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Carole Black
Resume: President/CEO, Lifetime Entertainment Services
Age "One year older than last year"
Last Year #26
Why Her? Only Black could inspire the board of Cable Positive to dub its 2005 fundraising dinner in her honor: "Carole Positive!" The event's level of donors-Stupendous Superhero, Courageous Champion, Guardian of Good-show why they're honoring cable's classiest and most publicly-minded exec in May. Black's on a roll: in October she received the Breast Cancer Research Foundation's prestigious Humanitarian Award, marking Lifetime's decade-long commitment to its "Stop Breast Cancer for Life" campaign. Her network turned 20 this year with panache, embracing its core values and best friends: its viewers. Her 20th anniversary gift to the fans means more original programming than ever, including an original movie each Monday night (that's 52 weeks) of the 2004-05 season. Lifetime's public affairs initiatives were ubiquitous this election year, rallying women to get informed-and to get out and vote. Black and Lifetime EVP of public affairs Meredith Wagner convinced the Senate to pass HR 5107 in October; that bill aims to eliminate the backlog of untested DNA evidence and put thousands of rapists behind bars. (As rape survivor and activist Debbie Smith said: "This bill is truly a Lifetime bill.") Black's next feat: hiring a programming exec (evp entertainment Barbara Fisher left in May) to put her network back on top of the ratings among the legions of desperate (and not so desperate) housewives who consider Lifetime one of their closest friends.
Challenges Ahead: "For cable and Lifetime, understanding what our viewers/customers want and making sure we provide it."
Most Recent Book Read: "Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything"
New Year's Resolution: "My secret-but it comes true next year"
Best Business Advice Received: "Trust your instincts and do what you love"
Hobby: "Traveling for pleasure"
Vacation Spot: "Italy"
--SB Back to this month's issue
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