William (Billy) M. Campbell III was the president of Discovery Networks U.S. from May 2002 to 2007, in this role he was responsible for all aspects of the domestic television division, including programming, production, affiliate sales and marketing, advertising sales, consumer marketing, research, business development and communications.
Among his most recent achievements, Campbell led efforts to recruit Ted Koppel to the Discovery Channel for a pioneering multiyear deal in which Koppel, a 42-year veteran of network broadcasting serves as managing editor for the network and will host and produce long-form programming exclusively for the Discovery Channel.
The channel has also recently launched a host of programming that is breaking ground in new genres and formats, such as Deadliest Catch and Dirty Jobs.
Prior to joining ABC he worked as an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions department of Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. in New York.
[1] On January 15, 2009, Billy Campbell was seated in the second-to-last row of US Airways Flight 1549, which was ditched in New York's Hudson River with no casualties.