WOMEN ELITE 2008: WARNER--Digital arena expands

With the right passion for business improvement, women in technology shouldn’t mind those times when they’re the only gals in the room.

Darcy Antonellis, president of Warner Bros. Technical Operations, has long sought out roles in engineering and technology, including serving as the first female technical operations chief at the Olympics in 1998. She says that her enduring drive to make things run smoother helps her hardly notice that she often has few peers of her gender at her side.

“I’ve been in the business for 24 years, and I can’t think of another industry I’d rather be in,” Antonellis says. “I started out in engineering in college, and that set the tone. I was one of a handful of females in what was a predominantly male area of study. But at the end of the day, I’m a big believer that you need the right person for the job.”

Antonellis has long understood the increasing significance of technology to a studio’s ultimate success.

“I think we are in a fascinating time in the business,” she says. “What we’ll be in the industry five years from now, 10 years from now, is to a large degree being shaped today. I think having an understanding of the relationship of where technology is and the vision of where it will be several years from now is mandatory.”

Diane Nelson, president of the studio’s made-for-DVD unit Warner Premiere, is particularly motivated by conquering new challenges in co-launching Motion Comics with Warner Digital Distribution. These episodic Web downloads bring popular graphic novels to life through the addition of movement and sound.

“The great fun and opportunity in the digital arena is that it’s forging completely new creative ground,” says Nelson. “Warner Bros. is aggressively experimenting in this space in order to be poised to lead creatively when we as an industry determine the real opportunity financially. I find the challenge of creating direct-to-consumer content, whether it be direct-to-DVD features or short-form digital content, to be exciting and innovative.”