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Behind any show, on any screen, there’s an entire economic infrastructure at work.  No person has had a bigger hand in shaping it than Linda Yaccarino.  Every day, she continues to transform the $70 billion television industry.

Since joining NBCUniversal in 2011, Yaccarino has rebuilt its advertising business for the 21st century by bringing together individual network teams to create a united monetization strategy, effectively becoming the strategic and operational bridge across all of NBCUniversal’s global networks, properties, and business units.  In short, she puts the “P” in the company’s P&L.

As Chairman of Global Advertising and Partnerships, Yaccarino is responsible for over $10B in revenue annually and stewarding the company’s industry-leading portfolio of linear networks, digital platforms, distribution partnerships, and client relationships — — locally, nationally, and globally.

Her entrepreneurial energy coupled with her record for delivering growth has helped her connect established and emerging brands in every industry to hundreds of millions of viewers.  Since joining the company in 2011, Yaccarino has been a change agent.  By updating NBCU’s legacy practices to reflect larger consumer and macroeconomic trends, she’s future-proofed the company and shaped the future of advertising in the process.

Over the course of her tenure, Yaccarino has steered NBCUniversal through a period of dynamic transformation that continues today.  She became the first chief in history to bring the company’s assets to market as One Portfolio—a strategy that has become ubiquitous in the industry—and has continued to leverage NBCUniversal’s leadership position to drive industry-wide change.  In addition to repeatedly transforming the Upfront marketplace, she has spearheaded massive technology investments and built One Platform, a revolutionary all-audience model.

As a student of consumer behavior with a keen eye for what’s next, Yaccarino has diversified revenue streams within NBCUniversal, while pushing the industry to embrace digital viewing and new metrics and improve the viewing experience.  This culminated with Peacock, Comcast NBCUniversal’s ad-supported streaming service, for which she has been charged with operationalizing the full monetization strategy.  Additionally, Yaccarino is responsible for pioneering a new suite of data-driven commercial innovations and forging non-traditional partnerships with companies like Apple, Snapchat, Buzzfeed, and YouTube to increase NBCUniversal’s digital distribution.  In March 2020, she and her team were also tapped by the Ad Council, the CDC, and the White House to develop and deploy a massive PSA campaign to educate millions of Americans about COVID-19.

Since Comcast NBCUniversal’s acquisition of Sky, Yaccarino has taken her transformative approach global.  In 2020, she led the development of the first-ever combined advertising and sponsorship program for the LA 2028 Olympics and created the first premium video advertising product across NBCUniversal and Sky.  Yaccarino is also known for leading with empathy and putting people first, and has begun actively preparing her team for the future of work.  Under her leadership, NBCUniversal has created a state-of-the-art Center of Excellence, designed to make insights, resources, and training materials available industry-wide.

In 2020, New York Women in Communications honored Yaccarino with the prestigious Matrix Award.  She’s been recognized as one of Business Insider’s “Top 10 People Transforming Advertising”; Adweek’s “Ten Most Powerful Women in TV”; Hollywood Reporter’s “Women in Entertainment: Power 100”; and Variety’s “Power Women of New York.”  Yaccarino has been inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame, has received the UJA Foundation’s Mac Dane Award for Humanitarian Excellence, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater, Penn State University.  A champion of brand safety, transparency, and leading with a moral compass, Yaccarino has also delivered the Don Davis Lecture in Advertising Ethics at Penn State University.

Yaccarino serves as Chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Taskforce on the Future of Work, the Chair of the Advertising Council’s Board of Directors.  She also sits on the Board of Directors for the Ascena Retail Group (ASNA).

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