A Better Fit At Liz Claiborne?

Pamela Thomas-Graham has always been a woman of bold ambition. After collecting multiple degrees from Harvard University and becoming the first black woman to make partner at McKinsey & Co., Thomas-Graham tapped a connection on the General Electric Co. (GE ) board to meet with Chairman Jack Welch in 1999. Wowed by the articulate young consultant who wrote mystery novels on the side, Welch called NBC chief Bob Wright, who offered Thomas-Graham a shot to head the fledgling Web site for CNBC.

Thus began a tumultuous stint that saw Thomas-Graham rise in 2001 to become chief executive of CNBC -- as well as a media star who graced magazine covers and won awards -- during a period when ratings plunged more than 60%. While the business news network stayed profitable, insiders say that was largely due to locked-in cable fees and an elite if shrinking audience that kept ad dollars flowing. Thomas-Graham's main task was to invigorate the lineup, especially in prime time. Her offerings -- starring such celebrities as John McEnroe, Tina Brown, and Dennis Miller -- ultimately failed. Several highly placed insiders contacted by BusinessWeek felt that she didn't spend enough time at headquarters and seemed more focused on her image than on the health of the network at a time when it desperately needed more strategic vision from the top. Others, including Thomas-Graham herself, argue that she managed to make money and increase profit margins amid the dot-com bust and an atmosphere of corporate scandal that soured the taste for business news. Still, when she stopped handling daily operations to become the network's chairman in February, insiders assumed she would soon move on.