Donna Speciale

President, Ad Sales, Turner Broadcasting

Speciale’s recent priorities have been to re-imagine advertising while also driving better business results for partners through powerful ROI-fueled ad capabilities. During the last year, truTV and TNT both committed to greatly reducing ad clutter on the networks by 50 percent. She’s also implemented a new team, Turner Ignite, that brings together the power of data and content. This group met for the first time with clients at CES and members have since been sharing real results around audience targeting and social optimization. In addition, Speciale recently launched Facetime Fridays within the ad sales team, a program that encourages younger team members to engage with more senior leaders. Strides have been made when it comes to gender equality in cable, Speciale says, but adds, “It’s really about the company you work for and its position on inclusion, and less about sectors of our industry.”

Which sector of the cable industry best demonstrates gender equality? Which could use some enlightenment?

We still have a lot of work to do, but it’s really about the company you work for and its position on inclusion, and less about sectors of our industry.

What advice would you give your 13-year-old self?

I would remind myself that you’ll never regret taking the risk. Jump into opportunity.

What’s been the biggest story in cable this year?

This may sound self-serving, but what Turner has done over the last year with bettering the consumer experience has had huge impact on transforming our industry for the long term. From new ad formats and audience targeting capabilities to technology development and equity partnerships, it’s a revolutionary time for us.