Under Viles’ leadership, Bravo won an Emmy for “Last Chance Kitchen.” She also helped develop Bravo Now and Bravo Talk Bubble, building Bravo into a digital powerhouse. Viles serves as a Techstars Mentor, through which she helps individuals accelerate business growth and facilitate their entrepreneurial skills. She also participates in the Comcast Executive Leadership initiative, which pairs Comcast and NBCU employees to create revenue-generating business programs. What’s keeping her on her toes these days? “The rise of Netflix and nontraditional programmers as content creators for television programming.”
What’s a recent example of a step forward for women in the media industry?
What has struck me as powerful is not a single example but the multitude of examples where women have banded together to stand for change from uniting on the steps of Cannes, to funding STEM and STEAM programs for middle and high school women, to the changing dialogue and expectation of the role of women as directors, as board members, as leaders.
Who is an inspirational woman you admire, and why?
Billie Jean King. She proved that action must support beliefs and persevered through many challenges to change a sport and governing organization in a way that opened the doors for herself and future women tennis players.
What’s been the most dramatic change in your sector of the business today vs. three years ago?
The rise of Netflix and nontraditional programmers as content creators for television programming.