Two more executives are joining the exodus from NBCUniversal in the wake of the Comcast takeover.
Paula Madison, 58, the executive vice president of diversity at NBCUniversal, will leave May 20, Deadline.com reports.
Also, Don Browne, 68, will leave NBCUniversal June 30, the company has announced. Since 2005 Browne has been President of Telemundo. The announcement said Browne is retiring from the company.
Madison, will leave to work for her family’s investment business, the Deadline story reports. She joined NBCU in 1989 as assistant news director at WNBC-TV and then served as general manager of KNBC-TV, the story says. She became NBC’s first chief diversity officer in 2007.
She’s the third top NBC executive named in NBCUniversal President Steve Burke’s memo outlining the company’s post-merger structure to leave the company, the story says.
Browne first joined NBC in 1979 as NBC News Miami bureau chief. By 1991 he was EVP of NBC News. Then he went in local station management at the company, joining WTVJ, NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Miami.
I am sorry to see Paula Madison go. She is a woman of integrity. She took
diversity very seriously and did not just become a face of good public relations without a quantifiable mission. Paula not only championed opportunities for people of color but she also made profound strides creating more opportunities for women in executive roles and opportunities for Gays and those that are physically challenged. If Mr. Burke plans to replace Paula, I hope he has someone in mind that will be pro-active for diversity and not just a gate keeper that presents an image of inclusion with no substance. I know this comment may receive a back-lash of retorts that claim in 2011 diversity is no longer needed. However before one espouses such a comment, most major studios have less than 11% of people of color included in their work force. When you look further at VP roles or other executive roles, that number is even lower. There is still work to be done regarding inclusion, equality, and the “American Dream” for all.