The producers: whether creating groundbreaking movies, developing original TV programs, or making soulful music, these 50 power brokers call the shots in America's most dynamic industries - Business Of Entertainment - Cover Story

Black Enterprise, Dec, 2002 by Derek T. Dingle, Christina Morgan, Shani Smothers, Hyacinth Carbon, Tykisha Lundy, Sophia Rose, Siobhan Benet, Sonja Brown, Chana Garcia

Big Break: During her tenure at ABC, Fleary developed several top-rated sitcoms, including Roseanne and Home Improvement.

KELLY GOODE

Title: Senior Vice President of Programming, Lifetime Television

Age: 41

Education: B.A., Harvard University

Why She's Powerful: Goode is responsible for advancing Lifetime's original series, including primetime dramas, select daytime and reality series, and comedy development. She helped develop and launch Strong Medicine, The Division, Any Day Now, and For the People.

Career Track: Prior to joining Lifetime, Goode held a variety of positions at CBS, including vice president, series development and senior director, comedy development. During her tenure at CBS she developed and supervised Touched by an Angel, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and Under One Roof.

Big Break: Goode was hired as vice president of programs for CBS productions in the mid 1990s.

FELICIA D. HENDERSON

Title: Executive Producer, Soul Food for TV (Showtime Network)

Age: 36

Education: B.A., UCLA; M.F.A., UCLA; M.B.A., University of Georgia

Why She's Powerful: Henderson's prowess has enabled her to achieve something unheard of in television: a 40-episode pickup for her Showtime series Soul Food, proving the viability of an African American family drama. Moreover, a three-year deal with Paramount to develop comedies and dramas, as well as a three-picture deal with Fox Searchlight Pictures to produce feature films, will give Henderson the chance to call the shots on other vehicles.

Career Track: Henderson started her career on Wall Street. She changed course when she was awarded the NBC National Fellowship. Henderson's career in television included writing for Family Matters and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, as well as producing Moesha and Sister, Sister.

ANDREW HORNE

Title: Vice President, Drama Development Paramount Network Television

Age: 43

Education: B.S., Vassar College

Why He's Powerful: Horne is responsible for developing one-hour dramas for network and cable television. One of the few black Hollywood executives who can influence the green-lighting process, Horne's job is to identify and create the next big franchise for Paramount such as Jag, Ed, and Enterprise.

Career Track: With an eye for the next audience-grabbing project, Horne has become a major player over the last decade. He obtained the rights to Blade, a Marvel Comics property about a black vampire hunter, which he helped develop and produce as a vehicle for action star Wesley Snipes. Horne also developed the Emmy Award-winning HBO animated series Spawn, which was also based on a successful comic book. Prior to joining Paramount in 2000, he served as vice president for Edmonds Entertainment, where he was responsible for comedy and drama development, including converting the motion picture Soul Food into a weekly series on the Showtime cable network.

Big Break: From 1996 to 1998, he served as vice president of current programs for Warner Bros. Television.

PEARLENA IGBOKWE

Title: Vice President, Original Programming, Showtime