Distinguished Vanguard Award for Leadership

Ask Anne Sweeney what makes her a strong leader, and she answers by rattling off the achievements of others — from the hits that Rich Ross and Gary Marsh have created at Disney Channel and Paul Lee’s slew of “bests” at ABC Family to the success of SoapNet and ABC Daytime thanks largely to Brian Frons, as well as Barry Jossen’s work at the just-launched digital production unit Stage 9.

“That’s one of the great things about Anne,” said ABC Family president Paul Lee. “She obviously has the smarts and the skills to run the whole division, but she has the generosity of spirit and humility to give credit across the board.”

Frons, president of daytime for Disney-ABC Television Group added: “At the risk of sounding like the soap opera guy I am, she certainly seems to have pride in all her children. You certainly feel the warmth when you’ve done something well.”

Ross, president of Disney Channels Worldwide, has known Sweeney for 21 years and considers her the consummate boss. “I think the greatest thing in the world is to be able to feel comfortable to say, 'Here’s my boss.’ I always introduce her as my boss,” he said. “I mean, she’s many things to me, but she’s my boss and I’m incredibly proud of that.”

What makes Sweeney so great? There’s her television pedigree: She began her career as a page for ABC in New York before joining Nickelodeon in 1981, helping make a household brand from a then little-known children’s cable network. After that, she jumpstarted FX in 1993, which became one of the largest basic cable launches in history. Three years later, she transformed Disney Channel from a languishing premium network to a basic-cable kid’s programming powerhouse.

But most impressive is how she has revolutionized the way we view series across platforms worldwide. In the four years since being named co-chairperson of Disney Media Networks and president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, Sweeney has helped bolster the faltering ABC network and then revolutionize the TV business by advancing new content models across multiple platforms. In 2005, she made headlines by selling episodes of hit ABC series on iTunes, and later she was aggressive in streaming shows online at ABC.com.

Says Lee: “If you think that on Anne’s watch, the ABC network has gone from struggling to frequently No. 1 with the big hits and the buzz shows — we’re talking about Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Dancing With the Stars, Lost. Disney Channel’s become a powerhouse for amazing shows and music and talent that resonates all the way across not just television but on DVDs, our international sales and our movies. ABC Family has become a defining high-rated powerhouse for millennials. Just think how many great stories have been told under Anne Sweeney in the last four years and not just to Americans but across the world.”

Considering her vast responsibilities, Sweeney’s greatest accomplishment has been “recognizing the potential of properties,” said A&E Television Networks president and CEO Abbe Raven, the committee chairperson for the Vanguard Awards. “She’s a real master at looking at properties and saying we can market this, we can create this as a brand. And probably more than anybody else in this industry, she’s been able to tap into those properties and say, 'We can make this bigger and better.’ ”

Raven added that honoring Sweeney for this year’s Vanguard Award for Leadership was long overdue.

“Anne could have received this award 10 years ago, five years ago. She without question deserves to be on this list, and has deserved to be on this list of Vanguard award winners for many years,” said Raven, herself a leadership award recipient in 2005.

“I’ve been lucky to have Anne as a role model,” Raven said. “She is without question a great listener and a great motivator and she does that all with grace and I am huge admirer of watching someone that navigates with grace under pressure.”

Earlier this year, Sweeney oversaw the launch of Stage 9, the new short-form media studio bridging user-generated content and traditional production values for quality short-form shows online. At the helm are Jossen, ABC studio executive and Academy Award winning short-form filmmaker, and ABC Studios president Mark Pedowitz.

“Both of them share a passion for providing new opportunities for people just coming into television or film,” Sweeney said. “Stage 9 was really built with that in mind. Of course, the Web gives us a whole new avenue for experimentation.”

Another experiment that Sweeney is excited about is the four-night multiplatform showcase for Camp Rock, a movie musical starring Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers band. The show will premiere on Disney Channel, June 20, then appear as a part of ABC’s Wonderful World of Disney on Saturday night. The next day, on Sunday, it goes to ABC Family and that Monday it will be streamed on Disney.com.

“This was an idea Rich Ross had and it came together with Steve McPherson, Paul Lee and Steve Wadsworth, who runs our Internet group, and they all signed up and the teams are working together to figure out how this transitions and how it’s cross promoted, and it’s going to be a wonderful thing to see,” she said.

In overseeing ABC, ABC Television Studio and the 24 international Disney-owned cable channels, one of her mandates is keeping a broad picture scope. “I fully understand my goals and the goals that Bob Iger put out for the entire Walt Disney Co.,” said Sweeney. “I also believe [that] when you hire smart people and work with them, you let them do what they do best. When it comes to the individual pieces of their business, I rely on them to run their businesses well, and they do. Honestly, you can’t be a great leader unless you have a great team.”

“I think she’s always recognized the aggregation of our capabilities is the greatest calling card or articulation of her success — and that’s not to say that she does not get that when the boss stands up, she’s the boss,” said Ross. “She’s been able to take every opportunity she’s been given, and when she’s finished with it, it looks totally different and surpasses everybody’s expectation and people can’t imagine how it happens and in the end they always say 'Wow,’ and she deserves every 'wow’ that we’ve ever heard.”

Going forward, Sweeney is looking for more “wow” opportunities: “I walk in every day thinking, 'What new idea is somebody going to pop in with? What brainstorm has someone had last night that’s going to result in the next big thing?’ ”