Focus. It’s the key word in describing Lisa Richardson’s journey.
Focus is what led her from high-school tennis star to college to law school to executive VP and associate general counsel at Fox.
And focus remains the key to her success. Her current role is a mix of intense attention to detail and a lot of hard work. The same can be said for her tennis game.
Richardson oversees the legal components of multiplatform content distribution for all of the company’s brands. She also manages all legal aspects of distribution for the Fox-affiliated television stations in more than 200 markets.
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As a Los Angeles native, Richardson always knew she wanted to work within the entertainment industry. After graduating from USC Gould School of Law, she worked at Latham & Watkins.
She interviewed at Fox in 2003. And while the stars didn’t align for that specific role, she was recommended to the team at Gemstar-TV Guide International, which was part of then-Fox parent News Corp. at the time.
“I was at Gemstar for two years,” Richardson said. “I started with distribution work. It was a steep learning curve and I really enjoyed it.”
When a position in distribution opened up at Fox in 2005, Richardson was thrilled to join the team.
“It’s complex work,” she said. “You need a lot of attention to detail.”
That brings us, once again, back to the concept of focus.
Despite Richardson’s attention to her own career, she’s equally focused on the success of others. She spent much of an interview about her praising her team and the teams she works with at Fox. Others at Fox have noticed Richardson’s commitment.
“Lisa is a warm person and cares very much about her team,” Fox executive VP, network distribution and marketing Jessica Fang said. “She fosters good camaraderie.”
Lisa is a warm person and cares very much about her team. She fosters good camaraderie.”
— Jessica Fang, Fox Corp.
Richardson described her team as collaborative. She said it’s the key to staying on top of trends in this constantly evolving business — along with reading the trades, of course. Meeting regularly allows the group to discuss what they’re facing and the best way to tackle it.
“When I first started, we were dealing with traditional cable companies and launching a network every year,” she said. “Now it’s FAST (free ad-supported TV) channels, virtual MVPDs and deals with CE (consumer electronics) manufacturers. Our content is distributed in so many ways and my team is the hub for all of that.”
In the early part of her career, Richardson said, she was often the only woman in the room negotiating deals. She felt she wasn’t always taken seriously as a female junior attorney, so she went out of her way to be more prepared than everyone else.
Now that Richardson and her team have conducted multibillion-dollar deals, she’s solidified her reputation and proved she’s a leader. She’s now using that focus to help others rise.
“I make a huge effort to mentor my team and that’s something I pride myself on,” she said.
The Walt Disney Co. announced on December 14, 2017, that it would acquire 21st Century Fox. The deal was completed on March 20, 2019. After Fox merged with Disney, Richardson became head of the department and her team chose to stay with her. She said that many of these colleagues have now worked with her for 15 years.
All Work, No Play? Not for This Ace
With an incredibly demanding career, a husband and two children, it may seem impossible to carve out personal time once the daily routine takes hold. During the COVID-19 pandemic, though, Richardson had a bit more flexibility in her schedule and returned to her teenage passion for tennis.
“I love so much the amount of focus it takes when I’m playing,” Richardson said. “My focus has to be 100% on tennis. It’s the only time my mind isn’t racing about work, my kids, my to-do list.”
Richardson now competes regularly on a number of U.S. Tennis Association teams and said she’s playing better now than in her teen years.
Stiff competition brings out her best.
“Lisa is as conscientious as anyone I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Fox president of operations and distribution Michael Biard said. “She can retain a courteous and composed demeanor under the most extreme circumstances and she’s a fierce competitor. Her ability to balance these seemingly opposing qualities makes her a formidable opponent in any arena.”
