Kimberley Harris

In the fast-changing world of entertainment there’s no shortage of legal challenges, ranging from issues related to evolving business models to IP protection and high profile cases. So Harris stays quite busy providing legal expertise to NBCU’s senior management team, in a position she took on less than a year ago. She also supervises the Law Department, which handles legal matters for all of the company’s business units. When looking to make new hires, Harris seeks out “intelligence, creativity, adaptability, collegiality and leadership.” Under her leadership, the Law Department also increased its gender and ethnic diversity, all while Harris also supports the company’s various businesses on the legal, regulatory and legislative fronts.

What’s the definition of diversity in 2014, and how can the cable industry do better in the area of inclusiveness?

Diversity is engaging different cultures and backgrounds to find unique perspectives that lead to big ideas and a stronger work environment. That’s more than a philosophy at NBCUniversal; it also happens to be good business. Connecting diversity and inclusion to business is a smart approach that should be embraced across the entire industry.

What qualities do you look for when making a new hire?

Intelligence, creativity, adaptability, collegiality and leadership are important qualities that we look for in new hires.

What’s been your company’s biggest innovation this year? 

Innovation is a priority at NBCUniversal and one of our great accomplishments this year was opening the NBCUniversal Technology Center. The Technology Center features state-of-the-art technologies to accelerate co-creation amongst the company’s offices around the globe. It is also home to the “Technology Show Lab,” which is fully equipped with Comcast’s “XFINITY” and other innovative technologies to give employees, start-ups, and industry partners a rich environment to experiment with the latest tech platforms and business models in the content ecosystem.