Geraldine "Gerry" Laybourne (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Bond; born May 19, 1947) is an American entrepreneur and former TV executive. She worked at

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

from 1980 until 1996, when she became the president of Disney-ABC Cable Networks (including

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

). She is also the co-founder of Oxygen Media and a tech startup called Katapult. In 2020, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

Early life and education

Laybourne was raised in Martinsville, a rural community of about 400 in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. She is the second of four children, born to a former radio writer/actress and community organizer and a stock broker. In 1969, Laybourne earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in

Art History Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. In 1971, she received a Master of Science degree in

Elementary Education Primary education is the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle schools, de ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Career

After college, Laybourne had various jobs. From 1969 to 1970, Laybourne worked at Wallace, McHarg, Roberts and Todd, an architecture firm in Philadelphia. From 1972 to 1973, she worked as a teacher at

Concord Academy Concord Academy (also known as CA) is a coeducational, Independent school, independent University-preparatory school, college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Concord, Massachusetts. CA educates approximately 400 students in ...

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is n ...

. Then from 1974 to 1976, Laybourne worked as a festival coordinator of the New York American Film Festival. In 1974, she co-founded the Media Center for Children, which she was involved with until 1977. Laybourne said she founded the Media Center for Children because she was concerned about the media her children were watching. From 1978 to 1980, she was a partner at Early Bird Special Company in New York.

Nickelodeon (1980–1996)

In 1980, Laybourne was hired as a program manager at

, a year-old network with only five employees, where she initiated a focus-group approach to programming. Laybourne was one of the first people to focus on television programming for kids. She spent 15 years at Nickelodeon, taking over the management of the network, and started accepting advertising for the network, in 1984. Laybourne and her team were responsible for creating and building the Nickelodeon brand, launching ''

Nick at Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite since 2009) is an American nighttime programming block on Nickelodeon. List of programs broadcast by Nick at Nite, The block's programming broadcasts from prime time to Late-night television, late night, with ...

'' and expanding the network by establishing it in other countries, developing theme parks and creating Nickelodeon magazine, movie, toy and publishing divisions. Under her leadership, Nickelodeon became the top-rated 24-hour cable programming service and won

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

s, CableACE Awards and Parents' Choice Awards. The network had a 40% profit margin and explosive growth every year. By the time she left Nickelodeon in 1996, it was an $8 billion business.

Disney (1996–1998)

Laybourne left Nickelodeon in 1996 to become president of Disney–ABC Cable Networks, guiding the growth and overseeing the programming of the

and represented the corporate interests in Lifetime, A&E, E!, and The History Channel. She led the development of two projects that did not come to fruition: ABC 24 Hour News cable channel and ABZ, an innovative education channel. Laybourne played a role in the creation and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

of ABC's Saturday morning children's programming schedule, with the successful launch of '' One Saturday Morning''.

Oxygen Media (1998–2007)

In 1998, Laybourne left Disney and partnered with

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

and Carsey-Werner Productions to create Oxygen Media, a cable TV company dedicated to creating television and Internet programming for women. She also purchased three women-oriented online services from her former MTV boss, Robert W. Pittman. On February 2, 2000 (a date which plays off the chemical compound of oxygen—O2/O2), the Oxygen Network premiered to 10 million subscribers.

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

was an early investor, but left in 2001 when Laybourne changed strategy from being an Internet company to a television company. Laybourne initially hired 700 people, but scaled down to 250. The company went on to become profitable in 2004.

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

billionaire

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which was followed by the ...

, who invested in three rounds of Oxygen, forced Oxygen's sale in the late 2007 to

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

for $925 million. At the end of Laybourne's tenure, Oxygen had 270,000 prime-time weekday viewers in 74 million homes.

Mentorship

Laybourne started the mentoring program Global Women's Mentoring Walks, which pairs established and emerging women professionals to engage in mentoring partnerships in communities across the globe.

Personal life

In 1970, Laybourne married Kit Laybourne, a television producer, entrepreneur, author, and educator. They have been residents of

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

and have two children and four grandchildren. Her daughter, Emmy Laybourne, is an author of a series of young adult novels called ''Monument 14'' and is an actress who has appeared in '' Superstar'' and other films. Her son Sam is an Emmy-nominated writer and producer on shows such as '' Black-ish'', ''

Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...

'', ''

Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. AB ...

'', '' The Michael J. Fox Show'' and '' Grandfathered'' with John Stamos.

Boards and memberships

* 2014-present

Betaworks Betaworks Studio, LLC is an American startup studio and seed stage venture capital company based in New York City that invests in network-focused media businesses. Its hybrid investor/builder model has led to both investments in fast-growing st ...

, Board Member * 2013-present Katapult, Chairman of the Board, Co-Founder * 2015-present Vital Voices, Vice Chairman

Past positions

* 2010-2015: Alloy Media + Marketing, Chairman of the Board * 2013-2015: Defy Media, Chairman of the Board * 2007–present: Symantec, Board Member; Compensation Committee * 1997–present:

, Board of Trustees; 2010-14: President of the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College (AAVC); Co-Chair of Vassar Presidential Search Committee * 2008-2012:

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

* 2009-2013: JC Penney * Kindercare * Move.com * Cable Positive, Honorary Chair * National Cable & Telecommunications Association * National Council for Families and Television * New York Women in Film & Television, Advisory Board Member * The White House Project

Honors

* Advertising Hall of Fame *

Alliance for Women in Media The Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) is a nonprofit organization created by women in 1951 that works to support women in the media in the United States. About The mission of the organization is to "advance the impact of women in broadcasting an ...

, Genii Award *

Annenberg Public Policy Center The Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) is a center for the study of public policy at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. It has offices in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, where the University of Pennsy ...

, Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Children and Television Award * Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame * Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), Grand Tam Award * Creative Coalition, Spotlight Award * Entrepreneurs Club, Member * National Academy of Cable Programming, Governor's Award * 1990: New York Women in Film & Television, Muse Award * Sara Lee Corporation, Frontrunner Award * 1991: University of Missouri–Kansas City, Entrepreneur of the Year Award * 1999: Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

* 1996: ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', 25 Most Influential people in America * 1996: ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', 50 Most Influential Women in the Entertainment Industry, rank #1 * 2004: The Cable Center, Hall of Fame * 2005: Paley Center for Media, She Made It * 2020: Television Hall of Fame * Women in Cable Award * Women in Communications (New York), Matrix Award for Broadcasting

Works and publications

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laybourne, Geraldine 1947 births American business executives Living people Members of the Vassar College Board of Trustees Disney executives Nickelodeon executives Nickelodeon people American women television executives People from Bridgewater Township, New Jersey People from Montclair, New Jersey University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education alumni Vassar College alumni