Blank is the chairman and CEO of Showtime, the "other" pay-cable channel.

After getting his MBA from Baruch, Queens native Blank worked in the marketing department at Phillip Morris and as a brand manager at American Express before finally joining a nascent HBO in 1976. He stayed at the pay cabler for over a decade, ultimately rising to chief of consumer marketing, before decamping to rival Showtime in 1988. Three years later, Blank got bumped up to president and COO; in 1995, he was named CEO, replacing the late Tony Cox. Today Blank's domain includes both Showtime and its significantly smaller sister networks, the Movie Channel and Flix. He reports to CBS head Les Moonves.

For more than a decade, Showtime has been fighting tooth-and-nail to catch up to HBO. When the Time Warner-owned cable network plunged into original programming in the late '90s with The Sopranos and Sex and the City, Blank and Showtime followed suit, albeit with less stellar results. But while the network has yet to produce a Game of Thrones-grade hit, its programming slate, is catching up with edgy fare like David Duchovny's smutty Californication, Mary Louise Parker-showcase Weeds,, Dexter, Nurse Jackie, and Shameless. [Image via Getty]