Education: BA, accounting/marketing management, Binghamton University
Best Advice: Bring passion to your game—aim big!
Michael Wright
Title: EVP/Head of Programming, Turner Broadcasting System’s TNT/TBS/TCM
Why Them? Levy has been instrumental in Turner’s brand building by negotiating rights to high-profile sports events, raising awareness and generating record-breaking ratings for TNT, TBS and truTV. And his landmark multimedia deal with CBS for TV, Internet, wireless, marketing and corporate sponsorship rights to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship was a slam-dunk by all counts. Meanwhile, Snyder’s charge of Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Adult Swim remains wildly animated. Last December, the latter net revved its engines by airing an hour earlier, 9 p.m.-6 a.m.; and in February aired sports Hall of Game Awards, hosted by Tony Hawk—scoring 1.4 million viewers and 37 million online votes for fave athletes. Snyder has announced an ambitious slate of 14 new Cartoon series, and named Shaquille O’Neal as host for the second Hall of Game in early 2012. Wright’s worked closely with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks in creating sci-fi series “Falling Skies,” which finished its first season as basic cable’s No. 1 new series for the year-to-date. For TCM, he helped create 2011 seven-part series “Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood,” nominated for three Emmys.
David Levy
Favorite meal I can also prepare myself: grilled chicken parmigiana
Favorite restaurant: Rao’s, New York
Favorite vacation spot: Telluride
Favorite iPad app: New York Post
Guilty TV pleasure: “Children’s Hospital” on Adult Swim
If I invented my own app, it would: an instant handicap lookup for a foursome
Stuart Snyder
Favorite meal I can also prepare myself: salad, baked chicken, baked potato
One topping that should never be on a hot dog: guacamole
Biggest innovation in cable over the last year: TV Everywhere
Favorite restaurant: Chops Lobster Bar, Atlanta
Favorite “going out” town: New York
One thing I tell my kids about success in life: See yourself successful. Work hard. Earn it!
Worst thing I’ve heard in a meeting: “Is he dead?”
Favorite Starbucks order: Venti Iced Coffee, Sugar-Free Vanilla, Non-Fat Milk, dome lid
Acts I would see live: Chicago, Barenaked Ladies, Sugarland, Sarah Bareilles, Earth Wind & Fire, Fountains of Wayne, Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello
Top 3 selections on my iPod: With 6,000 songs, I keep my iPod on shuffle all the time.
Favorite business and/or motivational book: I don’t have a favorite overall, but the most recent I enjoyed is “Making Ideas Happen,” Scott Belsky.
Sports team: New York Mets
Vacation spot: This year, it’s Barcelona, Spain
Favorite iPad app: New York Post
This incident from my youth taught me an important lesson: An accident took the life of a good friend when I was 18. It really highlighted for me how short life can be. Yes, everyday crap does happen, but don’t let it get to you. See the glass half full. And keep those birthdays coming; don’t begrudge getting older. Life is a gift and we should make it count.
When I look at my cable set-top box, I can’t help but think: With such rapid advancement in technology, what is its future? What will it look like in five years, and what will it do?
If I could only have authenticated online access to 5 cable networks (not affiliated with my company): Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, ESPN, CNN, FX, HBO
If I invented my own app it would: pull people, resources and motivational training materials together to build a community of future leaders
How many companies have you worked for since college? 8 ?
Cruz Addresses Foreign Cyber Threats After ‘Salt Typhoon’
After a U.S. official confirmed at least eight U.S. telecommunications providers were breached as part of a foreign hacking campaign, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called for more focus on defending state-sponsored
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