Jeanine D. Liburd
Executive Vice President Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. BET Networks. New York City. Age: 39
As executive president of corporate communications and public affairs at BET Networks, Jeanine D. Liburd’s influence stretches across the leading media company. While she is officially responsible for managing communications, public relations, special events and public affairs, she admits that “the ability to impact so many areas such as finance, marketing and sales” is exciting.
Liburd joined BET Networks in 2007, after seven years of building a career in corporate communications with various divisions under the Viacom banner, including MTV Networks. She received a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Vassar College and a master’s in public policy from the New School of Social Research, and turned to shaping urban and family policy. At the White House in the Clinton administration, she worked on child and welfare policies with the assistant to the president on domestic policy. She left Washington for the private sector and joined Robinson Lerer & Montgomery, a strategic communications firm in New York. Her work on the launch of Oxygen Media introduced her to and solidified her interest in corporate communications.
Liburd soon found that being well informed, bold and tenacious can take you to the top. It’s important “to speak up and let a person know that you have a perspective and that you are someone who is ready to do the work,” she asserts. And it’s just as important to remain “focused, open and ready because the person sitting next to you might lead you to your next big break,” she says.
Quote: "A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition, but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings on earth is ever so alive." - Pearl Bailey
Fun Facts
Favorite book/author: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
What actress should play you in a movie: Sanaa Lathan
What artist would you go on tour with: De La Soul
Favorite comedian: Eddie Murphy
SUV or Hybrid: Hybrid
Number of countries visited: Five
Favorite charity: Harlem Children’s Zone
Last movie: Slumdog Millionaire
