Lauren Zalaznick is a seasoned business leader with 25+ years of experience creating and implementing growth strategies for leading media companies and digital startups.  She began her creative career in film, producing award-winning independent feature films, such as Larry Clark's Kids and Todd Haynes' Safe. She went on to lead culture-defining programming and marketing in television, first at VH1, where she developed and produced shows and events, such as The RuPaul Show, Divas: Live! and The VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.  As Chair, Entertainment & Digital Networks at Comcast/NBCUniversal, she led a portfolio that included Bravo Media which, under her leadership, grew from a niche cable network into a Nielsen Top 10, globally recognized brand and revenue powerhouse. It remains a leading voice in pop culture.

Zalaznick has received many honors for her achievements. She has won numerous awards, including multiple Emmys and two Peabody Awards. Time magazine named Zalaznick one of the Time 100: World’s Most Influential People; and Vanity Fair named her to its New Establishment list. Earlier in her career, she was the subject of a New York Times Magazine cover story. Original interviews have been conducted and archived by the Television Academy Foundation and the Smithsonian Institute. She delivered a TED talk, entitled “The Conscience Of Television,” which has been viewed and shared close to a million times.

In her spare time, she curates the influential weekly newsletter The LZ Sunday Paper, for which she culls the most important news of the week by and about women in business, media and pop culture.