Black women have been shaking sh*t up all year.
As if we weren’t running politics, media, corporate America and entrepreneurship, Black women are taking over another industry we’ve largely been shut out: Hollywood. And looking good while doing it, we might add.
While Hollywood’s C-suite has been overwhelmingly white for decades, there are a few women who are leading in a new era for Black creatives and storytellers, alike — because it’s never been a lack of talent, but always a lack of opportunity. Thankfully, Hollywood is finally putting its money where its mouth is. Meet the Black women who have climbed the uppermost echelons of Hollywood’s executive ranks.
01
Channing Dungey, Chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group
Channing Dungey knows about being first. Before the announcement of her becoming the new chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, Dungey was named the first Black president of ABC Entertainment in 2016. She helmed the network for two years before joining Netflix as a VP of original content.
02
Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman at Universal Studio Group
Earlier this month, Pearlena Igbokwe was promoted from Universal TV President to Chairman of Universal Studio Group. The industry vet, who has worked at Showtime and NBC Entertainment, now covers all global aspects of TV content development and production for the newly formed group within NBCUniversal’s footprint.
03
Alana Mayo, President of Orion Pictures
MGM is re-launching its label Orion Pictures and tapped Alana Mayo as its president, where she’ll oversee the label’s day-to-day operations, including development, acquisitions, physical and post production. Last year, Mayo oversaw the production of Just Mercy, the story inspired by civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s fight to free a wrongly condemned death row inmate, as head of production and development at Outlier Society.
04
Tara Duncan, President of Freeform
Producer and former Netflix executive, Tara Duncan, joined Freeform—home to Grown-ish and The Bold Type—this year as its new president. Duncan, who launched tetraVision, a film and television production company, ahead of making a deal at Hulu, left Netflix in 2018, where she was a senior creative executive.
05
Kathryn Busby, EVP of TriStar Television
Previously Senior Vice President of Development at Sony Pictures Television’s boutique production unit Gemstone Studios, Busby was hired at the beginning of the year to lead TriStar Television into the new decade. Busby’s impressive list of titles also includes being a film producer. She was elected chair of the board of directors of BAFTA Los Angeles as of 2019.
06
Nicole Brown, President of TriStar Pictures
Nicole Brown was promoted to president of TriStar Pictures last week, a year after she was appointed as head of the specialty label. In October 2019, Brown was appointed Head of TriStar Pictures, making her the first ever Black woman to head a live-action film studio. Brown has been instrumental in securing major projects for the studio, including the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King.
07
Tina Perry, President of OWN Networks
Named president of OWN in 2019, Tina Perry oversees all operations and creative areas of the network. Previously, Perry served as executive vice president of business and legal affairs for OWN and Oprah.com. She has been instrumental in the network’s popular unscripted slate, as a key stakeholder in hit shows such as Queen Sugar, Greenleaf and David Makes Man.
08
Michelle Sneed, President, Tyler Perry Studios
In 2018, Tyler Perry Studios hired veteran production executive Michelle Sneed as president of production and development, a post that encompasses both film and television. Prior to TPS Sneed served as director of physical production at BET Network, having spent the majority of her 12-year career in both scripted and unscripted television.
09
Vanessa Morrison, President of Streaming at Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production
In March, Vanessa Morrison was named president of streaming at Walt Disney Studios, where she oversees the development and production of Disney+ film content. Morrison most recently served as president of Fox Family following a decade-long stint as president of Fox Animation.
