Fates & Fortunes | February 2024

ACA CONNECTS
Independent cable trade group ACA Connects has added Zamir Ahmed as VP, external affairs. Ahmed comes from the National Association of Broadcasters, where he worked in media relations for 13 years, departing as VP of communications.

ACA CONNECTS
ACA Connects also tapped Olivia Shields as VP, public affairs and communications. Most recently communications director for the House Energy & Commerce Committee, she was a top communications adviser to House Speaker John Boehner and the House Republican Conference.

ACA CONNECTS
Finally, ACA Connects hired Max Staloff as of regulatory affairs, working with chief regulatory counsel Brian Hurley. Most recently a telecom attorney in private practice, he began his career with the Federal Communications Commission, including in the agency’s Office of General Counsel.

CBS STATIONS
Sahand Sepehrnia was elevated to executive VP, digital content strategy and business at CBS News, Stations, Entertainment and Sports. Sephernia, who joined the network in February of 2022, has been senior VP of streaming for CBS Stations and its 14 local streaming channels.

CBS STATIONS
Jamie Reysen was promoted to senior VP, digital editorial, growth & engagement at CBS News and Stations. Most recently senior VP of CBSNews.com and growth and engagement, she will oversee a new unified digital editorial operation spanning local and national coverage.

COMCAST
Comcast named Mike McArdle as senior VP of its South Region, comprising Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. He had been senior VP of National Customer Care for Customer Experience Strategy and Operations.

COMCAST
Chris Winton was named senior VP, human resources in Comcast’s Central Division, based in Atlanta and comprising cable systems in 12 states. He joins from FedEx, where he ended a 25-year run with the delivery service as chief people officer.

EXTREME REACH
Extreme Reach has named Jo Kinsella as global president of SourceXR, its video creative-asset delivery platform. She had been president of ad delivery and measurement firm Innovid and was co-founder of TVSquared, which was acquired by Innovid.

GRAY TV
Gray Television promoted Liz Knight to general manager of WALB-WGCW Albany, Georgia. Knight had been general sales manager of WALB, an NBC affiliate, WGCW, a The CW station, and WTSG, a Telemundo affiliate, for the past five years.

LG AD SOLUTIONS
Mike Brooks has joined LG Ad Solutions as global head of business development and partnerships. He comes from Verve Group, where he was chief operating officer managing global teams for supply-side platforms Smaato and Pubnative.

NIELSEN
Nielsen has named Carole Robinson as chief communications officer, responsible for all global communications. She joins the firm from digital media company BuzzFeed, where she had worked as as chief communications officer.

OPENX
Omnichannel supply-side platform OpenX Technologies has tapped Nick Cuniffe as VP of product, CTV, a new role acting as the company’s connected TV product lead following the recent launch of TV by OpenX. He had been head of product at Airfind.

SCRIPPS
E.W. Scripps said it named Lisa Moore as station manager of KSBY San
Luis Obispo, California. Moore has been senior director of sales at KSBY since 2022 and will continue to lead the NBC affiliate’s sales efforts as well as help with day-to-day operations.

SHOWSEEKER
Rose Schneider has joined cloud-based TV advertising order system ShowSeeker as VP of technical operations. The 20-year industry veteran comes from OnMedia, where she was senior director of ad sales operations leading the IT, client services and traffic teams.

SINCLAIR
Sinclair promoted Ryan Moore to senior VP and chief revenue officer, with responsibility for the group’s TV stations, networks  and its marketing technology and managed services company. He was senior VP and chief revenue officer of sports and digital.

VIDEOAMP
Ad tech firm VideoAmp has added Peter Bradbury as chief commercial and growth officer, a new role tasked with leading all client, business development and commercial transformation initiatives. He had been chief commercial officer at Nielsen.

VIZRT
Marco Kraak was named general manager, global channel at real-time graphics and live productions solutions provider Vizrt. The ex-Cisco Systems executive most recently worked at Suse, where he led the channel remit for AIPAC, EMEA and China.

WISH
WISH Indianapolis owner Circle City Broadcasting has named Taylor Bassett as its first senior executive producer, responsible for “infotainment” storytelling across WISH News 8 broadcasts. She was executive producer of afternoon show All Indiana.

Briefly Noted …

Scott Wilder was elevated to executive VP, production and operations at Fox News Media. He was VP of field operations. … NBC News named Paul Ryan executive producer of newsmagazine Dateline. He had been senior producer and creative director. … Bernie Ritter was named news director at Nexstar Media Group’s WRIC Richmond, Virginia. He comes from WNCT Greenville, North Carolina, where he was news director. … Ad-tech firm Simulmedia has named founder and CEO Dave Morgan as executive chairman as part of a new shared leadership structure across the company. Also, chief operating officer Jon Werther was elevated to CEO. … Patrick McFadden has joined Sinclair as senior VP for global public policy and communications. He was senior VP and deputy general counsel at the National Association of Broadcasters.