NBCUNIVERSAL PROMOTES CAMERON BLANCHARD AND TONY CARDINALE TO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENTS FOR NEWLY CREATED NBCUNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT & DIGITAL NETWORKS AND INTEGRATED MEDIA DIVISION
Margaret Lazo Expands Oversight, Appointed Executive Vice President to New Division
NEW YORK - March 22, 2011 - NBCUniversal today announced the promotions of two longtime executives within the company - Cameron Blanchard and Tony Cardinale - who were both named Executive Vice President in the newly created NBCUniversal Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media division (E&DN/IM). Additionally, Margaret Lazo was appointed Executive Vice President for the division and will relocate from Los Angeles to New York City. They each will expand their responsibilities to include oversight for the entire portfolio in their respective functions and will report to the division's Chairman Lauren Zalaznick. NBCU's Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media division includes Telemundo, mun2, Bravo Media, Oxygen Media, Style, Sprout, ExerciseTV, TV One, iVillage, Daily Candy, Swirl, Fandango and the Integrated Strategic Marketing group (which includes the company-wide initiatives Green is Universal, Healthy at NBCUniversal and Women at NBCU).
Blanchard, previously SVP of Communications, NBC Universal Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks, has been tapped as Executive Vice President, Communications for NBCU's E&DN/IM and will continue to serve as lead spokesperson for the division, as well as oversee strategic communications and media relations for each of the portfolio's businesses. Cardinale, previously Senior Vice President of Strategic Insights for the Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks, has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Brand Planning and Strategic Insights and will be responsible for translating consumer intelligence into brand and business strategy for NBCU's E&DN/IM portfolio and for its advertising partners. And Lazo, who retains her title of Executive Vice President, Human Resources, also will expand her responsibilities to include oversight for all the businesses within the E&DN/IM division.
"Cameron, Tony and Margaret are all highly-skilled, experts in their respective disciplines and each has been integral to our many successes over the years," said Zalaznick. "Their contributions, particularly through their strategic input around our most important growth initiatives, have been immeasurable. I know their leadership will be key to the continued growth of this newly expanded division."
In her previous role as Senior Vice President, NBC Universal Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks Communications, Blanchard was responsible for all communications strategies and outreach for Bravo Media and Oxygen Media since July 2008. She joined the Bravo Media team as Senior Vice President, Communications in December 2006, and directed all Bravo's ongoing communications, as well as the press campaigns for the network's growing slate of unscripted pop culture programming. From 2004-2006, Blanchard served as Vice President, NBC Entertainment East Coast Communications where she managed NBC's New York entertainment press office for all East Coast-based primetime programming, movies and specials, as well as all late-night programming. In 2000, Blanchard joined the NBC Sports & Olympics division where she handled media relations for the sports properties including the NBA on NBC, the Olympics, Wimbledon and the French Open. Prior to that, she was Director of communications for MSNBC and began her career at the National Basketball Association. Blanchard graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She serves on the board of directors for the New York Women in Communications Foundation and currently resides in Brooklyn Heights with her husband and two sons.
Prior to NBCU's integration with Comcast, Cardinale served as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Insights, Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks, running all elements of the Bravo Media and Oxygen Media brand, consumer, program, media, and sales research, transforming consumer information into strategic business recommendations. From 2005 to 2010, he was one of the central architects of the Bravo and Oxygen brands' consumer targeting strategies and program development filters, and the two networks were among the fastest growing on cable during this period. He also led the insights area for Women at NBCU, using consumer intel to inspire impactful creative ideas and high ROI media strategies for NBCU clients. Cardinale joined NBCU from Publicis US, where he served as Senior Vice President and head of Strategic Insights consecutively at Saatchi & Saatchi Media, Zenith Media, and Optimedia. In these roles, Cardinale led cross-platform communications research to support both strategic planning and buying, and helped develop a proprietary suite of planning tools for the ZenithOptimedia agencies. His work was used to shape the media and marketing strategies for clients including BMW, Toyota/Lexus, T Mobile, L'Oreal, Armani, Garnier, Nestle, General Mills and HP, among many others. Prior to ZenithOptimedia, Cardinale served as Director of Program Research for MSNBC, and Manager of Sales Research and Development at Comedy Central. Cardinale holds an M.A. in television and film studies from Northwestern University and a B.A. in American history from the State University of New York at Albany. He lives in Mahattan with his wife.
Since March 2007, Lazo had increasingly expanded her LA-based responsibilities, most recently serving as the Executive Vice President, Human Resources for NBC Universal Television Entertainment group. Prior to that, Lazo spent five years in Miami as the SVP, Human Resources for Telemundo where she was a key contributor to shaping the business strategy to produce original content for Hispanics, creating the fastest growing Spanish language network in the U.S. Among her accomplishments, she spearheaded the start-up of production studios in Miami and Mexico, supported the expansion of the owned stations portfolio, and launched the first ever Spanish language writers program on both coasts in partnership with Miami Dade Community College and Loyola Marymount University. Lazo began her tenure with NBC in September 1995, first handling Human Resources for WNBC-TV, New York; followed by Human Resources positions at CNBC in New Jersey; and NBC Corporate staff in New York. In May 2000, she was promoted to Vice president, Human Resources for NBC's TV Stations Division and in 2002 was elevated again to oversee Human Resources for Telemundo. Prior to NBC Universal, Lazo held several Human Resources roles of increasing responsibility at Macy's from 1988 to 1995.
Lazo has served on the NBC Universal Board of Directors and has recently been added to the CTHRA (Cable Television Human Resources Association) board. Lazo is a board member of the "I Have a Dream Foundation" Los Angeles and received a Woman of the Year award in 2008 from the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation. She also has been recognized by the National Hispanic Corporate Achievers and has been listed among The Imagen Foundation's Most Powerful and Influential Latinos in Entertainment, Hispanic Business magazines "100 Most Influential Hispanics" and Latin Business magazines "Top 100." She graduated cum laude from St. Johns University in Jamaica, New York with a bachelor's degree in Communications.
NBCUniversal's Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media division is comprised of the some of the industry's leading television and digital brands which include Telemundo, mun2, Bravo Media, Oxygen Media, Style, Sprout, ExerciseTV, TV One, iVillage, Daily Candy, Swirl, and Fandango. Additionally, the group includes Integrated Strategic Marketing, which spearheads the company-wide initiatives Green is Universal, Healthy at NBCUniversal and Women at NBCU.
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