Cablefax The Magazine - November 2016 - 28

More of the Most Powerful Women in Cable 2016
Lauren Gellert
Tamara Franklin
EVP, Digital
Scripps Networks
Interactive
Simply put, digital is
booming at Scripps-
thanks in large part to
Franklin. Elevated to her
role in January 2014, she oversees the company's
digital business units to coordinate overall strategy
and activity, focusing on an integrated companywide
approach to digital video production and distribution.
All Scripps ships are rising, from Food Network
to HGTV to Travel. Franklin thinks all sectors of the
cable industry can do better on gender equality.
" The senior most leadership levels across nearly all
of our organizations are still largely comprised of
white men, " she says. " I fear that this situation will
become worse in the near term, particularly in light
of recent consolidation activity where, historically,
women and people of color are most vulnerable to
job loss given their lack of sponsorship. "
Vicky Free
CMO & EVP,
Marketing
BET Networks
Free is responsible for
multiplatform campaigns
and events that support
the brand promise of
" respect, refl ect and elevate. " That includes the
BET Experience and BET Fan Front, a day party
that allows fans to interact with BET talent. She
also launched the #De-EscalateDon'tKill campaign
following the tragic killings of Alton Sterling and Philando
Castile, which gave people a platform to share
emotions. Free also helped rebrand Centric into
the fi rst network for black women. She's involved
with WICT and serves on Viacom's Global Inclusion
advisory board, and is passionate about mentoring
and coaching young professionals.
Catherine Frymark
SVP, Corporate
Communications
Discovery
Communications
Frymark oversees
all communications
outreach and strategy for
the offi ce of the CEO as well as Discovery's domestic
business units. She also leads the company's
internal communications and employee engagement
efforts, CSR, client relations, corporate social media
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and more. A few recent wins for Frymark: Leading
the communications strategy for Discovery GO's
launch, Discovery VR's launch and the company's
fi rst Investor Day. The well-liked and well-respected
executive is active in the community, through serving
on the national board of WICT and as president of the
ACC board. Advice she'd give to her 13-year-old self
is threefold: " Read more books, eat fewer Ho-Ho's...
and listen to your mother! "
Jennifer Garrett
SVP, National Sales
Cox Communications
By expanding digital to 20
percent of company sales,
Garrett enabled seamless
interaction between digital
and physical sales channels,
which positioned Cox as a provider that meets
customers' needs anywhere and anytime. Prioritizing
investment in tools and technology for the national
sales force raised work order solutions to an all-time
high. She ensured 1,300-plus call center employees
followed customer-centric behaviors that boosted Net
Promoter scores and employee engagement. Garrett's
advice to her younger self is clear. " Work hard; play
hard. Get to know as many people as you can, help
them, invest in them, support other women and girls
openly and passionately. Care about our world and
invest your energy in making it a better place. "
Liz Gateley
EVP & Head of
Programming
Lifetime
Since joining Lifetime
last May, Gateley has
elevated the network's
stature both inside and
out, with her oversight of movies, scripted series and
unscripted series. Her team launched the fi rst two
seasons of critically acclaimed scripted series " UnReal, "
and Gateley's idea of releasing the fi rst four
episodes on digital to help hook viewers was a huge
success. Her stamp is all over Lifetime's " Fempire "
rebrand, and internally during the past year Lifetime
tripled the number of women directors hired to helm
scripted series projects-55 percent vs. the industry
average of 12 percent. Gateley brought the Billboard
Women in Music event to Lifetime, and her unscripted
slate for Q1 2016 showed record growth among
unscripted series premieres. What advice would she
give her 13-year-old self? " The same advice I give to
my 12- and 14-year-old girls: Please don't care so
much about what people think about you. "
November 2016
EVP, Development &
Original Programming
WE tv
Gellert's vision fuels
many of WE tv's most
successful shows. She
leads the network's
efforts in fi nding fresh unscripted originals, and
oversees development and production of shows
that explore personalities and relationships fueled
by purpose and passion. Her work is paying off.
The network had its best year in 2015, growing
its African-American viewership on Thursdays and
focusing on reality TV on Fridays. Gellert also wooed
Patti Stanger over to WE for the series " Million Dollar
Matchmaker, " and she developed " My Life is a
Telenovela, " in partnership with Telemundo. " I take
particular pride in my fi eld of original programming,
where women are leading the charge at numerous
cable networks, " she says.
Stephanie Gibbons
President, Marketing
& On-Air Promotions
FX Networks
Whether Gibbons is
marketing " The People
v. O.J. Simpson " or
" Baskets, " she combines
the instincts of an artist and the insight of a master
marketer. To do her job, she becomes involved early
on in the series development process to understand
the intentions of the creators and the arc of the
story and characters-all to better engage viewers.
Gibbons has overseen the marketing of programming
that features LGBT characters, leading to the
network's recognition by GLAAD. When it comes the
biggest story in cable this year, Gibbons says it's the
coverage of the presidential election. " It's been both
compelling and disturbing to witness, " she says.
Sarah Gitchell
SVP, Deputy General
Counsel, & Chief
Counsel for Content
Acquisition
Comcast Cable
Gitchell leads a
legal team that supports
Comcast Cable's content licensing arrangements,
including retrans agreements with broadcast stations,
affi liation agreements with satellite-delivered
cable services and a range of new media deals supplying
content for strategic multiplatform initiatives.
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Cablefax The Magazine - November 2016

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