Name: Debra L. Lee

Age: 50

Company: Black Entertainment Television (www.bet.com)

Company Headquarters: Washington, D.C.

Tidbit:

Debra Lee is BET’s new CEO, hand-picked by BET founder Robert Johnson to lead the network as he prepares to move into retirement. Next year, she’ll become chairman and CEO when Johnson retires fully. Adequately prepared to take charge of a company she knows intimately, Lee has extensive experience in the cable industry and 19 years of service at BET. Her credentials include a law degree and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard.

Why You Should Care:

Lee’s appointment marks BET’s first CEO change since its creation in 1980. It comes at a turning point in the network’s history when BET is facing tough competition in the cable marketplace, as it endeavors to create trademark and profitable programming, and as owner Viacom replaces Johnson (who has been CEO since the sale of the company) with a more hands-on leader.

Lee’s appointment is also a declaration of the trust and confidence Johnson has always put in Lee. As he hands off his brainchild to her, he says, “I could not have chosen a better chief executive and outstanding leader to succeed me at BET than Debra Lee, and that’s what makes this announcement so important to me and positive for BET’s future.”

Tom Freston, co-president and chief operating officer of Viacom, shares Johnson’s sentiment. “I couldn’t be more thrilled that Debra is taking the helm of BET,” he said. “I am confident that, under her leadership, we’ll have a smart and smooth transition. With nearly two decades of experience building a strong relationship with the African-American audience, I look forward to watching Debra make her mark and build on the great legacy of BET.”

Lee, whose new role gives her oversight of all of BET’s services brands, joined BET in 1986 as vice president and general counsel for the network. She later became executive vice president and general counsel, corporate secretary, then president and CEO of BET’s publishing arm. In 1996, she changed roles again, becoming president and chief operating officer for the network. Lee has been influential in expanding and popularizing the BET brand and increasing its bottom line. She’s also credited with some of the network’s physical expansion projects by managing corporate headquarters construction in Washington, D.C.

Aside from her work at BET, Lee is a member of the boards of Marriott International, Eastman Kodak Company, Washington Gas & Light Company, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM). She is the first African-American female executive to win the NCTA’s Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership. She has also won several other national awards including the 2001 Woman of the Year Award from Women in Cable and Telecommunications and the 2005 Madam C. J. Walker Award from Ebony magazine.

Now, Lee probably faces the toughest task of her career: Keeping BET profitable; offering interesting and positive programming to the network’s core viewers (amid an onslaught of complaints for poor representation of African Americans); maintaining its appeal to a broader, multi-racial, pop-culture audience; and competing with deep-pocket mainstream networks that do more African-American entertainment coverage than ever before.

About the Author
Ayeko Vinton is a web developer, teacher and freelance writer living in Boston.