The expansion of Internet and mobile video distribution in the past few years has made television executives rethink the very concept of the T.V. network, and how on-air programming integrates with its burgeoning new media channels.
One woman has actually executed successfully on this vision more than once in the past 20 years: Geraldine Laybourne. From her groundbreaking work in the launch of MTV Networks and Nickelodeon – including one of the first active new media divisions at a major media conglomerates to her pioneering efforts with Oxygen Media, the first on-air/online T.V. brand, Laybourne has delivered on the promise of 360-degree programming with an eye always toward the future.
Laybourne offers a rare view into how the creative process can be applied to building sustainable, evolving programming entities in a multi-screen universe.
About Geraldine Laybourne
Geraldine Laybourne is the Co-Founder of Oxygen Media, a 24-hour cable television network for young women. She served as Chairman and CEO of Oxygen Media until she sold it to NBC Universal in 2007.
Gerry was a cable programming pioneer in the 80’s and 90’s: she lead the team that created Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite. She also served as president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks (from 1996-1998) where she ran cable programming for the Walt Disney Company and its ABC subsidiary.
Ms. Laybourne has been singled out for her many contributions to the industry. She was ranked No. 1 among the 50 most influential women in the entertainment industry by The Hollywood Reporter in 1996 and named one of the 25 most influential people in America by Time magazine that same year.
She serves on the Board of Directors of Electronic Arts, J.C. Penney, Symantec Corporation, Move.com and The White House Project. She is the incoming President of the AAVC and on the Board of Trustees of Vassar College. She is a corporate ambassador for Vital Voices. And advises many women lead startup companies. She and her husband Kit, a teacher, producer, and author, have two children and three grandchildren.
Moderator: Cindy Pound, Delegate, PGA New Media Council National Board
Cindy Pound is one of the leading online and mobile producers working today. She currently serves as Executive Producer for R/GA’s mobile and emerging platforms group, where she leads the development of next-generation creative production for R/GA’s clients. She was previously Vice President, Client Services for netomat, a mobile content community builder that developed user-generated content experiences, SMS campaigns, and mobile web sites for Fortune 1000 companies. She was a founding employee of Razorfish, one of the leading digital agencies in New York, where she served as Executive Producer for large-scale broadband campaigns for the likes of CBS, Charles Schwab, Christie’s, Microsoft, Sony, the Smithsonian Institution, and Ralph Lauren, among others.
