Cablefax The Magazine - October 2011 - 19

Fantastic Four World's Greatest Heroes, Lego, the NFL and more,
and finds time to help with " Reach Out and Read, " a children's literacy
organization, and various diversity-fostering advisory boards.
Dawkins lauds cable for its pioneering spirit for diversity at its early
stages. " With all of the new content and programming strategies
came new opportunities for a diverse workforce. I'm definitely a
product of the opportunities that cable has provided. "
45. Stephen Hill
President, Music Programming &
Specials, BET
Hill manages, directs and creates all BET
music programming and specials, like the
network's " 106 & Park " countdown show,
" Spring Bling, " " Rip the Runway " and
the " BET Hip Hop Awards. " And let's not
forget the " BET Awards. " Hill has been behind the hugely popular
cable event since 2002, and the ratings growth isn't slowing down.
This year's show scored 7.7 million viewers, up from 7.4 million the
year prior. The event's record was a whopping 10.7 million viewers
in 2009-and Hill was behind that, too. " Mentoring is extremely important
in the attempts to make cable more diverse, " he says. " Better
educated, prepared and mentored young people are superior
candidates when hiring time comes 'round. "
46. Lisa Williams-Fauntroy
SVP, Business & Legal Affairs,
Discovery Communications
The highest-ranking African-American
attorney at Discovery, Williams-Fauntroy
handles content liability, copyright issues,
libel and defamation in addition to
negotiating program and development
deals for Discovery Studios and major Discovery networks. Mentoring
is a critical component to navigating the challenges faced
by diverse employees, she says. " Sometimes strong talent goes
unrecognized and underrated because no one is sitting the talent
at the right decision making table-or at the table at all. Strategic
succession planning and company development of individual
strengths of diverse employees is critical. "
47. Chris Powell
EVP, Human Resources,
Scripps Networks Interactive
As the HR leader at Scripps, Powell
defines the personnel talent at the
company and is consistently recognized
for his proactive recruitment
efforts. He has a keen eye for diverse
industry talent, and his talent framework has been responCableFAX:
The Magazine
October 2011
sible for Scripps' key executive hires in the past couple years.
Powell and his Scripps team have gone far to move the needle
in the areas of diversity and inclusion. " We have educated over
95% of our employee population on our diversity and inclusion
strategy, and their role in helping execute it, " he says.
48. Michael Smith
SVP/GM, Cooking Channel
Cooking Channel's launch in May 2010
in 58 million homes was one of the largest
new channel launches in history, and
Smith's talent in helming the network is
matched by his commitment to diversity.
His recipe for the Cooking Channel
lineup includes new shows featuring diverse talent and diverse
cuisines, including " Easy Chinese: San Francisco, " " Simply
Baking, " and " Georgia Road Trip with G. Garvin. " Cable has
done well increasing the diverse voices on screen, he notes, but
could do better " inspiring more minority young people to pursue
careers behind the scenes in production, sales, marketing, and
executive management. " What keeps Smith up at night? " Thinking
about what to eat for breakfast. "
49. Drew Wilson
SVP/Global Operations Controller/Division
CFO, Discovery Communications
Wilson's two leadership roles at Discovery
comprise oversight of the global
operations accounting staff, strategic
business operations, business development
and finance. The Discovery Education
relaunch fell under his purview. He believes the impact of TV
Everywhere and over-the-top platforms are among key areas to
which companies must respond. " It is unclear what the longterm
impact of these evolutions in cable will be, but we must be
visionaries in our thinking, " he says.
50. Julie Wurfel
SVP, Strategy & Business Dev, Intl,
Scripps Networks International
You might say Wurfel's got the whole
world in her hands. She develops
expansion opportunities as Scripps
Networks International seeks to export
its lifestyle channels around the globe.
Wurfel believes cable can better embrace diversity by living out
the missions of associations such as NAMIC and WICT every
day. " Make time for peers or mentees on a regular basis, to
provide a sounding board, and constructive feedback, or simply
check in on them and lend an ear, " she says.
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