Anne M. Sweeney
Co-Chair / President
Disney Media Networks / Disney-ABC Television Group
As co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, Anne Sweeney has risen through the ranks of television with one success after another. She has presided over a quadrupling of Disney Channel subscribers and the launch of the successful SOAPnet and Toon Disney channels, and during her tenure, Disney-ABC Television Group's properties have experienced tremendous growth.
It is no wonder Sweeney has been named one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business by Fortune magazine, one of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes and most recently the Most Powerful Woman in Entertainment by trade publication the Hollywood Reporter.
New York native Sweeney joined the Walt Disney Company in February 1996 as president of the Disney Channel and executive vice president of Disney/ABC Cable Networks. Previously, she was chairman and CEO of FX Networks, Inc.
From October 2000 to April 2004, Sweeney served as president of ABC Cable Networks Group and Disney Channels Worldwide. In 2004, Sweeney was promoted to her current position at Disney-ABC.
Sweeney, who holds a bachelor's from the College of New Rochelle and an Ed. M. degree from Harvard, was inducted into Cable Center's Hall of Fame this past October. She has also received the Matrix and Vanguard Awards.
Sweeney's Irish roots lie in counties Mayo and Meath. When asked what her Irish heritage means to her, Sweeney succinctly responded, "Everything!"
Return to Women of Influence
