Pat Kehoe
Founder & President, PK Network Inc.
Kehoe—who was VP of sales promotion at Lifetime before she left to start her own agency in 1989—is an expert at helping clients navigate difficult financial decisions and forge into new business sectors. She’s a Cable Pioneer, who’s recognized not only for developing numerous innovative marketing programs but also for elevating the industry’s leaders through her work with WICT and the Cable Positive organization, among others. Sounding a cautionary note regarding the sun-setting of the annual NCTA/INTX convention, she says, “Without a national show, our industry will need to find another venue to ensure that collaboration and best practices—the cornerstones of our success—continue, no matter the consolidation that has taken place.”
What advice would you give your 13-year-old self?
If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have taken a different approach to success. But by today’s standards, I’d advise my 13-year old self that:
-Things will always work out; there is a god, and she eventually does get even.
-Get a rabbi, as well as a mentor. You’ll need some extra help to break thru the glass ceiling.
-Pitch a job before it opens.
-Like Peggy Sue, don’t worry about flunking geometry, you’ll never need it after high school!
Which current programming best reflects the kind of women’s roles you like to see and why?
-Daenarys Targaryen, “Game of Thrones,” because blondes do have more fun.
-Annalise Keating, “How To Get Away With Murder,” because killer instincts bring out the brilliance in some women’s careers.
-Sara and her sisters in “Orphan Black,” because it takes multiple clones to truly show all the wonderful sides of a woman.
What’s been the biggest story in cable this year?
Modernizing the NCTA brand to NCTA-The Internet & Television Assn. Specifically citing the Internet, and dropping the word cable, is reflective of what’s going on in our industry today, and better typifies this next level in consumer mass communications. I also must acknowledge that without a “national show,” our industry will need to find another venue to ensure that collaboration, and best practices, the cornerstones of our success, continue, no matter the consolidation that has taken place.
