Diversity

Tip o’ the hat to NAMIC Mid-Atlantic for a classy and educational diversity luncheon-its 1st-ever. Most memorable moment was when Nat Geo pres/CEO Laureen Ong lamented her net’s biggest challenge: hiring diverse people at the sr executive level. "I don’t know where they are," she said. "We are looking for them… We have positions open right now. We’re starting to look beyond the immediate industry." It was a frustration shared by Discovery sr evp, HR Pandit Wright. Discovery has tried asking existing execs for recommendations, but usually hears that the other people they know are too junior. NCTA’s Kyle McSlarrow, who recently instituted diversity training for the assn’s staff, complimented the industry on how far it has come, but said there’s more to do. The Emma Bowen Foundation should hire C-SPAN COO Rob Kennedy to recruit other companies for its minority internship program, as he gave an impassioned speech about how his net has used the program (and had 2 interns present at the lunch).