37. Marion Edwards

Edwards, who has been at Fox since 1992, still remembers the late exec who proclaimed "The Simpsons" had zero commercial potential. The lesson taught her not to feign certainty, and these days that goes double for the world of new media. "I've never seen a period of experimentation like we're in now," she says. "You might as well be excited, because the alternative is to find something else to do." In 2008, she launched a partnership with Fox's international broadcast partners that next year will allow the company to redevelop unaired pilots and canceled shows like "Kitchen Confidential" for foreign markets, as well as plucking gems from their development slates.