The president of NBC News, who has overseen the ratings growth of that division, the success of its primetime newsmagazine "Dateline" and the start-up of MSNBC (the partnership between NBC and Microsoft), Andrew Lack cut his teeth in TV as a producer with CBS News on such shows as "60 Minutes" and "CBS Reports". After graduating from Boston University, he worked as a producer of TV commercials, for which he won three Clio Awards. Lack joined CBS News in 1976 as a producer for the short-lived "Who's Who" series. The next year, he moved on to "60 Minutes" and from 1978 until 1985, produced "CBS Reports". Among his efforts while with that unit were "Bittersweet Memories: A Vietnam Reunion" (1981), "Guatemala" (1982), and "Central America in Revolt" (1982). He also served as correspondent on "The American-Israeli Connection" in 1982. Lack worked with Bill Moyers during the early 80s, as producer of both "Our Times With Bill Moyers" (1983) and "Crossroads" (1984) which teamed Moyers and Charles Kuralt. He created and served as an executive producer for the CBS newsmagazine "West 57th" (1985-89), a faster-paced, more cutting edge effort than "60 Minutes". Based on its modest success, Lack was moved to other projects for the network: executive producing the gritty "Street Stories" (1992-1993) and creating and executive producing "Face to Face with Connie Chung" from 1990-1991.

Lack joined NBC as president of its news division in April 1993 and has turned "Dateline" into a four-times weekly franchise, with one night even going up against the venerable "60 Minutes". During the 1996-1997 season, with three "Datelines" shows per week, NBC boasted it was the most watched newsmagazine on the air (combining the total audiences for the three nights). However tabulated, the show although not initiated by Lack, became NBC's first successful primetime newsmagazine under his administration. Lack has also guided the growth of NBC News in Asia, and the NBC SuperChannel, the largest general-programming TV service in Europe. In July 1996, Lack added responsibility for MSNBC, with programming that included a nightly newscast hosted by Brian Williams, as well as related Internet services.