Collaborating on high-impact negotiations and helping secure landmark agreements is only part of Burakoff’s role at DIRECTV. Under intense regulatory scrutiny and threats of multi-city blackouts, she oversees a team of all-female negotiators in some of the industry’s toughest retransmission consent negotiations. Through MyNews and MySports genre packs, her team is reining in rising costs while giving consumers more choice and flexibility.
What part of your job would surprise people the most? Being in content distribution is definitely not like an episode of “Succession”—it consists mostly of late nights in conference rooms filled with junk food poring over hundreds of pages of contract minutiae while trying to reach compromises with the other side that you can both live with.
With all the buzz around AI and automation, what’s one “human” skill you think will only grow more valuable? In our industry, trust is a key factor in creating successful partnerships. AI may be able to draft documents and run analyses, but negotiation consists of understanding the other side’s priorities and challenges, and working through disagreements in a respectful and practical way–this will always require human skill.
What’s your version of a “power move”—whether that’s a power suit, power song, or power mindset? I think an important power move is to try not to take up all the oxygen in the room. It’s easy for people to defer to you when you’re the most senior person there, and it’s sometimes hard to let others take the lead or flesh out their thoughts without jumping in, but it’s really important to let all voices be heard and to trust your team.
The industry is transforming quickly—how are you preparing your teams (or yourself) for what’s next? The pace of change has quickened, and it’s hard to predict what the next announcement or new thing will be. I encourage my team to be flexible and curious, and to try to make all decisions from a “what’s best for the customer” lens. It’s never dull, and the team has to constantly evolve and grow, sometimes stumbling along the way—that’s what makes it fun.