Sarah Barnett, D’Arcy Rudnay Garner WICT ‘Woman Of the Year’ Honors

Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) has tapped BBC America president and general manager Sarah Barnett and Comcast executive vice president and chief communications officer D’Arcy Rudnay as its respective 2017 programmer and operator “Woman of The Year” honorees.

WICT also announced its “2017 Women To Watch” honorees, which include Samira Panah Bakhtiar, Director of Media Operations for Cisco Systems -- the first award recipient of the newly established Technology category -- Tina Thornton, Senior Vice President of Production & Multimedia Sponsorship Integration and Management Operations for ESPN; and Charlene Keys, AVP, Field Operations, Western North Carolina, for Charter Communications. 

Honorees will receive their awards during the WICT Touchstones Luncheon on Monday, Sept. 25, at the WICT Leadership Conference, part of the cable industry's annual Diversity Week. AMC Networks will once again return as the exclusive Premier Sponsor of the Touchstones Luncheon. 

"WICT is honored to applaud and celebrate the achievements of these extraordinary individuals," said Maria Brennan, CAE, President and CEO of WICT, in a statement. "Each honoree embodies the WICT Touchstones of Leadership and serves as a shining example for others in the industry to emulate. We look forward to showcasing their accomplishments during this year's Touchstones Luncheon as part of Diversity Week 2017, and we thank AMC Networks for their continued support of this important event."

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.