Dale Hopkins

COO, G4

WHY WE’RE WATCHING: The industry veteran, whose career included a stint as senior vice president of marketing at E! Entertainment Television, is making her mark at another of Comcast Corp.’s programming services, the video game-centric G4. As the nation’s largest operator looks to buttress the network, Hopkins, who was with the service since its inception in April 2002, was elevated to chief operating officer last September. Now, she has to help G4, which merged with Paul Allen’s TechTV in May 2004, gain wider recognition as it continues to evolve — for instance, the network’s deal with Hasbro Inc. will yield a live-action and animation block based on the toymaker’s brands — and looks to deepen its penetration levels.

HIGH ’05s: “My promotion to chief operating officer of G4 — a network I helped launch. Also, I was given the opportunity by [Comcast programming president] Jeff Shell to help lead G4’s growth and work with [president] Neal Tiles, whose creative vision will help take G4 to the next level.”

PICKS IN ’06: “Growing the G4 brand and creating value for our cable affiliates, our advertisers, our viewers and our owners.”

MY TIME: “When I’m not working, I’m thinking about work as I do my second and most important job as a chauffeur. I spend a lot of time driving my kids around: my son to soccer games and practice, club and American Youth Soccer Organization, my daughter to her soccer games, sailing practice and regattas; my son to playdates; and my daughter’s boyfriend home.”