Cheryl Valentine, '86 B.S.B. Management

As the Vice President of Rock Promotion at Epic Records, Cheryl Valentine has become a force for bringing bands, such as Korn, Incubus, Mudvayne and Chevelle, into the mainstream. The dream job for any metal head in college, Valentine always knew this was what she wanted.

She started out as the metal director for radio station WWSU. “It was all part of my plan to work in the music business,” said Valentine. Interviewed by phone from her office in New York City, she vividly remembers her first trip to music-industry central.

“I went to New York for a New Music Seminar,” Valentine recalls, “and