Susan Lyne, Founder and President of BBG Ventures




FORTUNE Unfiltered with Aaron Task show

Summary: Susan Lyne has had one of the most extraordinary careers of anyone in corporate America in the past 30 years. Currently the founder and President of BBG Ventures (more on that below), Lyne served as CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia during the time Martha Stewart was in jail. Before that, she held various positions at the Disney and ABC, including President of ABC Entertainment. Lyne gave the greenlight to shows like Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy and The Bachelor, but was fired from ABC before any of those huge hits made it to air. In this episode of Fortune Unfiltered, Lyne discusses her public dismissal from Disney, losing her husband to cancer, the key to starting over in her career (many times) and her current endeavor, an early-stage investment fund for women-led startups. Funded by AOL, BBG Ventures sprung out of the #BuiltByGirls movement, which - by the way - Lyne helped launch as CEO of AOL’s Brand Group.