Pearlena Igbokwe

Pearlena Igbokwe is Chairman of Universal Studio Group (USG), where she leads four powerhouse television studios: Universal Television, UCP, Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal International Studios that produce over 3,000 hours of programming currently airing or streaming around the globe.

In her capacity as Chairman, Igbokwe and her team support a slate of ambitious storytellers, including Jordan Peele, Sam Esmail, Nahnatchka Khan, Tina Fey, Seth MacFarlane, Julie Plec, Amy Poehler, Tanya Saracho, Michael Schur, David Heyman, Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, Lorne Michaels, Gareth Neame, Debra Martin Chase, Nick Antosca and Dick Wolf, among numerous others.

Igbokwe currently oversees over 100 projects across more than 25 platforms worldwide, including broadcast networks, streamers and numerous cable outlets. Notable USG projects under her purview include Dick Wolf’s enormously successful “Law & Order,” “One Chicago” and “FBI”-branded series, the Emmy® Award-winning “Hacks,” “Girls5eva,” “Bel-Air,” “The Umbrella Academy,” “Dr. Death,” “Ted,” “The Gilded Age,” “We Are Lady Parts,” “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie,” “The Best Man: The Final Chapters,” “Baking It” and longtime NBC favorite “Hollywood Game Night.” Universal Studio Group also houses NBCUniversal Formats.

From 2016-20, Igbokwe was President, Universal Television, where she oversaw creative development, casting and production and led the division to new heights with record production output. Some of her development highlights include “Russian Doll,” “The Good Place,” “New Amsterdam,” “The Bold Type,” “Good Girls” and Dick Wolf’s successful “FBI”-branded series, among numerous other notable projects. In a highly competitive landscape, Igbokwe was able to secure pickups for her projects on every major streaming service, a variety of premium cable outlets and every broadcast network.

Before her studio role, Igbokwe served as Executive Vice President, Drama Programming, for NBC Entertainment, where she developed the top-rated new broadcast dramas for three out of her four years in the role (“The Blacklist,” “Blindspot” and “This Is Us”). Previously, she worked at Showtime for 20 years, where she was involved in developing the pilot and overseeing the first five seasons of “Dexter,” Showtime’s most popular series ever. She also developed and supervised the Emmy Award-winning and critically acclaimed original series “Nurse Jackie” and developed the pilot for “Masters of Sex,” starring Michael Sheen. In addition, she shepherded Tracey Ullman’s “State of the Union,” Damon Wayans’ “The Underground,” Kirstie Alley’s “Fat Actress” and the television adaptation of the hit feature film “Barbershop.” She was also instrumental in the five-season run of the hit Showtime series “Soul Food,” a two-time NAACP Image Award winner for Best Drama Series.

She currently serves on the Television Academy Executive Committee, the Friends Board of the Saban Community Clinic and the Alliance for Children’s Rights Board.

Igbokwe has a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University and an MBA from Columbia University. She was born in Nigeria and resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.