Char Beales, BA '73

Char Beales is a leader in the media business having served as president and CEO of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), a business organization serving 90 member media companies, for more than 20 years. She also served as president of the Cable Marketing Co-op which produces campaigns for cable and content companies. For 15 years, she teamed with professors at the Harvard Business School to formulate the curriculum, recruit faculty and select 75 participants for the annual Cable Executive Management Program, a world-class management development experience for high potential cable and media executives in an elite business school environment. Beales was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame in 2009.

Beales currently serves on the boards of CTAM Europe, the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project and the SMPA National Council.  She volunteers with Compass providing pro bono consulting on board governance to DC area nonprofit organizations including Rebuilding Together Alexandria, Greater DC Diaper Bank and the Healthy Babies Project.

Beales is a communications graduate of the George Washington University Columbian College. She chaired SMPA's National Council for six years, served as co-chair for the $1 billion philanthropic Making History: The Campaign for GW and is currently chair of GW's Heritage Society. Earlier in her career, Beales led program development at COMSAT, represented cable networks at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and held marketing, media research and media buying positions at NBC, CBS and J. Walter Thompson advertising.