After years in marketing at Kodak, Volkswagen and Nissan, Terri Hines was starting to feel “overqualified and a little bored,” she said. Her mentor at Nissan worked in public relations and communications and Hines had always found that intriguing. So she asked him to show her the ropes. 

“He allowed me to shadow him for five months,” Hines, now executive VP, communications at Fox Sports, said. “I found my aha moment. This is what I wanted to do.”

Also Read: Wonder Women of L.A. 2023: Hollywood Power Players

Hines’s mentor eventually helped her land a job on his side of Nissan, and later Hines, whose undergrad degree had been in business administration, earned a master’s degree in communications from American University in her hometown of Washington, D.C. “I wanted to learn more and I knew graduate school would make me a more well-rounded communications professional and give me a leg up on
my peers,” she said.

Today, Hines is Fox Sports’s chief spokesperson, responsible for communications, brand and social responsibility strategies. As a member of the senior management team, she leads strategic direction and corporate positioning and is a senior adviser on crisis, social-justice and diversity, empowerment and inclusion (DE&I) matters.

“Terri’s job is half ‘comms’ and half helping guide the company,” Fox Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks said. “She is strategic and always gives it to you straight. She’s a real consigliere and a trusted voice as a leader.”

Growing up, Hines said her parents required her to get good grades, pick a musical instrument (she’s a classically trained pianist) and pick a sport. While she liked swimming, tennis, gymnastics and softball, she focused through high school on track as a sprinter. Hines wore Nikes, so the company became “the North Star” for her. “I dreamed about working for the Nike brand,” she said.

After a decade at Nissan, in 2007 she fulfilled her dream, jumping to Nike — and not only to Nike but to the Jordan brand, helping lead the introduction of Air Jordan 23, the biggest launch in the company’s history (and, incidentally, the subject of the current theatrical release Air, starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon). 

“Working on the Jordan brand was one of the highlights of my career,” said Hines, who also worked on the Converse brand, acquired in 2003, during nearly a decade at Nike. “I had a great time there and got to find creative ways to tell the story and become a better storyteller around the brand.”

Hines also wanted to work in television or film in some way, so when Fox Sports offered an opportunity in 2016 she made the leap. 

“My personal journey has not been a straight line, but I’ve enjoyed the windy road,” Hines said.

Happily Hectic

The job is hectic — in the last year, the network had the NFL, the men’s World Cup, the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 — and Hines said “there’s no off button.”

But that’s the way she likes it. “I thrive on challenges,” she said. “The more things I have to juggle, the better I am.” In fact, since the pandemic, she has also been taking weekly vocal lessons to work on her singing.

While Hines is “maybe too good at multitasking” and falters with too much downtime, she has taught herself to delegate. “I used to worry about letting things go but now I trust my team and let go a lot,” she said, adding that as a leader she also tries to be a good listener. “I don’t always have it right and don’t profess to know it all.”

Beyond all her career success, Hines has another goal. “It’s important that I give back, leaving a legacy around inclusion opportunities and creating seats at the table for women and people of color,” she said. 

At Fox she helped create the first inclusion council and became executive sponsor of its employee resource group, Fox BLK+. She also is involved in her community as a director of The LAGRANT Foundation and as a corporate adviser to the UCLA Center for Media, Entertainment and Sports.

“This is what I’m passionate about and it’s integral to who I am,” Hines said. “As a successful leader I want the people coming up behind me to get the opportunity to sit in my chair.” 

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Women in Cable Telecommunications Southern California Chapter is honoring a network P.R. ace, a kids’ content and strategy expert, a content acquisition maven and an actress twice nominated for an Oscar.

The 2017 LEA Awards, their 25th anniversary edition, will be presented at a luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 9, at The Beverly Hills Hotel, kicking off with a networking reception at 11:30 a.m. followed by the awards luncheon at 12:30-3 p.m. (For more, visit LEAAwards.com.)

The program includes a panel discussion on leadership with the honorees, moderated by KCBS on-air host Erica Olsen. The four honorees, listed alphabetically, are being recognized for their contributions to the industry and their commitment to developing women leaders in entertainment.

The honorees are (alphabetically):

• Terri Hines, executive vice president, communications, Fox Sports;
• Nancy Kanter, executive vice president, content and creative strategy, Disney Channel Worldwide, and general manager, Disney Junior Worldwide;
• Mary McDonnell, actress and star of TNT’s Major Crimes;
• and Kathy Payne, head, content acquisition management, Amazon Channels.

Terri Hines joined Fox Sports as executive vice president of communications last December. She serves as Fox Sports’ chief spokesperson and is responsible for leading the development and execution of communication strategies for the sports programmer’s multiplatform portfolio. She reports to Fox Sports president and COO Eric Shanks.

Hines previously spent 10 successful years at Nike, most recently as VP of global communications for the Converse brand. Hines also was director of communications for Nike’s Jordan Brand of premium athletic footwear, apparel and accessories. Working directly with NBA legend Michael Jordan and his team, Hines was a driving force behind a number of brand firsts, notably the campaign launch for the Air Jordan XX3, at the time the biggest in Nike history. She also was responsible for rebranding and launching Jordan Brand’s philanthropic platform, Wings for the Future.

Prior to Nike, Hines spent 10 years at Nissan North America in a variety of roles in media relations, communications, public affairs and multicultural marketing, and created Nissan’s first lifestyle and entertainment practice. She started her career at Volkswagen of America.

Nancy Kanter was promoted to executive vice president, content and creative strategy, Disney Channels Worldwide, and general manager, Disney Junior Worldwide, this year. She is responsible for content creation strategy that guides the development of original live-action and animated programming for kids age 6-14 on Disney Channel and Disney XD, and all creative content for kids age 2-7 on Disney Junior. She also oversees strategy for acquired content that supports the overarching creative vision and, working with the live action and animation development and programming teams, continues attracting, developing and retaining creative talent to Disney’s portfolio of entertainment platforms for kids and families.

Under Kanter, the 24-hour Disney Junior channel has reigned as the top preschooler-dedicated TV network in total viewers, kids 2-5, girls 2-5, boys 2-5 and women 18-49. In 2016, the channel presented the top eight series among kids 2-5 and total viewers, including The Lion Guard, Elena of Avalor and Miles from Tomorrowland. Kanter also brought the Peabody-winning Doc McStuffins, the Emmy-winning Sofia the First, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey and the Roadster Racers and Puppy Dog Pals to Disney Junior.

Previously executive VP, original programming, she joined Disney Channel in 2001. In 2011 and 2012, she led the successful rebrand of Playhouse Disney to Disney Junior, establishing the brand a total of 33 Disney Junior channels in 24 languages around the world. Prior to joining Disney Channel, Kanter was president, Bluecow.com, a children’s entertainment internet, following a distinguished run as an executive producer and producer of children’s programming.

Mary McDonnell is a distinguished American actress known for her work in theater, film, and television. She is highly regarded for her portrayals of strong, empathic and powerful women. Her ability to connect with roles in a way that reveals a conscious awareness of the world around her has resulted in a rewarding and long lasting career.

Nominated twice for Academy Awards for her work in movies (Dances With Wolves, Passion Fish), she has also been nominated twice each for Golden Globes and Emmy awards. Her many TV roles include the surgeon Dr. Virginia Dixon in Grey’s Anatomy and Noah Wyle’s alcoholic mother in ER. She played President Laura Roslin in Syfy’s Peabody Award-winning series Battlestar Galactica; Capt./Cmdr. Sharon Raydor in TNT’s franchise drama series The Closer and in Major Crimes; and the mysterious widow Ruby Goldfarb in Fargo on FX.

As an advocate, she has used her voice to support The National Lyme Disease Association (spokesperson), Autism Speaks, Sunshine Kids, Ocean Park Community Center and Everett Company Stage School in Providence, R.I. She recently aided the fundraising effort for The Water Protectors Legal Collective, devoted to finding legal representation for Americans arrested during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Kathy Payne joined Amazon in March to lead the content acquisition team focused on live television channels for Amazon Channels. Over the course of her career, she has been at the forefront of transforming the consumer television experience, negotiating video programming rights from virtually every major media company over 25 years.

Before she joined Amazon, Payne was chief programming officer at Suddenlink Communications (now part of Altice USA) and before that, she was VP of content acquisition and an assistant general counsel at Cox Communications.

Payne served on the board of Women in Cable & Telecommunications for seven years, chairing it for two years. She has received several industry and corporate awards for leadership, commitment to customers and cost-mitigation efforts. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters and loves adventure travel, most recently trekking in Peru and Nepal and exploring Cuba and Argentina.