Liz Jenkins: Celebrating Women’s History Month

Liz Jenkins is the Chief Business Officer for NBCUniversal Studio Group. In this role, she oversees strategy and business operations across the company’s Film and Television Studios. Jenkins drives long-range business strategy to support the Studio’s new unified content hub, bringing together Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (Universal Pictures, Focus Features, DreamWorks Animation) and Universal Studio Group (Universal Television, Universal Content Productions, Universal Television Alternative Studios, Universal International Studios).   

You recently joined the NBCUniversal Studio Group in the newly created Chief Business Officer role. What are you most excited by in this role, and what do you hope to accomplish? 

I recently celebrated my six month anniversary at the company.  When I first began speaking with Donna about the role there were so many things that attracted me to NBCU and this role in particular.  The unrivalled slate of content and creative partners, the power of the combined platform from film to TV to theme parks, the incredible reach our distribution platforms, the vision and philosophy of the company’s leadership and owners and above all the people and the culture.  In my role as CBO of the Studio Group, my goal is to act as connective tissue across the studio group to help drive value across the whole platform.  Despite headwinds our industry is facing, we are well positioned to win especially when we execute in an aligned and coordinated way.

How have you seen the evolution of diversity, equity & inclusion in your industry?

 It has been incredible to see the amount of increase in representation across all aspects of our industry – from the creators, to the production teams, to the stories being told and beyond.  And even more incredible is to see how broadly these stories have resonated and been embraced and furthermore resulted in commercial success.  Our audience grows more diverse by the day and for young audiences to see stories that reflect their experiences is even more important since they’ve grown up accustomed to seeing themselves on social media.

Is there a woman who has played an important role in your life and who do you celebrate during Women’s history month? 

I’d have to say my mother.  Beyond all of the obvious ways in which she played a critical role in my upbringing – she set such an incredible example for me of what it means to continually strive for excellence and the requirement to prioritize impact on a community rather than personal or individual level. So during Women’s history month I celebrate the many trailblazing women…the giants, on whose shoulders we stand.

We have amazing female representation on the screen across the NBCUniversal portfolio. Who are some of your favorite female characters and why?

 I’m going to go with a few of my favorites in the fierce female category…. Sydney Bristow, Jennifer Lopez as Karen Sisco, and Leslie Knope is an incredible reminder that the notion of fierce can take many forms.

Think back to your first position in the corporate world. If you could give your younger self one piece of advice what would it be? 

Truly embrace the twists and turns that your journey may take and show up for yourself with grace and kindness along the way. The real goal is growth not perfection.