Pearlena Igbokwe Appointed Chairman of Universal Studio Group

Pearlena Igbokwe Appointed Chairman of Universal Studio Group

Nigerian born media executive, Pearlena Igbokwe, has been appointed Chairman of Universal Studio Group.  She makes history by being the first woman of African descent to head a major American television studio.

Universal Studio Group is a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal comprises Universal Television, Universal Content Productions (UCP) and NBCUniversal International Studios.

Pearlena will lead the company’s growing global television studio businesses. She will be responsible for all the aspects of creative affairs and production for NBCUniversal’s three powerhouse studios: Universal Television, Universal Content Productions and NBCUniversal International Studios.

54 years old Pearlena was born in Lagos in the 1960s during the infamous Nigerian Civil War. She migrated to the US at the age of six. She earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A) from Yale University before getting her MBA from Columbia University.

Before joining NBCUniversal, Pearlena worked at Showtime – a popular media company in the US for 20 years. She began her showtime career as Manager of Direct response and Television Marketing. At showtime, she produced award winning shows such as the television adaptation of the hit feature film Barbershop, two-time NAACP Image Award winner Soul food. She also developed the pilot and oversaw five seasons of Dexter, Showtime’s most popular series ever.

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She joined NBC in 2012 as the Executive Vice President (EVP) of drama programming and became EVP for drama programming before being named the president of Universal Television, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, in 2016. Some of the shows she oversaw as president of Universal Television include The Good Place, Superstore, and television series such as The Blacklist, Chicago Med, Shade of Blue, This Is Us and others.

Pearlena was named as one of the 100 Women in Entertainment Power on the Hollywood Reporter’s list in 2018. She has also been named as one of Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100, Ebony magazine’s Top 50 Showbiz Players, among others.

Pearlena currently serves as the Vice President of the Hollywood Radio and TV Society (HRTS) board and is a member of the Television Academy Executive Committee.