Judith McHale
Encyclopedia
Judith A. McHale is the current Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, helping lead America’s engagement with the people of the world. Appointed by President Obama, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 21, 2009 and sworn in on May 26.
McHale is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Communications
. For two decades, McHale was a leader in building Discovery Communications, the parent company of the Discovery Channel
cable channel, into a global media enterprise with 1.4 billion subscribers in 170 countries.
She has two sons, Brian and Mark.
Her uncle was the journalist William McHale, Rome Bureau Chief for Time Magazine in the 1960s. He died along with Enrico Mattei
, a controversial leader for Italian oil company ENI
, in a plane crash on October 27,1962, later classified as a sabotage.
in the United Kingdom
and Fordham University
School of Law in New York.
In 1987, McHale became General Counsel at Discovery Communications, then a small company with a single U.S. cable channel. She went on to serve as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive Officer, and President, helping to grow Discovery into one of the most successful media companies in the world, with more than 100 channels available in 35 languages and distributed to more 1 billion subscribers in over 170 countries. During her tenure as president, Discovery’s revenues increased tenfold, with annual revenues topping $3 billion.
McHale and others at Discovery understood something important about communicating with people around the world: It makes more sense to engage people internationally on their own terms, in ways that respect their languages and customs, than it does just to bring them warmed-over versions of American programming. Discovery, nearly alone among American media companies that expanded internationally, put respect for cultural context and local voices at the heart of its business and creative strategies. It modified programming to respect viewers’ regional customs and translated – rather than simply subtitled—into 35 different languages.
McHale also looked for ways to bring people across the globe together around shared viewing experiences. She led Discovery to launch the highly successful “Watch With The World” specials that provided a primetime television opportunity that could be shared by people everywhere.
McHale helped forge powerful strategic partnerships, including an alliance in 1998 with the BBC that enabled a marriage of high-quality content and global distribution strength. Under her leadership the Discovery/BBC joint venture produced numerous ground-breaking documentaries including "Blue Planet", "Walking with Dinosaurs" and the award winning "Planet Earth. She also spearheaded numerous corporate acquisitions, including The Learning Channel in 1991 and the Travel Channel
in 1997.
As a manager of a rapidly-growing company with thousands of employees and offices in 22 countries, McHale made it a priority to create a workplace in which employees thrived professionally and personally. Discovery was consistently named one of the best places to work in various rankings, and, in 2004, McHale was honored by Working Mother
magazine as a “National Family Champion” for her leadership.
At Discovery, McHale launched innovative education and development initiatives in the United States and around the world, including the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, which provides free educational programming and technological support to more than a half million students at 200 schools and community centers throughout rural Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Under McHale’s guidance, Discovery applied to its educational initiatives the same rigorous cultural sensitivity and locally-driven process that made its international business so successful. Before setting up the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, McHale led a “listening tour” into villages in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda, meeting with teachers and local leaders, building trust, and better understanding the particular educational content and technological resources that would best serve those communities.
In 2006, after nearly 20 years at Discovery, McHale started a new phase of her career in partnership with the Global Environment Fund, a private equity firm based in Chevy Chase, MD. McHale worked to launch the GEF/Africa Growth Fund, an investment vehicle intending to focus on supplying expansion capital to small and medium-sized enterprises that provide consumer goods and services in emerging African markets. Ms. McHale spent considerable amounts of her time visiting key African markets, meeting with entrepreneurs from Lusaka to Dar es Salaam, as she assessed investment opportunities. The work of forming the Fund brought together McHale’s passion for building businesses with her long engagement with Africa and her own philosophy of “doing well by doing good.”
Prior to joining the Department of State, McHale served on the Boards of Directors Polo/Ralph Lauren, Host Hotels and Resorts and DigitalGlobe, Inc.
to a four-year term as a member of the Maryland State Board of Education.
McHale has also provided leadership to a range of organizations engaged in global affairs and development. She served on the boards of the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, Africare, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, and Vital Voices. In 2008, she was the co-chair of the Platform Committee of the Democratic National Convention
.
McHale is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
. For two decades, McHale was a leader in building Discovery Communications, the parent company of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
cable channel, into a global media enterprise with 1.4 billion subscribers in 170 countries.
Early life
The daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, McHale was born in New York City and grew up in Britain and apartheid-era South Africa. Her upbringing inspired a life-long commitment to social justice and engagement with development issues, especially in Africa. During these formative years, McHale’s family home was constantly under police surveillance and was wire-tapped; family friends were detained and mistreated; and she became close with key anti-apartheid activists, including Felicia Kentridge, who founded South Africa’s Legal Resource Centre, and her husband Sidney Kentridge, the noted civil rights lawyer who went on to represent slain anti-apartheid activist Steven Biko.She has two sons, Brian and Mark.
Her uncle was the journalist William McHale, Rome Bureau Chief for Time Magazine in the 1960s. He died along with Enrico Mattei
Enrico Mattei
Enrico Mattei was an Italian public administrator. After World War II he was given the task of dismantling the Italian Petroleum Agency Agip, a state enterprise established by the Fascist regime. Instead Mattei enlarged and reorganized it into the National Fuel Trust Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi...
, a controversial leader for Italian oil company ENI
Eni
Eni S.p.A. is an Italian multinational oil and gas company, present in 70 countries, and currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of 87.7 billion euros , as of July 24, 2008...
, in a plane crash on October 27,1962, later classified as a sabotage.
Education
McHale graduated from the University of NottinghamUniversity of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
School of Law in New York.
Career
In the 1980s, McHale served as General Counsel for MTV Networks, overseeing legal affairs for MTV, Nickelodeon and VH-1. Drawing on the experience developed over many years living abroad, McHale became a principal architect of the company’s rapid international expansion.In 1987, McHale became General Counsel at Discovery Communications, then a small company with a single U.S. cable channel. She went on to serve as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive Officer, and President, helping to grow Discovery into one of the most successful media companies in the world, with more than 100 channels available in 35 languages and distributed to more 1 billion subscribers in over 170 countries. During her tenure as president, Discovery’s revenues increased tenfold, with annual revenues topping $3 billion.
McHale and others at Discovery understood something important about communicating with people around the world: It makes more sense to engage people internationally on their own terms, in ways that respect their languages and customs, than it does just to bring them warmed-over versions of American programming. Discovery, nearly alone among American media companies that expanded internationally, put respect for cultural context and local voices at the heart of its business and creative strategies. It modified programming to respect viewers’ regional customs and translated – rather than simply subtitled—into 35 different languages.
McHale also looked for ways to bring people across the globe together around shared viewing experiences. She led Discovery to launch the highly successful “Watch With The World” specials that provided a primetime television opportunity that could be shared by people everywhere.
McHale helped forge powerful strategic partnerships, including an alliance in 1998 with the BBC that enabled a marriage of high-quality content and global distribution strength. Under her leadership the Discovery/BBC joint venture produced numerous ground-breaking documentaries including "Blue Planet", "Walking with Dinosaurs" and the award winning "Planet Earth. She also spearheaded numerous corporate acquisitions, including The Learning Channel in 1991 and the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
in 1997.
As a manager of a rapidly-growing company with thousands of employees and offices in 22 countries, McHale made it a priority to create a workplace in which employees thrived professionally and personally. Discovery was consistently named one of the best places to work in various rankings, and, in 2004, McHale was honored by Working Mother
Working Mother
Working Mother Media is a subsidiary of Bonnier Corporation It is the largest multimedia company in US which focused on diversity and the advancement of women...
magazine as a “National Family Champion” for her leadership.
At Discovery, McHale launched innovative education and development initiatives in the United States and around the world, including the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, which provides free educational programming and technological support to more than a half million students at 200 schools and community centers throughout rural Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Under McHale’s guidance, Discovery applied to its educational initiatives the same rigorous cultural sensitivity and locally-driven process that made its international business so successful. Before setting up the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership, McHale led a “listening tour” into villages in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda, meeting with teachers and local leaders, building trust, and better understanding the particular educational content and technological resources that would best serve those communities.
In 2006, after nearly 20 years at Discovery, McHale started a new phase of her career in partnership with the Global Environment Fund, a private equity firm based in Chevy Chase, MD. McHale worked to launch the GEF/Africa Growth Fund, an investment vehicle intending to focus on supplying expansion capital to small and medium-sized enterprises that provide consumer goods and services in emerging African markets. Ms. McHale spent considerable amounts of her time visiting key African markets, meeting with entrepreneurs from Lusaka to Dar es Salaam, as she assessed investment opportunities. The work of forming the Fund brought together McHale’s passion for building businesses with her long engagement with Africa and her own philosophy of “doing well by doing good.”
Prior to joining the Department of State, McHale served on the Boards of Directors Polo/Ralph Lauren, Host Hotels and Resorts and DigitalGlobe, Inc.
Public service
In 1998, McHale was appointed by Governor Parris GlendeningParris Glendening
Parris Nelson Glendening , a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 59th Governor of Maryland from January 18, 1995 to January 15, 2003...
to a four-year term as a member of the Maryland State Board of Education.
McHale has also provided leadership to a range of organizations engaged in global affairs and development. She served on the boards of the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, Africare, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the National Democratic Institute, and Vital Voices. In 2008, she was the co-chair of the Platform Committee of the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
.