NBCUniversal vice president Kelly Edwards has long since realized her childhood goal of becoming a studio executive, but today, she is still reaching out for more as she strives to make a difference in the lives of others. As the vice president of strategic initiatives and diversity for the entertainment and digital networks/integrated media at NBCUniversal, the California-bred Edwards yields considerable influence at the newly minted entertainment giant, which boasts one of entertainment’s best reputations for diversity and inclusion.
A graduate of Vassar College, Edwards began her career as a casting assistant working for directors John Hughes, Francis Ford Coppola, Rob Reiner before moving on as a reader at New Line and then a film development executive for director Garry Marshall, and producer Laura Ziskin. Shifting gears, she ventured into television holding several key positions in comedy development at the Fox Broadcasting Co., (where she helped to create the television series Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place, Living Single, Clueless, The Wild Thornberry’s and Ned and Stacey). Edwards is also responsible for identifying stand-ups such as Bernie Mac, Chris Rock, D.L. Hughley, and Dave Chappelle and helping many of them move into scripted television.
Joining UPN as the Senior Vice President of Comedy Development, Edwards established that network’s first successful comedy block with Girlfriends, One on One, and The Parkers. She also developed popular programs for the Cartoon Network (Home Movies, Dilbert) and Fox’s Malcolm in the Middle. While at UPN, Edwards co-founded Colour TV, a networking group for diverse creative executives. Colour TV has now branched into Colour Film, Colour TV East, and Colour Assistants, which are all designed to connect current and future industry executives with one another.
Edwards brings a solid background and considerable experience to her new role at NBCUniversal. With an impressive list of accomplishments in both film and television, she is an executive with the clout and connection to get things done. BlackEnterprise.com spoke with Edwards about key issues around diversity in Hollywood.
BlackEnterprise.com: Why is diversity important?
Kelly Edwards: Whether you are talking about ethnic, gender, age, economic or diversity of orientation, I truly believe that having different opinions, experiences, and voices in a room creates a much more interesting product. And on a purely business level, we’ve seen an incredible shift in the population recently. The multicultural audience now represents nearly $4 trillion of spending power. And for NBCUniversal, making sure that audience is included both in front of and behind the camera is very important.
Despite the best efforts of many, why has diversity remained such an issue in the film and TV industries?
While I don’t think this has happened as quickly as we’d like, I do think that with the increased attention on diversity you are seeing now across the industry, things are beginning to change. More and more, diversity and inclusion are becoming part of the daily dialogue. And the conversation is evolving. We no longer have to convince people that diversity is the right thing to do or good for business; rather, we are now discussing how we can implement change.Â
What types of efforts are being made at NBC/Universal to combat this problem?
Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal brought diversity to the forefront in a new way. Each division now has someone designated to implement diversity initiatives which is a huge leap in the right direction for us as well as for the entire industry. My hope is that other companies will follow our lead.
GR: How important are African American executives in “curing†the diversity problem in film and TV?
African American executives are critical to the success of diversity. We need African American voices in the boardroom so that when the big decisions are being made there is a balance of perspectives being offered. And we need to see them rise in the ranks to give those who come up behind them hope for their own careers.
Personally, my greatest support and guidance has come from mentors like
Chief Diversity Officer Craig Robinson and former CDO, Paula Madison, advocates like NBCUniversal SVP of programming Bruce Evans, and peer coaches like the women who come to the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit each year with me.What are your long-term goals?
The good news about this company is that as we continue to refine our strategies around diversity, the job continues to evolve. As long as I’m developing new skills and stretching myself in ways I couldn’t have otherwise imagined, I feel challenged.
I’ve just joined a new division within NBCUniversal under Chairman Lauren Zalaznick called the Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media which houses Bravo, Oxygen, Style, Sprout, Telemundo, mun2, iVillage, Daily Candy, Fandango and some of the Integrated Media marketing initiatives. What I love about this group is that there are so many different aspects to it — reality programming, digital, Spanish language, children’s programming, and marketing — there’s still a great deal to learn.