Hoffman was faced with a new challenge in April when she pivoted from CMO to a role leading domestic network operations amidst a global pandemic. Over the last 12 months, she has led Starz to grow its OTT subscriber base by almost 70% YOY. Her team also launched “P-Valley” to record viewership highs on the Starz app for a new series. To eliminate gender inequality in the workplace, Hoffman believes more people need to recognize the existence of the problem. “I think there is still a perception gap in the industry that we actually have a problem,” she says. “Recognizing that we need more women in leadership roles corporately, in front of and behind the camera is the critical first step to change.”
What is one of your proudest moments during the pandemic? Continuing to grow our subscriber base, deepening viewer engagement and launching hit series like “Power Book II: Ghost,” “P-Valley” and “Hightown” have been some of our greatest achievements.
How has your leadership style changed during the pandemic? This is such a stressful time for all of us. I’ve tried to support the emotional health of my leadership team by maintaining regular points of contact and rigorously prioritizing (and reprioritizing) our workload. We have continued daily standups throughout this time at home in order to provide space to tackle challenges together, air issues or just exhale as a team. These regular touchpoints also allow us to constantly calibrate to what matters, so that we focus only on activities that will truly drive the business forward and support our teams.
What is the biggest factor needed to eliminate gender inequality in the workplace? I think there’s still a perception gap in the industry that we actually have a problem. Recognizing that we need more women in leadership roles corporately, in front of and behind the camera is the critical first step to change. At Starz, we identified this issue and started to make changes a few years ago. At this stage, we are proud that 68% of showrunners, 67% of leading roles, 60% of show leadership (writers, producers and directors) and 71% of Starz C-level executives are women. There is a lot of work to do, but I am thrilled to be part of an organization committed to driving progress in this area.
