50FORWARD - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Brand Strategist
- Marketing Leader
Andrea Fant-Hobbs is a dynamic marketing leader with more than 30 years of experience developing and implementing transformational brand strategy, marketing, sales and multimedia advertising strategies and solutions for Fortune 50 companies and major brands.
She began her career as an on-air co-host and producer for the ABC affiliate in Syracuse. She returned to her native New York City to serve as brand manager for Colgate Palmolive, and later worked on campaigns for companies such as Smith Kline Beecham, Greyhound, Bank of America and General Motors. She was the principal architect of the Pontiac G6 integrated promotion on Oprah, for which she won a Cannes Gold Media Lion.
Fant-Hobbs went on to join Verizon, where she served as vice president of brand marketing, media and sponsorships for Verizon Wireless. She was chosen to lead the Joint Innovation Lab, a global joint venture among Verizon, Softbank Mobil of Japan, China Mobil and Vodafone. She also served as vice president of marketing, business solutions group for Verizon Wireless, working with federal customers including the FBI, the Department of Defense and the White House.
She served on the FCC's Digital Learning Taskforce, which sought to assist school systems in creating a mobile learning strategy to improve academic outcomes.
After leaving Verizon to care for her father and help him complete his "bucket list," Fant-Hobbs started BSDI: Brand Strategy Development and Innovation, an independent consultancy. She works with both domestic and international companies.
Fant-Hobbs has been honored by The Network Journal as one of the 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business and by Ebony magazine as an Outstanding Woman in Marketing and Communications.
Brian Edelman is the CEO of Rain, an award-winning creative and technology agency with offices in New York City, Utah and Nicaragua. Rain provides software-based and interactive content solutions that include social, video and mobile applications. The company has created and produced for a variety of brands and marketers, including Walmart, Alibaba, Adobe, Campbell's, National Flood Services, Related, Miami Dolphins, Under Armour and the U.S. Department of State.
Edelman has produced numerous documentaries, including "Unfiltered," about Olympic legend Michael Phelps, as well as "Secrets of the Code," "Si Se Puede" and "18 in '08."
He serves on the Jackie Robinson Foundation selection committee and the board of directors for Run for America, Lono LLC and TicTocStop.org.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor, SSA & Company Retired Group President, Procter & Gamble
Deborah B. Curtis is an accomplished brand management and marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience in marketing for some of the world's most respected brands. At American Express, she leads the company's strategic marketing alliances, engagement platforms and experiential events in the areas of sports, fashion, film, music and theater. She is responsible for the leadership of partnerships with AEG, Live Nation Entertainment, United States Tennis Association, The Bowery Presents, MADE Fashion Week and the National Basketball Association, among others.
As a result of her influential music programs, including American Express Unstaged, Curtis was twice named to Billboard's Women in Music list, which highlights the 50 most powerful executives in the industry.
Job Titles:
- Fellow
- Editor and Managing Editor of the Plain Dealer
- Immediate past President of the Associated Press Media
Debra Adams Simmons spent seven years as editor and managing editor of The Plain Dealer, the Newhouse-owned daily newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio, before joining its parent company, Advance Local, in 2014 as a vice president. She renewed the newspaper's emphasis on watchdog journalism and led its transition to a digitally focused newsroom. At Advance Local, she focused on expanding content across platforms, reaching new audiences and recruiting news staff for the digital age.
Simmons is the immediate past president of the Associated Press Media Editors and serves on the board of directors of the American Society of News Editors and the International Women's Media Foundation. She is a four-time Pulitzer Prize juror and spent five years as the Midwest judge for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
She began her journalism career at the Herald-Journal in Syracuse, and has also worked at the Hartford Courant, the Detroit Free Press, and the Virginian-Pilot, and served as editor and vice president of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Founder
- Co - Founder of Foursquare
Dennis Crowley is the co-founder of Foursquare, a service that combines social networks, location awareness and game mechanics to encourage people to explore the world around them. Previously, he founded Dodgeball, one of the first mobile social services in the U.S., which was acquired by Google in 2005.
Crowley has been named to Fortune's "40 Under 40" list (2010, 2011) and Vanity Fair's "New Establishment" list (2011, 2012), and has won the "Fast Money" bonus round on the TV game show "Family Feud" (2009). He is currently an adjunct professor in New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program.
Fred Silverman is the only individual to have run the programming of all three original television networks-ABC, CBS and NBC.
Silverman also served as vice-president of programs at CBS, where he brought to the small screen such programs as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "All in the Family" and "M*A*S*H."
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Center for Advanced Communications Policy
- Regents' Researcher
Helena Mitchell is a Regents' Researcher, the highest status bestowed by the Board of Regents, which governs the University System of Georgia. She serves as executive director of the Center for Advanced Communications Policy and holds the rank of Principal Research Scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Since 2001, she has also been the principal investigator for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies, which is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, to research, evaluate and develop innovative wireless technologies and products that promote equitable access. She has also spearheaded several emergency communications projects funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to increase access to alerts and warnings on mobile devices.
Mitchell's areas of specialty include accessibility to advanced communications technologies, regulatory and legislative policy, emergency/public safety communications and universal service to vulnerable populations. She previously served as associate chief, strategic communications for the Office of Engineering and Technology; chief of the Emergency Broadcast System; and the first chief of the Emergency Alert System, which was selected as the FCC Exemplary Organization of the Year. Mitchell previously spearheaded telecommunications programs for the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and twice received the prestigious U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal.
Mitchell has worked with firms specializing in international cross-border activities in telecom, education and government; was a public television producer in New York City; and also served as director of the Office of Television and Radio and executive-in-charge of all public affairs and documentary programming at Rutgers University. She earned master's and doctoral degrees from the Newhouse School.
Job Titles:
- Strategic Communications Leader and Adviser
- Vice President, Global Corporate Communications
Jim Weiss - CEO, Chairman, Founder
Jim Weiss is founder, chairman, CEO and owner of W2O Group, a top-ranked independent network of complementary technology-enabled marketing and communications firms. W2O Group has grown from a one-person consultancy in 2001 to an integrated international operation, with nearly $100 million in annual revenue.
Weiss has nearly 30 years of experience in strategic media and marketing communications focused primarily in the healthcare and technology sectors. He has been involved in nearly every aspect of corporate, product and organizational communications. He has been named one of the most important people in the global PR industry and a top innovator in communications, and was named to PR Week's Power List three times. Recently, he was appointed to the board of trustees of the Cancer Research Institute, where he serves on the marketing subcommittee.
Weiss is the founder and sponsor of the W2O Center for Social Commerce at the Newhouse School, which provides students with modern media analytics and digital insight and skills. The center has become a leading academic program aimed at providing students with modern media analytics and digital insight and skills to set them apart from their peers.
Before starting his own firm, Weiss was head of corporate communications and investor relations at medical device startup Heartport. Prior to that, he helped establish the global product marketing communications function at Sanofi. He started his corporate career at Genentech, where he supported the marketing, sales, investor relations, government affairs and communications functions.
Job Titles:
- Co - CEO
- Co - Founder and Co - CEO
Cohen previously served as vice president of Columbia Records' alternative music department.
Keith Kaplan is responsible for expanding Yahoo's revenue by focusing on the growth and development of strategic accounts and global agencies. He fosters deep global agency relationships, develops global partnership programs and addresses agency challenges with innovative ideas and programs.
Kaplan is the former president and chief revenue officer of Interclick, where he oversaw all revenue, sales and marketing activities. The company was acquired by Yahoo in 2011.
Kaplan has 25 years of sales and marketing experience and has worked in media across industries, including sports and entertainment. He has held positions at Cablevision Sports, Paramount Pictures, CBS Outdoor, L90 Interactive, MetroLights Outdoor Media, Maxworldwide Interactive and Adconion Media group.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Gannett Board of Directors
Kramer was previously founder, chairman and CEO of MarketWatch Inc., which he created in 1995 and launched as an LLC with Data Broadcasting Corp. and CBS in 1997. He took it public in 1999, making three acquisitions to build the business along the way before selling the company to Dow Jones in 2005 for $528 million.
Kramer started his career as a journalist, spending 20 years as a reporter and editor, rising to assistant managing editor of The Washington Post and executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner. He won several awards for reporting, including the National Press Club Award, The Associated Press Award for news writing and The Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. His staffs won two Pulitzer Prizes. He was a Pulitzer Prize Juror for two terms.
Marcus Solis has spent nearly two decades covering stories from every corner of the New York metropolitan area as well as national and international locations.
Solis joined Eyewitness News in 1997 as a general assignment reporter and has worked at the station's New Jersey and Westchester bureaus. He was part of the station's Peabody Award-winning coverage of the events of 9/11 and led the station's coverage of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
Solis was among the first New York journalists to report from Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and has covered papal visits in Mexico City, hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the dissident movement in Cuba. He began his career at WFAS AM-FM before moving to WDTV in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He spent four years as an anchor/reporter at New York 1 News.
As a student at the Newhouse School, Solis was a recipient of the Bob Costas Scholarship.
Job Titles:
- Director of Creative Strategy / Time Inc
Melanie Deziel leads ideation for sponsored content programs that span the Time Inc. portfolio of more than 25 U.S.-based publications, including Time, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, People, Essence and more.
Previously, Deziel was the first editor of branded content at The New York Times, where she and her team created in-depth pieces sponsored by advertisers. Their "Women Inmates" piece, created in partnership with Netflix and "Orange Is The New Black," earned a Digiday Award and an OMMA Award for Best Native Advertising Execution, and was among the top 2 percent of all content published on NYTimes.com. Before her role at the Times, she worked in a similar capacity for The Huffington Post.
Her byline has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and several blogs and metropolitan newspapers. She is a member of the Advertising Women of New York's Young Executive Committee, the Advertising Research Foundation's Young Professionals and the American Copy Editors Society.
Melissa Richards-Person has been bringing insights to action and connecting to consumers through food, drinks and the meal experience for 15 years, for leading restaurant brands such as Olive Garden, Starbucks, KFC and Papa John's. Her nearly 25-year marketing and advertising career has focused on harnessing consumer passion and using insight to change behavior and drive business.
Richards-Person joined Papa John's in 2009 as senior director of advertising and promotions, where she oversaw all traditional advertising, media, promotions, calendar planning and sponsorships. She also negotiated the initial sponsorship agreement and renewal with the NFL. Papa John's first Super Bowl sponsorship led to the then-best sales day ever. Richards-Person was named to Ad Age's 2010 "Women to Watch" list.
In her current role, she continues to lead sports marketing efforts for Papa John's internationally, including the NFL in the UK and Latin America; and the China Super League and baseball and "futbol" teams in Korea, India and Latin America. She is responsible for international marketing for more than 1,200 Papa John's restaurants in 37 countries, and has helped shepherd creative, sponsorships, research, PR, social and digital media programs in four continents and five languages.
She began her career as promotion director for several top 25 market radio stations, and later worked in advertising and PR account management at agencies in the Southeast and Midwest.
Michael H. Weber is a screenwriter and producer of various studio and independent films.
With Scott Neustadter, he adapted "The Fault in our Stars," based on the bestselling novel by John Green. In June 2014 it opened as the No. 1 movie in America and went on to gross more than $300 million worldwide.
Weber co-wrote "(500) Days of Summer," which was nominated for Best Feature-Comedy at the Golden Globe Awards and earned him an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Satellite Award for Best Screenplay of the Year.
He also co-wrote and executive produced the critically acclaimed independent film "The Spectacular Now," an official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film was nominated for two Indie Spirit Awards, including Best Screenplay, and the National Board of Review named it a Top Ten Independent Film of 2013.
Weber and Neustadter's other projects include adaptations of "Where'd You Go Bernadette" for Annapurna, "Looking for Alaska" for Paramount and "The Rosie Project" for Sony. Working with Netflix, they are adapting "Our Souls At Night," starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Their adaptation of "The Disaster Artist," for Seth Rogen and James Franco, will begin production later this year.
Job Titles:
- Editorial Director
- Editorial Director for Instagram
Pamela Chen is editorial director for Instagram. Until May 2014, she was a senior photo editor for National Geographic magazine. Previously, she oversaw photography and multimedia production for the Open Society Foundations. She has been a documentary producer for MediaStorm, and a newspaper photojournalist. As a musician, her sound design and compositions appear in broadcast and online publications including The New York Times Magazine, Showtime, Hulu and Wired.
Her work has earned numerous industry accolades, including national News & Documentary Emmy Awards, the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award, Webby awards, and Pictures of the Year International awards in photography, picture editing and multimedia.
Rani Raad - Chief Commercial Officer, EVP
Job Titles:
- Chief Commercial Officer
- Executive Vice President
Rani Raad is responsible for the commercial strategy and vision for an international news and information portfolio that includes CNNI; CNN en Español; and the joint ventures CNN Turk, CNN Chile, CNN Japan, CNN Philippines and CNN Indonesia. He also manages Turner Broadcasting's portfolio of general entertainment and kids channels in Turkey, the Middle East and Africa. He was previously senior vice president and managing director of CNN International Ad Sales and senior vice president for Turkey, the Middle East and Africa.
Raad has a track record of leading teams to drive strong, consistent revenue growth across CNN's commercial business interests. He is the architect of several specialised client-facing services for CNN International, including CNN Ad Sales' TASK Group (Tourism Advertising Solutions & Knowledge), Turner Commercial Productions and the Partner Solutions Group.
In 2013, Raad was listed 71 st in the Arabian Business Power 500 list of the world's most influential Arabs, and in 2015 was named by Arabian Business as the 13 th most powerful Arab under 40. In 2011, the World Economic Forum recognized Raad as a Young Global Leader for his contributions to the media industry. He was also shortlisted for Media Professional of the Year at the prestigious Festival of Media Awards in 2010. He began his career with CNN in New York and is now based in London.
Kirshenbaum has been named to Crain's New York Business "40 Under Forty" list and inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame (2000), and placed second on a list of top U.S. entrepreneurs. He is the author of "Under the Radar," "Closing the Deal," "Madboy" (a memoir) and "Isn't that Rich?" a compilation of essays he wrote for the New York Observer, which was a top ten bestseller on Amazon. His plays have been produced by David Mamet's Atlantic Theater Company, he has also contributed to Us Weekly's "Fashion Police" feature and he has written comedy for the legendary Joan Rivers, among others.
Rob Light - Managing Director
Job Titles:
- Head
- Managing Director
- Partner
Rob Light is head of the music department, a partner and managing director of leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Under his leadership, CAA's music department represents many of the world's most popular and talented musical artists and comedians. Light oversees all of CAA's music agents, providing strategic counsel on concert tours and event bookings worldwide, as well as advising clients on their overall career development.
Following six years at International Creative Management, Light joined CAA in 1984. He was named head of the music department in 1998 and appointed to CAA's management board in 2001. Under his visionary leadership, Light has led the department's expansion into London, which marked the first time a full-service agency established an international presence; Nashville; and New York City, helping CAA become the preeminent talent agency for musicians and comedians in the U.S. and abroad. A market share leader, CAA represents more of the top 100 touring artists than the next four competitors combined, and books more theater and arena comedy acts worldwide than any other agency. CAA's music clients cross every genre, from pop, rock and country, to urban, Latin and EDM, as well as comedy.
Respected throughout the industry for his innovative deal structures and his ability to foresee and adapt to changes in the business environment, Light has led CAA's music department to new heights by implementing an integrated services model that leverages CAA's expansive and deep resources within the department and across the agency. This inter-departmental approach has taken clients into soundtracks, theater, feature films, television, documentaries, sponsorship, endorsement and licensing.
Under his guidance, CAA was the first to hire a full-time marketing team to create and capitalize on strategic opportunities for CAA clients, working with managers, labels and local promoters on ticketing and digital marketing, among other initiatives. CAA also customizes sponsorship opportunities that bridge a brand's marketing objectives and clients' needs to create a unique experience for the fan. Further enhancing an artist's brand and connection with fans, CAA's in-house team of licensing and endorsement experts develop new creative and commercial opportunities across a broad spectrum of business areas, including apparel, footwear, fragrance, beauty and more.
Light and his team have also been instrumental in building and creating many of the most successful themed music festivals in the last decade, including Vans' Warped Tour, the Uproar Festival and the Mayhem Tour.
Light was honored as "Agent of the Year" in trade publications Pollstar and Performance Magazine in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001 and 2003. The CAA music department was awarded "Agency of the Year" by Pollstar for 12 consecutive years, and "Booking Agency of the Year" by Billboard for seven of the past 10 years. In addition, Light was ranked No. 9 in Billboard's 2015 Power 100 feature. He was the 2004 Children's Choice Award recipient from the Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Project, and was honored in 2013 by City of Hope with the Spirit of Life Award.
He serves on the Syracuse University Board of Trustees and is a board member for The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Communities in Schools and The Tiger Woods Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Hyatt Hotels Corporation As Senior Vice President of Global Brands
Sandra Cordova Micek joined Hyatt Hotels Corporation as senior vice president of global brands in April 2015, and is responsible for developing and leading strategies that build and enhance Hyatt's brand portfolio, which spans every segment of the hospitality industry.
Micek brings more than 20 years of brand-building experience to the role, most recently as senior vice president of marketing for USA Today, where she was responsible for strategic marketing, client solutions, creative, trade marketing, events and research.
Prior to USA Today, she was a vice president at NBCUniversal, where she led cross NBCU integrated marketing and ran Women at NBCU. She also spent nearly 10 years in Silicon Valley, holding a variety of leadership positions at Yahoo. Before that, Micek served as a management consultant with Accenture in the U.S. and Europe. Micek began her career at Turner Broadcasting in New York.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Media and Entertainment Executive
Sean Carey is an experienced media and entertainment executive whose 25-year career has included roles in film finance, corporate development, strategic planning, content acquisition and digital entertainment. At Netflix, he is responsible for the acquisition of television series for the expanding global footprint of the Netflix service.
Carey joined Netflix in 2011 to lead content acquisition as the company launched in international territories, including the Nordics, Australia and New Zealand. During this time, Netflix's international subscriber base grew to more than 20 million members. Carey was also responsible for the acquisition of film and television content for the Netflix service in the United States and Canada.
Before joining Netflix, Carey was an executive at Sony Corporation and its subsidiaries, Sony Corporation of America and Sony Pictures Entertainment. As head of strategic content initiatives at Sony Corporation of America, he helped develop and implement partnerships with content providers that helped differentiate Sony devices and services. At Sony Pictures, Carey held several senior executive-level positions in the home entertainment and television divisions, where he was responsible for digital strategy and distribution. Prior to those roles, he led the corporate development group at Sony Pictures, where he was responsible for film financing, strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions.
He was one of the co-founders of the Syracuse University Los Angeles Program.
Shanique Bonelli develops and executes film promotions, brand integration, film festivals and celebrity-relations entertainment marketing initiatives, including digital activation and talent procurement, for one of the world's top five consumer product companies.
Prior to her current role, Bonelli served as Anheuser-Busch InBev's director of global internal communications, developing and managing global strategic communications across six geographical zones. She also led initiatives in executive communications, employee engagement, acquisition and integration execution, change management, corporate branding and digital communications.
Bonelli began her career as a media relations intern at General Electric and was later selected to participate in GE's two-year Communications Leadership Development Program. For nine years, she held several different communications positions at GE and NBCUniversal.
In 2006, Bonelli was selected as one of seven GE employees to participate in Developing Health Globally, a $20 million philanthropic initiative aimed at reducing mortality rates in Africa.
Job Titles:
- Producer
- Tony Award - Winning Producer
Stacey Mindich is a Tony Award-winning producer dedicated to premiering new musical works and nurturing new voices, though it's hard for her to resist a relevant revival and a compelling new American play. Stacey Mindich Productions has brought to the stage such works as "Catch Me If You Can," "The Heiress," "Annie," "The Bridges of Madison County" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
Mindich also commissions and enhances productions for a variety of nonprofit theaters. With her husband, Eric, she established The Stacey and Eric Mindich Fund for Musicals at Lincoln Center Theater to commission and fund new musical works and revivals. She is a founding board member of The Lilly Awards, and is the sponsor of the $25,000 Go Write a Play Award, which funds a new work by a female playwright. She is co-chair of the board of New York City Center.
Prior to her career in theater, Mindich was a journalist and editor, with stints at Town & Country, Newsday, The New York Times, Savvy magazine, Self and Departures.
At Newhouse, Mindich funded the Glavin Magazine Lab in honor of her former professor, William Glavin, who died in 2010. The space, which was dedicated by New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick in 2008, serves as a hub for magazine students. Mindich also created the William A. Glavin Benchmark Trip, which brings magazine seniors to New York City each year to meet with industry leaders and participate in panel discussions about the state of magazines.
Job Titles:
- President
- Executive Vice President of Distribution Sales and Marketing
Tonia O'Connor serves as president of content distribution and corporate business development for Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), reporting directly to the CEO. In this role, O'Connor drives the company's content distribution efforts across all screens, including online and mobile. She leads UCI's efforts to expand its content availability and licensing revenue by securing key partnerships and new business models with both traditional and emerging content distributors.
Under her leadership, the company launched UVideos, the first ever bilingual digital video network, as well as the company's first over the top English-language digital network, Flama, made by and for Hispanic millennials. Additionally, O'Connor works with other key leaders across UCI to coordinate joint ventures and investments to develop new businesses. She also started and sponsors UCI's Women's Leadership Council, an employee resource group organized to help advance women across the company and prepare the next generation of women leaders.
O'Connor joined UCI in January 2008 as executive vice president of distribution sales and marketing. Prior to that, she spent 13 years at Gemstar TV Guide, where she served as executive vice president of distribution. Before that, she served as executive vice president, affiliate sales and marketing and senior vice president of national accounts for TV Guide Affiliate Sales. O'Connor held various positions within affiliate sales and marketing after joining Gemstar TV Guide in 1994, starting first in the cable and satellite publishing division. During her tenure at Gemstar TV Guide, she was responsible for negotiating complex technology and intellectual property agreements as well as programming deals. She also played an integral role in the growth of Gemstar TV Guide's networks and defining the strategy of the company. O'Connor began her career in the telecommunications industry, serving in sales and marketing positions.
O'Connor has received multiple awards and recognitions, including the Liberty Award from the Philadelphia Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications in 2005, the Wonder Women Award from Multichannel News in 2011 and the Power Woman Award from Moves Magazine in 2011. She appeared on CableFax's 50 Most Powerful Women in Cable list in 2005 and 2006, as well as every year from 2008-2014, and on the magazine's Top 100 list annually beginning in 2008. She was also named as one of Cynopsis' Most Intriguing People in 2013 and featured in The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Power 100 list in 2012 and 2013.
She is supportive of industry organizations and serves on the Newhouse Advisory Board and the executive committee of the board for the T. Howard Foundation. She is also a director on the board of El Rey Network, a cable network started by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.