Bonnie Hammer

Bonnie Hammer is a television executive with a career spanning more than four decades across multiple sectors of the American television industry. Hammer began her career at WGBH-TV, the public television station in Boston, where she produced "This Old House," "Infinity Factory," and "ZOOM" for PBS. Earlier in her career, she served as an original programming executive at Lifetime Television Network, where she executive produced several documentaries for the network's Signature Series.

Hammer's rise through the cable television landscape included serving as president of Sci-Fi, where she brought the miniseries "Steven Spielberg Presents: Taken" to the network, a project that delivered record ratings and earned Sci-Fi its first major Emmy Award. During her six years at Sci-Fi, the channel's audience doubled, and Sci-Fi ranked in cable's top 10 among adults 25 to 54 and 18 to 49. She later led USA Network, where the network became the most-watched entertainment cable channel for 13 consecutive years. As chairman of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, Hammer held executive oversight of USA Network, SYFY, Bravo, Oxygen, E! Entertainment, and Universal Kids, guiding these cable networks through significant growth both domestically and internationally, with the portfolio experiencing 14 consecutive years of profit and revenue growth, generating nearly $3 billion in profits and $6 billion in revenue in a single year.

Hammer played a key role in developing programming for cable television, with USA, SYFY, and UCP earning 167 Emmy Award nominations and producing series including "Suits," "Umbrella Academy," "Psych," "Monk," "Mr. Robot," "The Sinner," "Homecoming," "The Act," "Dirty John," and "Battlestar Galactica." "Mr. Robot" and "Battlestar Galactica" also received Peabody and AFI awards. As chairman of the Universal Studio Group, Hammer aligned content business for the global market, bringing together Universal Television, UCP, and NBCUniversal International Studios. She also served as chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises, overseeing the creation of Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming platform.

Hammer has been an advocate for social responsibility in media. She created and launched the pro-social campaign "Erase the Hate" to address hate and discrimination in America, an initiative that received a Governors Award from the Television Academy. She later extended this work with "Characters Unite," a public service program promoting tolerance and acceptance. In addition to her advocacy, Hammer authored "15 Lies Women Are Told at Work… And the Truth We Need to Succeed" with Simon & Schuster, which she describes as a pocket mentor for women in corporate America.

Hammer's career has been recognized with numerous industry honors. She was named "Executive of the Year" by The Hollywood Reporter and is regularly included on the publication's "Power 100" list, as well as being named "Most Powerful Woman in Entertainment." She received the National Association of Television Programming Executives' Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award and was inducted into Broadcasting & Cable's Hall of Fame. Hammer has been featured on lists such as the "50 Most Powerful Women" in Fortune, "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" in Forbes, and the "Powers that Be" in Vanity Fair. Variety recognized her with its TV Legacy Award, and she received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Boston University.