Carole Black

Carole Black is the former President and CEO of Lifetime Entertainment, a position she held from 1999 until her retirement in 2005. During her tenure, Lifetime grew from one cable network into a powerhouse multi-media brand for women that includes Lifetime Network, which rose from sixth to first place in cable in less than two years; Lifetime Movie Network, the #2 ranked women's network; Lifetime Real Women, the reality network; Lifetime Online, a thriving internet site; 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. It also vastly expanded its advocacy work on behalf of women, using the power of television and the Internet to champion important causes.

Black has received numerous prestigious awards for her leadership and public service, including YWCA's Racial Justice Award, the National Breast Cancer Coalition Leadership Award, WICT's Woman of the Year Award, The Matrix Award for Leadership, Cable Positive's Honoree of the Year Award and the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement. She was honored with the Governor's Award Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for the campaign to stop violence against women.

Black has been named frequently on influential media lists, including BusinessWeek's "Top 25 Managers in Business," Fortune's "50 Most Powerful Women in Business," and Hollywood Reporter's "Top Women in Entertainment." Ladies Home Journal named her one of "American's 100 Most Important Women," and in 2003, she was inducted into Broadcasting & Cable's "Hall of Fame."

Before joining Lifetime, Black was President and General Manager of NBC4 in Los Angeles, the first woman to head a commercial television station in the marketplace. Under her leadership, NBC4 became the #1 station in southern California and the preeminent news leader. Her tenure was the most profitable in the station's history.

Black previously was Senior Vice President, Marketing, Television at The Walt Disney Company, responsible for all branding and marketing of network and syndicated programming including hits such as The Golden Girls, Home Improvement and The Disney Afternoon, producing record profits for the television division. Black also served as Vice President, Worldwide Marketing, and Home Video for Disney. During her tenure, the domestic video division rose from sixth to first place, and Disney became the leading video brand worldwide and Home Video grew into the highest profit center for The Walt Disney Studios. Before that, she worked at DDB Needham in Chicago where was Senior Vice President, Management Representative. She began her career in brand management at Procter & Gamble.

Black is a member of the Board of Directors of Time Warner Cable. Her nonprofit work includes membership on the Dean's Council for School of the Arts, Columbia University; the Board of Councilors for the Annenberg School, University of Southern California; the Board of Directors for V-Day; and the National Advisory Board for Inner-City Arts.

Topics

Building from the Brand Up

It's a Woman's Place to Lead