoon pick-me-up routine: " Each morning I
check my schedule and set my iPhone alarm for two
available five-minute segments during the day when
I engage in a mini-meditation, with three minutes of
yoga breathing and a cup of green tea, " she says.
Julie Laulis
SVP/COO, Cable One
Cable One's three
operating divisions
and two call centers in
Phoenix fall under Laulis'
purview. She has managed a number of changes
to improve efficiency, including the separation
of customer service and sales departments, the
creation of a new virtual call center and a new
business sales department. The results: the sharpest
uptick in sales in August since 2005 and a 3%
growth in revenue. Laulis got into cable early, when
experts in the field were few. " Because the industry
was relatively new, I did not perceive there to be a
'club mentality' that would be prohibitive to a young
woman just starting out in her career, " she recalls.
November 2012
" The industry is a diverse one that welcomes all to
join in on its dynamic, ever-evolving path. "
Lori LeBas
SVP, Strategy and
Business Operations
ESPN
LeBas crafts ESPN's
strategy and business
objectives and is tasked with oversight of syndication
sales as well as ops management of Disney and
ESPN Nets affiliate sales and marketing. She and
her team were behind the launch of the trailblazing
WatchESPN app, and she has continued to expand
the product's reach in recent months. To those
looking to work in the industry she recommends
internships. " Young people looking to break
into cable need to be well rounded: Understand
technology, finance, product development and
relationship building, " she says.
Nina Lederman
SVP, Scripted Series
Programming and
Development
Lifetime Networks
With Lederman in charge
of scripted programming, hits like " Army Wives, "
" Drop Dead Diva, " and " The Client List " have
earned the network some solid ratings. In Q3, the
net posted the strongest year-over-year growth in
11 years within key demos. To young women she
emphasizes embracing creative ideas, knowing the
brand and projecting an entrepreneurial spirit. " All
platforms are trying to attract and keep eyeballs,
so anyone who understands the challenges and
comes up with new, inventive ways to breakout
wins, " she says.
Laura Lee
SVP, Distribution
Crown Media Family
Networks
Under Lee's leadership,
Hallmark Channel has
achieved a number of renewals with major affiliates,
pushing significant increases in the network's SD
and HD carriage. Lee is driving distribution for
Hallmark's first two original primetime series, and
she oversaw growth of Hallmark Channel's emerging
sibling network, Hallmark Movie Channel, which in
just 11 months surpassed 40 million subscribers by
the end of last year. " My mantras: Put one foot in
front of the other and go for it!, " she says. " And there
is always a way to 'Yes, we can.' "
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Cablefax The Magazine - November 2012

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