Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
Jennifer Caserta
Title: President/GM, IFC
Number of Years in Cable: 15 Education: B.A., Media Studies, Hunter College Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Have the confidence to succeed and fail.
Kim Martin
Title: President/GM, WE tv
Number of Years in Cable: 23
Education: BA, Political Science; M.B.A.
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Demand excellence, embrace change, push boundaries.
Why Them? Having women in senior positions remains the exception, not the rule, at many firms. Not at AMC Networks, whose talented trio of Barnett, Caserta and Martin exemplifies programming leadership at its best. The three also illustrate the importance of versatility. Barnett and Caserta shifted to programming from marketing, Martin was once in affiliate sales. Promoted to president in February, Barnett tapped her British roots to bring the critically claimed original “Appropriate Adult” to Sundance. She also made excellent picks with “Top of the Lake” and “Rectify.” Among the ebullient Caserta’s talents is her eye for branding, having spearheaded IFC’s ‘Always On. Slightly Off’ tagline, solidified perfectly by the quirky “Portlandia.” There were naysayers when Martin moved from sales to programming leadership in ’08. They look silly now. Martin essentially created the WE tv franchise, refining it recently with the ‘Life As WE Know It’ ethos.
Barnett
If I could go back to high school… I’d pull back on the cynicism.
The hobby I’ve been itching to try: Singing lessons
My peers would be surprised to learn that I… juggle (literally).
Film fest or musical festival? Cyndi Lauper performing at the Sundance Film Festival was amazing! So a combination…
The TV show title that most resembles my life is… “Awkward”
Caserta
Apple or Samsung? Apple
Beatles or The Rolling Stones? The Stones
The one thing I’d do differently if I could go back to high school: Take the hair down a few inches and invest in fewer pairs of acid-washed jeans.
The hobby I’ve been itching to try, but haven’t found time: Photography.
My New Year’s resolution for 2014 will be… no more New Year’s resolutions.
Appetizer or dessert? Appetizer. I’m a big fan of sharing a sampling for the table. I’m not a big fan of saving room for dessert.
Favorite decade? The ’80s
The movie that should never be remade? The Breakfast Club
I watch the majority of programming on this device: DVR
Celebrity, sports figure or politician I’d most want to have dinner with? Howard Stern
If I could tell my 21-year-old self something today, it would be… start working out at least three days a week. (I’d hope the routine would motivate me later in life.)
The biggest lesson I learned from my kid(s) this year was… "Mommy, if you want to win, you have to persevere." That’s a direct quote from my 7-year-old son.
The TV show title that most resembles my life is… “Modern Family”
Martin
My New Year’s resolution for 2014 will be… quit saving the champagne, drink it!
Appetizer or dessert? Are you kidding? DESSERT!
The movie that should never be remade? “Gone with the Wind”
My favorite Cable Show memory: The “Bridezillas” takeover at NCTA.
Cable exec I wish had done a Harlem Shake video? Ed Carroll
The biggest lesson I learned from my kid(s) this year was… what’s hot in social media. (Psst, I have teenage girls.)
DISH I can make that would impress a celebrity chef: Macaroni and cheese.
The biggest innovation in cable over the last year: Cloud-based IPGs, which significantly improve the user experience, allowing for better speed, search and personalization options. ?
For those of us who are fans of the rich stories that have been told through video games over the years, the premiere of HBO ’s “The Last of Us” last year represented the breaking of a curse. Adaptations
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