Kay Koplovitz

Kay Koplovitz
Born (1945-04-11) April 11, 1945
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Residence New York, New York
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Wisconsin–Madison and Michigan State University
Occupation Co-Founder and Chairman of Springboard Enterprises

Kay Koplovitz (born April 11, 1945) founded the USA Network and is the first woman to serve as network president in television history. She currently serves as the Co-Founder and Chairman of Springboard Enterprises, Chairman and CEO of Koplovitz & Company LLC and Chairman of the Board at Fifth & Pacific. She is also the author of "Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning To Play The High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game."

Early life, education

Kay Koplovitz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a B.A. in Communications and earned a master's degree in Communications from Michigan State University.[1] She is married to private investor William C. Koplovitz, Jr.[2]

Career

USA Networks

Koplovitz founded the USA Network in 1977 as an all sports service, Madison Square Garden Sports.[3] USA would eventually become the number one ranking cable network in primetime viewership for 13 consecutive years.[3] Under her leadership, the SyFy Channel was launched in 1992 and USA Network International was launched in 1994, operating in countries around the world.[3] Koplovitz is also credited for creating the concept for two revenue steams of licensing and advertising.[1] She served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer until 1998 when it was sold for $4.5 billion and it became a publicly listed company.[1]

Springboard Enterprises, Koplovitz & Company

In 1998, President Bill Clinton appointed Koplovitz to chair the bipartisan National Women's Business Council.[4] This helped create a platform for her to Co-Found Springboard Enterprises in 2000. Springboard is a national organization fostering venture capital investments in women-led high growth companies and has raised over $5.5 billion and created over 10,000 jobs since its inception.[1][5]

Also in 1998, Koplovitz & Company LLC was established to provide advisory services to entertainment companies, sports organizations, advertisers and distributors. It advises companies on growth strategies and the firm makes investments in early and mid-stage companies in media and technology.[6]

In 2013, she delivered the keynote at the Women 2.0 conference in Las Vegas which caters to women in technology.[7]

Other projects and board memberships

In 2002, Koplovitz's book Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning To Play The High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game was published. She wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs to create wealth through equity.[8]

Koplovitz served as Chairman of the Board of Fifth & Pacific, formerly Liz Claiborne, from January 2007 until May 2013.[1] She has also served as a board member of CA Technologies, ION Media, Instinet, Oracle, Nabisco and General Re.[4]

Koplovitz served as chairman of the board for Kate Spade & Company from 2007 to 2013.[9]

In April 2014, it was announced that Kay Koplovitz would sit on the 10-member board of Time Inc., the publishing arm of Time Warner Inc. [10]

Koplovitz announced the Video4Villages project in 2014, which will attempt to create a global platform using mobile distribution, making video content available on any phone with local language subtitles. Koplovitz began the project in the hopes of bringing knowledge through video to those living in parts of the world without high-speed connections.[11]

Awards and honors

Koplovitz holds honorary doctorate degrees from Emerson College, St. John's University, Michigan State University and Canisius College.[12] Other honors and awards she has received include the following:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kay Koplovitz". Bloomberg Link. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Kay Koplovitz Biography (1945-)". Film Reference. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kay Koplovitz". Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "About Kay". Koplovitz.com. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Board of Directors and Key Staff". Springboard Enterprises. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "KOPLOVITZ & CO". Koplovitz.com. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  7. ↑ "Women 2.0 Brings the World's Largest Women-Focused Tech Conference to Las Vegas". Reuters. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Books by Kay Koplovitz". Amazon.com. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Kay Koplovitz". Kat Spade & Company. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  10. ↑ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey. "Time Warner Unveils Time Inc.'s 10-Member Board". Dow Jones Business News. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  11. ↑ Morris, Chris. "USA Network's Founder Brings Video to Third World". CNBC. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Speakers". WE Summit. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
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