Graduate and Undergraduate
Speaker:
Carole Black, former president and CEO, Lifetime Entertainment Services
Location:
McCarthy Quad (
map
)
Carole Black
Former president and CEO, Lifetime Entertainment Services
Carole Black is the former president and CEO of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a position she held from 1999 to 2005. During her tenure, Lifetime grew from one cable network to a powerhouse multi-media brand for women including Lifetime Network, the leader in women’s television and one of the top-rated cable networks; Lifetime Movie Network, the number two-ranked women’s network; Lifetime Real Women network; Lifetime Online and Lifetime Home Entertainment. Under Black’s leadership, Lifetime achieved record ratings, revenues and profits and became one of the industry’s most valuable and recognized brands.
Black has been named frequently on influential media lists, including Business Week’s “Top 25 Managers in Business,” Fortune Magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” and Hollywood Reporter’s “Top Women in Entertainment.” In 2003, she was inducted into Broadcasting & Cable’s “Hall of Fame.” She has received numerous awards for leadership and public service, including the YWCA’S Racial Justice Award, the National Breast Cancer Coalition’s Leadership Award, WICT’s Woman of the Year Award, Cable Positive’s Honoree of the Year Award and the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award for lifetime achievement.
Black was president and general manager of NBC-4 in Los Angeles from 1994 to 1999, becoming the first woman to head a commercial television station in the market. NBC-4 enjoyed unparalleled success during her tenure, becoming the number one station in Southern California and enjoying its most profitable period in the station’s history.
From 1988 to 1994, Black was senior vice president, Marketing, Television at The Walt Disney Company, responsible for marketing all network and syndicated programming. From 1986 to 1988, Black was vice president, Worldwide Marketing, Home Video for Disney. During her tenure, the domestic video division rose from sixth to first place, and Disney became the dominant video brand throughout the world. Black started her career at Procter & Gamble.
Black is a member of the board of directors of Time Warner Cable and the USC Annenberg Board of Councilors and serves on the boards of several charitable organizations.