The Fierce Video editorial team is proud to present its second annual Emerging Leaders Awards, recognizing the brightest young professionals rising up the ranks of the streaming TV industry. Throughout the months of May and June we’ll be featuring these profiles with each of our finalists. We will announce the winners during our StreamTV Show with an awards ceremony June 17 at 3:15 p.m. ET. Not yet registered for the StreamTV Show, running June 15-17? Be sure to register now and save your spot at this free virtual event!
Alexandra Bhagat/Discovery:
Alexandra (Ali) is currently vice president of U.S. direct-to-consumer strategy at Discovery, where she drives competitive insights, forecasting and strategic growth initiatives for discovery+. Her prior experience includes roles in strategy and business development within the news group at NBCUniversal and in investment banking at Barclays Capital.
What her colleagues are saying:
"Ali is an outstanding team member and person. She is innovative, driven and highly capable—never intimidated by a complex problem or project. A real pleasure to work with who is constantly setting a great example of a truly transformative leader." - Karen Leever, president of U.S. digital products at Discovery
"Ali as we all call Alexandra has been a great leader for the digital strategy function for Discovery Digital business in the US. She was instrumental in the launch of discovery+ in January. She led numerous strategic decisions including pricing strategy, market sizing and provided key inputs to the C-suite team to influence their decisions. She is definitely one of the top emerging leaders in the media industry as the landscape shifts." - Akash Gupta, group vice president of U.S. strategy, data and analytics at Discovery
Streaming Industry Q&A:
What streaming services do you subscribe to?
Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video and discovery+.
Describe your biggest career highlight so far.
Launching discovery+ has been, by far, the highlight of my career. It’s an incredible opportunity to see an idea move from a business plan to a real product in the hands of consumers. The launch was a true team effort between all parts of Discovery and I’m in awe of the commitment, talent and enthusiasm that took us through launch day and has stayed with us since.
What has been your biggest career learning experience?
Managing a team is a continuous learning experience for me. I was the first strategy hire for the U.S. digital team and we now have a dynamic (and growing) strategy group. I’m constantly learning from my team and building a better understanding of the right ways to make us more effective and impactful.
What's next for you in terms of new challenges in streaming TV?
Since the launch of discovery+, our team’s challenge (and mission) has been to create the best user experience possible for our consumers, while finding creative ways to reach new audiences.