Geraldine Laybourne
Then: Labyourne led the development of Nickelodeon for Viacom, then founded Oxygen Media in 1998 and ran the cable TV-and-web venture for nearly a decade.
Now: After selling Oxygen to NBC Universal in 2007 for close to $1 billion, Laybourne has been under the radar and happily footloose. Logging lots of air miles, she has mentored enterprising young women in Africa and Asia, while at home she's busy advising startups.
"My job, wherever I am, is bringing on the next generation. That gives me my energy," says Laybourne.
She recently signed on to chair Alloy Inc., the producer of TV shows like "Gossip Girls" and "The Vampire Diaries." Says Laybourne, who's now 63: "I describe this period of my life as my adolescence."
By Patricia Sellers
NEXT: Jim Clark
Last updated October 28 2010: 8:20 AM ET
