32. Sean Cohan

With oversight of AETN’s International Division, Cohan manages the company’s global brands, content and services. It’s no small feat when 61 branded channels worldwide—not to mention a range of distribution platforms—fall under your purview. Over the last year, he’s upped the ante even further, having executed an M&A transaction to achieve 100% control of A+E’s Asian operations, launched the company’s first H2 and Lifetime channels abroad across four continents and announced the launch of a partnership and channels in France. Cohan says cable can do better embracing diversity in the pipeline. “There is still work to do making high-potential diversity grads as aware of television careers as other traditional executive paths like corporate law or banking.”