Christina Spade

Spade oversees all finances for the company, and this year has been focused particularly on planning for the launch of Showtime over the Internet, and the revenue opportunities the launch provides.  She’s inspired by the forward-looking atmosphere at Showtime. “Many of us have been here quite a number of years and yet we are not set in our ways,” she says. “We are constantly striving to deliver the best content and product experience to our subscribers.”

What’s the most important aspect of mentoring? 

An effective mentor enables someone to tap into capabilities unknown to the person.  For women, my experience has been the most important mentoring you can do is to bolster their self-confidence and encourage them to voice a point of view.  With greater success sometimes comes greater fear that you won’t be able to achieve it.  But in reality you will!

What/who inspires you at work? What/who inspires you outside the office?

At Showtime, the culture for excellence is highly inspiring.  Many of us have been here quite a number of years and yet we are not set in our ways.  We are constantly striving to deliver the best content and product experience to our subscribers.

Outside the office, I am inspired by small acts of kindness, offering a helping hand to someone else, giving up a seat on the subway, helping a lost boy find his mother.  You don’t see them as often as you used to but they do happen.  We sometimes have to be reminded to take a look at the bigger world around us and make a difference where we can.

I am also extremely inspired by women who have worked hard and succeeded in breaking through to the senior ranks such as Mary Barra and Ruth Porat.  I find their career successes insightful and have been inspired by their seemingly honest and steadfast professionalism.

Best trick for maintaining the personal-professional life balance? 

To me, it is not really possible to fully achieve balance when you have a family and professional life. Rather, I call it “the blend.”  It is a continuous semi-planned juggle of work and family.  If I have a particular week wherein I haven’t really been home much, I will try to make some time to take my boys to school or do something extra fun on the weekend with them.   I try not to miss the important school or social events in my boys’ lives and the key to that is planning ahead as best you can. Having a supportive boss, to whom family is also important, makes a big difference.