FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2026
CONTACT:
Amanda Sawney
asawney@wict.org
The WICT Network Announces Honorees for 2026 Women of the Year and Women to Watch
Awards to be presented during the Signature Awards Luncheon in New York, Tuesday, May 12
ARLINGTON, VA (April 8, 2026) – The WICT Network, a global organization advancing leaders across media, entertainment, technology, sports, gaming and adjacent industries, proudly announces the 2026 Women of the Year and Women to Watch honorees. These six leaders exemplify the organization’s mission to elevate the workforce through high-impact professional development, research and a powerful B2B network that drives career growth and leadership advancement.
The 2026 Women of the Year are:
- Karen Kovacs, President, Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal – Woman of the Year, Media
- Stephanie Mitchko, Chief Technology Officer and Global Head of Media Operations, AMC Networks – Woman of the Year, Entertainment
- Chandy Ghosh, Chief Operating Officer and GM, Sinch Emergency Services – Woman of the Year, Technology
The 2026 Women to Watch are:
- Mary Pouliopoulos, Senior Vice President, Customer Experience and Automation, Spectrum Reach – Woman to Watch, Media
- Karen Bronzo, Chief Global Marketing Officer, US Networks and News, Warner Bros. Discovery – Woman to Watch, Entertainment
- Pooja Jugran, Vice President, Strategy and Growth, Tech Mahindra – Woman to Watch, Technology
The Woman of the Year Award is The WICT Network’s highest individual honor, awarded to women who have reached the pinnacle of their professions while demonstrating an unwavering commitment to supporting others along their path. The Woman to Watch Award celebrates leaders who have shown extraordinary promise through their accomplishments and dedication to the industry.
The 2026 honorees will be recognized during the Signature Awards Luncheon, held Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.
“We are proud to recognize this remarkable group of leaders whose achievements continue to shape and strengthen our industry,” said Tracy Pitcher, President and CEO of The WICT Network. “Their innovation, leadership and commitment to excellence set a powerful example for the next generation.”
The WICT Network extends sincere thanks to the top sponsors who make the Signature Awards Luncheon possible, including Comcast NBCUniversal, Premier Sponsor; Charter Communications, Ruby Sponsor; and Paramount, Emerald Sponsor.
A complete list of past honorees is available here.
MEET THE WOMEN OF THE YEAR
About Karen Kovacs
Karen Kovacs serves as President, Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal. In this role, she oversees Enterprise, Marketing and Communication teams, uniting NBCUniversal’s go-to-market strategy and storytelling with a deeper connection to global client solutions and revenue generation.
Over the last six years, Kovacs has worked across Comcast NBCUniversal to develop enterprise-wide partnerships, leading a team that matched the CMOs of the world’s top brands with the opportunities that drove deeper consumer engagement and measurable results for their businesses. Karen has served as an advocate for advertisers and a liaison among clients and NBCU content, IP, and audiences for always-on programming as well as tentpole moments from the Olympic & Paralympic Games, to BravoCon, to SNL50.
About Stephanie Mitchko
Stephanie Mitchko is Chief Technology Officer and Global Head of Media Operations of AMC Networks. In her role, Mitchko is responsible for overseeing the company’s global technology and operations across all business units, including leading information technology, media and broadcast operations and content delivery, cybersecurity, supply chain technologies and products and streaming product operations and customer service.
An industry veteran with over 25 years of experience, Mitchko has a proven track record of successfully driving data-driven operations and business results and industry-leading evolutionary products across the cable, entertainment and advanced advertising industry. Prior to joining AMC Networks, Mitchko was Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Charter Communications and Chief Technology Officer and Chief Operating Officer of CadentTV. Earlier in her career, Mitchko held a number of roles throughout Cablevision, including Senior Vice President of Video Infrastructure Software, overseeing the critical functions of technical product definition, engineering development and architecture around the backend platform for converged consumer media navigation and consumption experience.
About Chandy Ghosh
Chandy Ghosh is the Chief Operating Officer & GM at Sinch Emergency Services, since 2017. She is responsible for mission-critical 9-1-1 solutions governed by the Dept. of Homeland Security & FCC. She was a member of Inteliquent’s executive team that successfully completed a $1.2B exit, with its acquisition by Sinch, a $3B public company. Chandy’s previous telecommunications experience includes EVP of Technology & Operations at Intrado, VP at CenturyLink. Ms. Ghosh is CJIS certified with an MBA and M.S./B.S. degree, Cambridge’s Master of Process certification and Harvard Executive Development training.
Chandy is passionate about serving on Boards. Chandy is Founder, Board Chair of Women-In-911, a successful non-profit which empowers female First Responders across U.S. and Canada, many of whom suffer PTSD. She has held Board positions at Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, HMG Strategy and an Honorary Committee member & Luminary at Colorado Technology Association’s Women-in-Technology.
MEET THE WOMEN TO WATCH
About Mary Pouliopoulos
Mary Pouliopoulos is the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at Spectrum Reach, the advertising sales arm of Charter Communications. She oversees Sales Operations, Optimization and Ad Operations, focusing on delivering consistent, high-quality experiences for Spectrum Reach’s more than 23,000 local, regional and national advertising clients. Mary was promoted from Group Vice President of Sales Operations, Activation and Partnerships in July 2025.
Before joining Spectrum Reach, Mary held various sales leadership roles in the broadcast and cable industries, including Vice President of Sales at KTLA in Los Angeles, where she worked for nine years. She also served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for WorldLink Media and, earlier in her career, directed sales and marketing at KCBS in Los Angeles for six years. She began her career in engineering sales before transitioning to local and national media advertising roles. Mary is a member of The WICT Network. She holds a B.S. in engineering from Northeastern University and an MBA from UCLA.
About Karen Bronzo
Karen Bronzo is Chief Global Marketing Officer, US Networks & News at Warner Bros. Discovery. She assumed this role in July 2023 after previously being named Chief Marketing Officer, US Networks Group, in June 2022. Bronzo leads and directs marketing, brand creative, programming integrations and strategy across the US Networks, as well as marketing strategy and brand creative for CNN globally. She also implements new cross-portfolio initiatives to grow the US Networks’ large audience share and support corporate priorities.
Prior to her promotion, Bronzo was Group Senior Vice President, Marketing, for HGTV and Food Network, two of the biggest and most valuable brands in the industry that ranked as Top 10 cable networks. During her tenure, she led a Food Network brand refresh that earned a Promax Silver honor for Art Direction & Design – Brand Image.
About Pooja Jugran
Pooja Jugran currently serves as Vice President, Strategy and Growth, leading the Cable and Broadband business at Tech Mahindra, where she shapes growth strategy, strengthens executive partnerships, and drives measurable business outcomes across North America. In this role, she steers revenue expansion, sharpens margin discipline, and mobilizes cross-functional teams to capture new market opportunities in an industry undergoing rapid transformation.
In her current role, Pooja excels in bringing together a powerful ecosystem of product companies, technology partners, and telecom companies to co-create solutions that move the industry forward. She views transformation as a shared responsibility. By aligning product innovators, platform providers, and service teams around common business outcomes, she accelerates the development of scalable, future-ready solutions for cable and broadband providers.
About The WICT Network – Empowering Women across Media, Entertainment & Technology
The WICT Network is a global organization advancing leaders and future leaders across media, entertainment, technology, sports, gaming and adjacent industries. Our mission is to elevate the workforce by empowering and educating individuals through high-impact professional development programs, original gender research and a B2B network that supports talent development and advancement. For almost 50 years, The WICT Network has partnered with top companies and key stakeholders to strengthen the leadership pipeline. Founded in 1979 to advance women in cable television, The WICT Network has transformed into a digital powerhouse serving nearly 10,000 individuals through 24 domestic and international chapters, making The WICT Network the largest and oldest professional association of our kind. Charter Communications, Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery and NCTA Education Foundation are The WICT Network’s Strategic Touchstone Partners. To learn more about the organization and our research, visit www.wict.org and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn (@WICTHQ).
###
