JCPenney elects Wonya Lucas to its board of directors

J. C. Penney Company has announced the election of Wonya Lucas, President and CEO of Public Broadcasting Atlanta, to its board of directors. The company said, highly regarded for her mass communications and broadcasting leadership, Lucas has vast knowledge in how media strategy, digital content, marketing and distribution drive consumer behaviour.

"Wonya has an impressive background that spans brand management and corporate and media strategy, and has been responsible for creating some of television's most highly acclaimed viewer programming," said Marvin R. Ellison, Chairman and CEO of JCPenney in a press release, adding, "Her distinguished background brings tremendous value to our board as JCPenney continues to build mindshare in a media landscape saturated with news and information."

Wonya Lucas joins JCPenney board

Before her leadership position with Public Broadcasting Atlanta, which includes NPR station WABE, and Atlanta's PBS station, PBA, Lucas was president and chief executive officer for TV One, where she was responsible for all strategic decisions and daily operations.

"What drew me to the JCPenney board is the company's sense of community and the trust it has earned from millions of families who count on JCPenney for quality and value. I feel honoured to be supporting the company at a time when building brand relevance and competitive differentiation are more important than ever," added Lucas.

Prior to joining TV One, Lucas held several positions at Discovery Communications, including executive vice president and chief operating officer for Discovery Channel and Science Channel and global chief marketing officer with responsibility for marketing in 210 countries and over 130 networks. While at Discovery, Lucas helped launch Investigation Discovery (ID), HUB and OWN networks.

Prior to joining Discovery Communications in 2008, Lucas served as general and manager and executive vice president of The Weather Channel Networks, where she was responsible for daily operations, programming development, corporate strategy and development, strategic marketing for The Weather Channel and weather.com.

Before joining The Weather Channel in 2002 as executive vice president of marketing, Lucas held several positions at Turner Broadcasting, including senior vice president of strategic marketing for cnn.com and CNN Networks Worldwide, vice president of business operations and network development for Turner Entertainment and vice president of entertainment marketing for TNT. Her other experience includes brand management roles for The Coca-Cola Company and The Clorox Company.

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