Cablefax The Magazine - November 2017 - 28

More of the Most Powerful Women 2017
Katrina Cukaj
EVP, Portfolio
Sales & Client
Partnerships
Turner Ad Sales
OTT will continue to be
a hot topic in cable this
year, if Cukaj's predictions prove correct. " We've
seen the volume of content being consumed through
OTT grow significantly in a short period of time,
and anticipate this uptick to continue as viewers
increasingly want to watch great content on their
own schedule, " she says. With a focus on digital
expansion and innovation, changing viewing patterns
should serve as no challenge for Cukaj and her sales
team at CNN. Her influence has opened opportunities
and collaborations with other brands, including
lighting up the Empire State Building on Election
Night with sponsor CA Technologies to announce the
new President.
Meeri Cunniff
SVP, Program
Strategy &
Acquisitions
E! Entertainment
Cunniff's comprehensive
knowledge of the television
landscape, coupled with her uncanny ability
to determine the best times to schedule shows
and events, make her a natural in understanding
programming trends. She helped with E!'s recent
acquisition of the People's Choice Awards, which
comes to the network in 2018. Her best cure for
stress? " Spending time with my kids who thankfully
still love to cuddle up with their mama. "
Kristine
Dankenbrink
SVP, Taxation
Comcast
Corporation
Dankenbrink is one of
10 women who hold the
SVP title at Comcast Corporation, and her role within
the company is a critical one. She's responsible for
all areas of taxation, including the tax aspects of
mergers and acquisitions, so multiple aspects of the
Comcast-NBCUniversal merger have required her
keen focus during the past few years. Additionally,
taxation in the context of planning, policy, litigation,
risk management, financial reporting and compliance
also fall to Dankenbrink, who serves as a
member of the Boards for the Comcast Foundation
and Comcast Capital Corp.
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Debra Sharon
Davis
President & CEO
The Davis
Communications
Group
Davis works to help her
cable clients create new business models for mobile
and other digital platforms. Both distributors and networks
alike are keen to connect with Gen Z and millennial
audiences, and Davis is particularly adept at
helping them engage with these coveted demos. She
also strategizes with companies to help them deliver
connectivity to untapped international territories,
including parts of Africa and other regions. Looking
ahead to 2018, " The central topic that will permeate
all areas will be how do we monetize opportunities
across all related industries to capture audiences by
integrating the wealth of multiplatforms, " she says.
Susan Jin
Davis
Chief Sustainability
Officer
Comcast Corporation
Longtime Comcast
exec Davis in late 2016
segued to her current post, where she focuses on
the company's commitment to the environment
through five impact areas: energy, emissions, natural
resources, outreach and operations. Comcast has
committed to 500,000 environmentally friendly volunteer
hours by 2020. One project the former professional
violin player is particularly passionate about is
reducing fleet emissions and she notes, " I'd like to
see more work being done to address the realities of
climate change, especially with the growing number
of recent natural disasters. "
Alma Derricks
CMO
El Rey Network
With her recent appointment
as CMO, Derricks
oversees all consumer
and trade marketing for
El Rey, and partners with the net's creative and content
teams to strengthen audience reach. Her unique
perspective comes from a career in entertainment
that spans everything from cable to newspapers
to strategy consulting. Her favorite female on TV
is none other than HBO's girl on fire-Daenerys
Targaryen from " Game of Thrones. " " I don't have any
dragons, but my fire-breathing Rottweiler is a pretty
good proxy, " she says.
November 2017
Lourdes Diaz
President,
Entertainment
Univision
Communications
Diaz continues to
successfully diversify
Univision's programming content to bring audiences
high-quality, character-driven and compelling
stories-whether they be epic, modern or gritty
crime drama-as well as non-scripted content that
inspires and resonates. Her efforts have contributed
to Univision's continued leadership position as a top
Spanish-language network in the US for 25 years and
counting. She also finds time to mentor five women
and engages in physical activities to balance her life.
The " best stress-reliever is cycling, " Diaz says.
Susanna
Dinnage
President, UK
& Chief Content
Officer, International
Discovery
Communications
Dinnage struck several transformational deals this
year to continue the evolution of Discovery in the UK.
Among them, carriage renewals with Sky, BT and
Virgin Media; launches of Discovery and Eurosport
Player on Amazon's new on-demand platform
" Channels " ; and the debut of Discovery U.K.'s second
FTA channel, Quest Red. Dinnage is also shaping
Eurosport's editorial and digital strategy in the run
up to PyeongChang 2018. Her best advice for stress
relief? " A good long walk in fresh air. "
Jennifer
Dorian
EVP, 360 Brand
Strategy and GM
TCM & FilmStruck
Turner Broadcasting
Taking on the newly created
position of EVP of Turner Portfolio 360 brand strategy
on top of her current role at TCM and FilmStruck
only gave Dorian more chance to flourish. Under her
leadership, FilmStruck exceeded initial sub projections
within three months of launch, boasts a low churn rate
and has seen most subscribers joining the service's
premium tier. She also excels with internal communications,
holding " No Bull " sessions where employees can
get transparent answers to any question. To rid cable of
gender discrimination, Dorian says, " It's about scouting
for talent in new places, growing current talent and giving
people chances beyond their comfort zones. "
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Cablefax The Magazine - November 2017

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