Speaker biographies
Chicago Marriott Downtown - Magnificent Mile - April 21-23, 2008
Shahzad Abbas
Director of Online Marketing
TVGuide.com
Shahzad Abbas is an internet marketing professional with nearly ten years of experiencing developing and marketing web sites. As Director of Online Marketing for TVGuide.com, Shahzad is responsible for developing and implementing TV Guide Online's community, social networking, web analytics and search marketing strategies.
Robert Acquaye
Circulation Director
Johnson Publishing Company Inc.
Robert S. Acquaye is the circulation director for Johnson Publishing Company (JPC), parent company of EBONY and JET magazines. Acquaye oversees the day-to-day circulation operations for both publications while developing creative strategies for subscription growth and retention. For nearly a decade, he held the position of vice president and director of circulation for Black Enterprise magazine.
Gloria Adams
Senior Vice President, Audience Development and Book Publishing
PennWell
Gloria Adams is senior vice president audience development and book publishing for PennWell publishing with responsibility for the circulation, list rental and book publishing operations for all of PennWell. Gloria has been an active member of the circulation, distribution and business-to-business publishing community for more than 25 years. She is a current member of the ABM Audience Development Committee and the BPA Audience Development Advisory Committee, has served on the ABC Circulation Managers Advisory Committee, the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, and various other postal, distribution and circulation committees.
Kenneth Alovis
Chairman and CEO
Arkteleservices Inc.
Kenneth Alovis is Chairman and CEO of Ark Teleservices Inc. Under his leadership he is responsible for growing Ark Teleservices into one of the most successful and respected publisher specific call centers in the industry. Ken's knowledge of advanced system telephony and digital recording has lead the way in connecting three call centers and hundreds of agents.
Kathy Andrew
Head of Subscriptions and Events Marketing
LatinFinance
Kathy Andrew is head of subscriptions and events marketing for LatinFinance. Her main responsibility is driving subscriptions and event delegates by applying targeted marketing initiatives to differing customs/cultures. She was exclusively featured in Folio magazine in September 2006 for a Public Relations campaign that resulted in a 206% increase in Web-based subscriptions. She was also a gold winner in the category of Best Use of An Integrated Media Campaign at the Circulation Management Circulation Innovation Annual Awards.
Jay Annis
Sr. Single Copy Sales Manager, The Taunton Press
PresidentJannis Publishing & Associates
A 32 year veteran of the magazine industry, Jay Annis is the Sr. Single Copy Sales Manager for The Taunton Press and President of Jannis Publishing and Associates, a magazine consulting firm. He has worked with magazine publishers whose circulations range from under 10,000 to over 500, 000. Jay has assisted with the launches of over 20 magazines including; MacUser, Fine Cooking, Inspired House, and Weddingbells.
Jennifer Armor
Audit Manager
Verified Audit Circulation
Jennifer Armor is the Audit Manager for Verified Audit Circulation. Prior to joining Verified Audit, she was Circulation Director for Diabetes Health, a national magazine. Ms. Armor is responsible for overseeing all audits for the company as well as producing its monthly e-newsletter VIEWPOINT. Her articles about the trends and issues facing the publishing industry have appeared in numerous publications, including: Circulation Management, The Circulator, Folio as well as on blogs, social networking sites and in consumer publications.
Johnna Ayres
Consumer Marketing Director
Forbes Media LLC
Johnna Ayres is a 14 year direct marketing professional who began her career in customer acquisition and card member services for major banking companies. Johnna moved to Time Consumer Marketing in 1999, where she gained expertise across all subscription marketing channels while working on all four of Time Inc.'s weekly magazines: PEOPLE, SI, TIME and EW. Since November 2007, Johnna left Time Inc. to expand marketing activities at Forbes Media Inc. as Consumer Marketing Director.
Bill Baird
President
Baird Direct Marketing
Bill Baird is a leading industry advisor on customer revenue enhancement strategies and subscription marketing. His company provides marketing strategy, analysis and development for numerous clients such as Time Warner, Ziff Davis Media, The Motley Fool and others. They also produce the family of SPARK™ products, including special reports, member forums and online tools.
David Ball
Vice President, Consumer Marketing
Meredith Corporation
David Ball is vice president of consumer marketing at Meredith Corporation, publisher of Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle and 18 other subscription magazines. He has been in the magazine circulation business for 25 years working for publishers such as Forbes, PC World and Primedia.
Jeff Bebee
Marketing Director, Magazines
American Institute of Physics
Jeff is the marketing director of three magazines for the American Institute of Physics. For 25 years he has directed marketing efforts for paid, controlled, and association publications with circulations from 5k to 200k. He also provides marketing and exhibit support for print and online advertising.
Barbara Besser
Group Circulation Director
Active Interest Media
After more than seven years as circulation director of Yoga Journal, Barbara was recently promoted to group circulation director for Active Interest Media, who bought Yoga Journal in September, 2006. Barbara is currently responsible for five titles, including recently acquired Backpacker magazine. Barbara began working at Yoga Journal as circulation director in March 1999 and has had circulation experience working at Time Inc's Parenting, IDG's MacWorld, Acoustic Guitar, Strings, and Sierra magazine.
Denise Boba
VP, Circulation
Country Sampler
Denise Boba has been with Country Sampler magazine since 1988. During this time she has been in marketing and circulation positions. She has held the title of publisher for some of thec ompany's specialty craft titles in the 1990s. Her current title is VP of circulation, where she is responsible for newsstand and subscription revenues for Country Sampler (consumer magazine) and Country Business (trade magazine) as well as any specialty or one shot titles such as this year's Country Sampler Home Tours. Prior to Country Sampler, she served in marketing positions in advertising and direct mail agencies. She also worked in the group insurance and medical publishing industry early in her career.
John Boncheff
Director, Maharishi Academy of Total Knowledge
Associate, Publishers Total Sales Services
Dr. John Boncheff has been teaching about philosophy, consciousness, and internet marketing for many years. He received his PhD in the Philosophy of Consciousness from MERU in Switzerland. At Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, where he taught on religion and philosophy, his students commented: “the perfect teacher. Teaches what you really need to know, and makes it interesting and fun.” “Best teacher I’ve had yet.” “Fun, helpful—I loved this professor!” “Hilarious and helpful.” “Fantastic, hilarious, teaches how to ‘think intelligently.’” John Boncheff is the director of the Maharishi Academy of Total Knowledge and an associate of Publishers Total Sales Services.
Nicole Bowman
President
Bowman Circulation Marketing
Nicole Bowman, President of Bowman Circulation Marketing, has over 15 years of experience in consumer marketing. Nicole has been the Circulation Director for over 20 consumer magazines and has successfully launched 10 consumer magazines including OK! and The Week. Nicole is the past Chairman of the Fulfillment Management Association and the Direct Marketing Association Circulation Council.
Joan Braunstein
Circulation Director
Desert Publications, Inc.
Joan Braunstein is currently the circulation director for Desert Publications, Inc. which publishes Palm Springs Life and Pebble Beach the Magazine. She overseas all circulation and distribution for 20+ publications and is responsible for sales and fulfillment of their numerous ancillary products - such as the Emmy Award winning documentary - Voices of the Monument. Joan has enjoyed a 13+ years circulation career working with publishers such as - Business 2.0, Red Herring, and EMAP (Peterson Publishing) just to name a few.
Sue Burns
Director of Circulation
Summit Business Media
Sue is currently the Director of Circulation overseeing circulation promotion and marketing, fulfillment, on-line audience development, reader service and list rental for several SBM business groups. She has held a variety of circulation management positions over the past 30 years for business-to-business publishers such as Penton Media, Huebcore Communications, Adams Trade Press, Pfingsten Publishing and most recently, Summit Business Media.
Lorelei Calvert
Senior Vice President, General Manager
Texas Monthly
Lorelei Calvert joined TEXAS MONTHLY in 1987 and is responsible for consumer marketing, custom publishing, production, marketing, research, technology, and new media as well as being on TEXAS MONTHLY’s senior management team overseeing the operations of the company. She was also instrumental in the launch of the magazine’s Web site, texasmonthly.com, and plays a key role in its ongoing development. Her other responsibilities include the circulation management of 7 Emmis Publishing titles: Los Angeles Magazine, Atlanta Magazine, Orange Coast magazine, Indianapolis Monthly, Tu Ciudad Los Angeles and Cincinnati magazine. Before joining TEXAS MONTHLY, she worked as circulation manager for Bon Appétit and as a circulation analyst for Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, and Home. She is on the Board of Directors for the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Nicholas S. Cavnar
VP Circulation and Database Development
Hanley Wood
Nick Cavnar is vice president of Circulation and Database Development for Hanley Wood, LLC, the leading business information supplier in the residential and commercial construction industry. He was previously vice president, Circulation for Intertec Publishing, a Primedia division, and has also held positions at Crain Communications, International Thomson, and Cahners Publishing. He has served on both the Government Affairs Committee and the Circulation Committee for American Business Media, the Audience Development Advisory Committee for BPA International, and the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee of the US Postal Service.
David Chivers
Director, Online Marketing
Dow Jones & Company
David Chivers is Director of Online Marketing for Dow Jones and is responsible for developing marketing plans and programs for WSJ.com and Barrons.com. In addition to traditional direct marketing skills, David has extensive online marketing experience, including; viral marketing, audience development, strategic partnerships, cross-selling and online branding.
Robert Cohn
Consumer Marketing Director
Bonnier Corporation
Bob Cohn is Consumer Marketing Director for Bonnier Corporation's Science, Outdoor, and Mountain Sports titles, including Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Popular Science, Science Illustrated, SKI, and Skiing. Prior to joining Bonnier in March 2007, he served as an independent publishing consultant for Bonnier, Active Interest Media, the Economist, PINK magazine, and other companies, specializing in acquisitions, start-ups, due diligence, and consumer marketing strategies.
Frank Cutitta
General Manager
IDG Connect
Frank Cutitta has fashioned a more than 30 year career in media, advertising, and international business. He returned to IDG in February 2007 to spearhead the launch of IDG Connect, an international lead generation service featuring IDG's 5.5 million record database and global content assets. He was previously the CEO and founder of The Center for Global Branding (CGB), a research, training and consulting company specializing in the cross cultural aspects of branding consumer and business-to-business. Prior to launching the CGB, Cutitta served as chief executive officer of the International Advertising Association (IAA). With 75 chapters and 4000 members in 90 countries, the IAA is the world's largest organization representing advertisers, ad agencies, media companies, research companies, and academic institutions specializing in branding across borders. Before the IAA appointment, Cutitta served for nearly 20 years in corporate management capacities at IDG, becoming senior vice president of international at the world's largest technology media, research, and event company.
Jamie Darnow
Chief Marketing Officer
Consumer Reports
As CMO, Jamie is responsible for Integrated Marketing Strategy for CR's Information products. Under Jamie's leadership, Consumer Reports Online has surpassed 3MM paid customers while CR magazine continues grow its circulation and profit margin without no advertising. Jamie has 20 years of marketing experience holding senior positions at Consumer Reports, Citicorp, Readers Digest and Boardroom Inc.
Nancy David
Online, Circulation and Operations Director
eSchool News
Nancy started her career in the software industry, working as the Production Director at Manugistics and Qualitas. She moved into the publishing industry in 1991 with Phillips publishing and Opticom Corp. Since 1998, Nancy has been the online, circulation and operations director at eSchool News in Bethesda, Maryland. Nancy is responsible for the monthly circulation of over 80,000; managing the 1.5 millions visits per month to the eSchoolNews.com website and the over 200,000 unique registered members.
Andrew Degenholtz
President
ValueMags
Andrew Degenholtz is president of ValueMags, a magazine subscription agency that brings qualified paid subscribers to publishers via direct sales and partnership programs. The company has offices in Chicago and New York. Prior to founding ValueMags, Mr. Degenholtz worked for more than five years as director of distribution and BPA audit compliance for a national college magazine with 1,000,000 public place circulation. He also acquired key national advertisers for the publication. In 2006, Mr. Degenholtz was invited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations to join its Magazine Fulfillment and Agent Committee, on which he now serves.
Kris Donnelly
Greenspun Media Group
Vice President of Circulation
Kris Donnelly joined Greenspun Media Group (GMG) in September 2005 as vice president of circulation. Donnelly oversees the circulation department for seven Las Vegas-based GMG titles and 20 Niche Media LLC titles, GMG's luxury publication subsidiary. With more than 15 years of experience, Donnelly has significant knowledge in newsstand and partner marketing. Prior to joining GMG, she was corporate circulation director for Affinity Group, Inc. Donnelly has held marketing positions with the Cole Sewell Corporation, Market Research Associates, and the HomeStyles Publishing/Homestore.com companies.
Kristi Dougherty
Subscription & Merchandise Manager, Action Pursuit Group
Apprise Media, LLC
Kristi Dougherty is the subscription & merchandise manager for Action Pursuit Group, a division of Apprise Media, LLC. She has worked at Neodata, Imagine Media, Werner Publishing and BowTie. She has extensive experience in small publisher circulation and fulfillment management, and survived 27 magazine conversions in the last three years.
Michelle Feit
President
ePostDirect
Michelle Feit is President of ePostDirect. Michelle applied her 24 years of expertise in direct marketing, database marketing, data analysis, modeling, prediction, profiling, and Internet technology to develop email marketing techniques that have become the standard in today's email industry. She specializes in circulation, publishing, finance, technology, education, mail order, industrial and healthcare marketing.
Ken Frawley
Vice President, Information Management
Time Inc.
Ken joined Time Inc. in 1996 as marketing manager with People Magazine. Since then he has held a number of positions, including business development director with Fortune and director of the Marketing Analysis Group. From 1999 to 2001, Ken accepted senior management titles at two Internet/software firms. He was promoted to his current post in 2003. Ken holds an MBA from Rutgers University, where he serves on the advisory board of the Business School's Center for Supply Chain Management.
Barry Green
Vice President, Director of Circulation and Audience Marketing
Hearst Business Media
Green is VP, Director of Circulation and Audience Marketing at Hearst Business Media, where he is currently in charge of the circulation promotion, marketing, on-line audience development and maintenance, postal and distribution, audit documentation, statistics, list rental, database operations, privacy issues, reader service, and digital versions for 5 audited publications, 5 unaudited publications, and two informational Web sites. He has been Chair of the ABM Circulation Committee and President of NTCFI. He has won the NTCFI's ARV Award, one of the first Circulation Excellence Awards, and the ABM's Chairman's Award.
Patrick Hainault
Consumer Marketing Director
Mansueto Ventures
Patrick Hainault is consumer marketing director at Mansueto Ventures, overseeing circulation and consumer marketing for Inc. and Fast Company magazines. He joined Mansueto soon after its inception in June 20005. Under his leadership, Inc. and Fast Company have been regular top-15 fastest growing titles at newsstand.
Gregg Hano
Group Publisher
Popular Science Magazine
Gregg Hano is the Group Publisher of Bonnier Corporation's PopSci Media Group, which includes Popular Science magazine, PopSci.com, and Science Illustrated. Hano was re-appointed to the post of Group Publisher in August 2006, after a six-month stint at Teen People. By the time he assumed the role of Publisher in 2003, Gregg Hano was no stranger to Popular Science. He served as Director of Sales and Marketing for the magazine from 2001-2003, and was a sales representative for Popular Science.
Glenn Hansen
President and CEO
BPA Worldwide
Glenn J. Hansen has been President and CEO of BPA Worldwide since August 1999 having started his career as an auditor in January 1980. In 1995 he developed the process for verifying web site traffic which has been used for more than 2,000 audits to date. He is an active member of the IAB Audience Measurement Working Group and the Interstandards steering committee for web measurement in the Middle East.
Kathy Henry
Group Director for Strategic Community and Audience Development
United Business Media LLC
Kathy Henry is group director for strategic community and audience development for the TechInsights and Think Services divisions of United Business Media LLC. Kathy has more than 20 years' circulation, distribution, and fulfillment experience in paid, controlled, and custom publishing, for both b-to-b and consumer media companies, including Parenting and Sunset Magazine. She is currently program sponsor for UBM LLC's member data services initiative, which incorporates audiences across all product channels.
Heather Holmes
Circulation Director
Technology Review
Heather Holmes is the circulation director at Technology Review. Before joining MIT, she was director of circulation and fulfillment for Jewish Family & Life, a multimedia enterprise in Newton, MA. She has held circulation and fulfillment-director positions at IDG's ComputerWorld and IDG Newsletters. She also spent 14 years at the Christian Science Publishing Society as the senior fulfillment manager, managing more than 70 domestic and international titles as well as the Pulitzer Prize-winning Christian Science Monitor.
Renee Jordan
General Manager
Tasteofhome.com
Renee Jordan is the general manager for Tasteofhome.com, part of the Food & Entertaining Affinity at the Reader's Digest Association, responsible for business, content, audience and community development for the Taste of Home magazine website. She has over 20 years experience in magazine circulation and has previously worked for Primedia, Cowles Business Media, and Fairchild Publications.
Buzz Kanter
President
TAM Communications
Born into publishing family, Buzz is a third generation newsstand magazine publisher. His grandfather Albert Kanter founded Classics Illustrated, his parents—Bill and Penny Kanter created Penny Press—now run by his brother Peter Kanter. Buzz's first job in the single copy industry was as a field rep for a national distributor in 1978. Focusing on the single copy distribution side of the industry Buzz helped build Penny Press into the largest publisher of puzzle magazines. In 1989 he launched TAM Communications. He currently successfully publishes American Iron Magazine, the best selling motorcycle magazine on the newsstand, and other niche magazines.
Karin Kinnear
Senior Circulation Manager
Oracle Publishing
Karin Kinnear is the Senior Circulation Manager for Oracle Publishing. She currently oversees audience development of Oracle Corporation's two controlled business titles Oracle Magazine and Profit: The Executive's Guide to Oracle Applications. Prior to joining Oracle in 2007, Karin spent 5 years at Crain Communications overseeing several paid and controlled B2B titles.
Todd Kotlarek
General Manager
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Specialty Media
Todd Kotlarek is responsible for three print publications, ten local event marketing properties, and online revenue. Todd grew Metroparent Magazine's two publications into nine, driving revenue gains of 500% during an eight-year period. He is responsible for a team of fifteen in marketing and operations. Todd has also created a special events marketing department which today provides over a quarter of total company.
Jim Kuchinsky
President
Hallmark Data Services
Mr . Kuchinsky has been with Hallmark since 1980 after three years at BPA Worldwide. While at Hallmark, he has played a key role in designing the fulfillment system on which Hallmark runs today, and the company has grown into the largest b2b fulfillment company in the world. He holds a B.S. degree from Illinois State University.
John LaMarca
Group Circulation Director
Crain Communications
John LaMarca is a group circulation director at Crain Communications, publisher of 32 business to business publications. He oversees Audience Development for five titles in Crain's Advertising, Media and Marketing group: Advertising Age, BtoB, Creativity, RCR Wireless News and TVWeek. Prior to joining Crain Communications in 2005, John spent seven years at Reed Business Information, where he oversaw the Variety and Television Groups, including Variety, Daily Variety, Variety.com, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News.
Carrie Landman
Fulfillment Director, Superior Fulfillment
Advanstar Communications
Carrie Landman, Fulfillment Director, Superior Fulfillment, a division of Advanstar Communications Inc. I have 23 years of fulfillment experience. My fulfillment responsibilities have evolved from strictly circulation print fulfillment into: digital subscriptions, conference registrations, trade show registrations, product and book fulfillment. I am a member of the BPA Fulfillment Advisory Committee.
Shira Linden
Copywriter, Consultant
PromoWriting
Shira is a seasoned idea generator, copywriter and consultant proficient in print, radio and multimedia. She oversees all aspects of the creative process from conceptual framework to finished product, developing sparkling written materials that get results PromoWriting creates direct mail packages, ads, brochures, press kits, newsletters/Ezines, web copy, Email promos and other promotional materials that sell products or ideas. By creating a powerful, benefit-oriented message that addresses audience "hot buttons," Shira has developed winning copy for clients ranging from Guideposts to Golf Digest, Reed Exhibition Companies to Dun and Bradstreet. She's a recipient of the Creative Excellence Award from Women in Direct Marketing International.
Tom Lorge
Industry Consultant
Circguru.com
After a six-year stint in circulation with specialty magazine publisher Kates-Boylston Publications, Tom left to become director of circulation & research at Ascend Media in 2003. Tom was responsible for 12 titles with a combined monthly circulation of 1.3 million with titles including Pharmacy Times, Surgical Rounds and Dental Product Shopper. In addition, he ran an in-house fulfillment operation for three of the titles with circulations ranging from 50,000 to 180,000. In 2006 Tom was awarded the first ever "Circulator of the Year" award by Circulation Management magazine. Presently Tom is a consultant for various publishers.
Jon Macarthy
Senior Consumer Marketing Director
Meredith Corporation
Jon Macarthy is the Senior Consumer Marketing Director for Meredith's 9 Parenthood magazines including American Baby and Parents, and their men's titles including Successful Farming and Wood. He has been in the circulation industry for over 20 years including prior positions at New York Times Magazines and American Express Publishing.
Richard McCarthy
Director of Consumer Marketing
Future US, Inc.
Rich has been involved in direct marketing, in and around magazine publishing for the past 16 years. Prior to joining Future, Rich spent 5 years with Paradysz Matera and their online marketing group PM Digital. Rich has also worked at Zinio, The Industry Standard, PointCast and PC World.
Patricia McGuinness
Director, Audience Development
Hoyt Publishing
Patricia McGuinness is Circulation Director at Skokie, IL-based Hoyt Publishing Company, publishers of P-O-P Times, P-O-P Design, and Home Décor Buyer magazines and founder of the In-Store Marketing Institute, a for-profit association serving the P-O-P marketplace. McGuinness began her circulation career a decade ago at a weekly community newspaper company where she was responsible for the circulation operations of several weekly newspapers and monthly news magazines as well as supervising 110 youth carriers.
Sam McHugh
Director, Publisher Relations
Mercury Magazines
Sam is a founding member of Mercury Magazines, a division of M2 Media Group. Mercury Magazines is one of the leading providers of marketing and circulation services to B2B magazine publishers. Prior to Mercury Magazines, Sam worked at Synapse, a division of Time Inc.. At Synapse, he managed publisher relations for freebizmag.com which he joined at its inception in 2000.
Mary McIntire
Director of Audience Marketing
Network World
Mary McIntire is Director of Audience Marketing at Network World; the premier provider of information, intelligence and insight for Network and IT Executives. Mary has 14 years experience in Audience Development in the publishing industry. She is responsible for AD initiatives for digital subscribers, e-newsletters and maintaining the integrity of our database. She oversees the development of marketing tools created to maximize the quality of each interaction with our subscriber base.
Rebecca McPheters
President
McPheters & Company
Rebecca McPheters is President of McPheters & Company, a consulting and research firm in New York which she founded in 1997, that specializes in issues relating to audience, circulation, and advertising effectiveness. A former magazine publisher, she has been President of Simmons Market Research Bureau and Senior Vice President/Group Executive for both The New York Times Company Women’s Magazine Group and Gruner + Jahr USA. She has both written and spoken extensively on media, database, and research topics in the U.S. and abroad.
Kimberly Miller
Marketing Director
Real Simple
Kimberly Miller is currently the marketing director for Real Simple at Time Inc. She has responsibility for growing the site's online audience as well as overseeing print marketing for renewals, billing, and donor gift. In her prior position as online director for InStyle.com and RealSimple.com, Kim was tasked with identifying new sources of traffic as well as increasing consumer engagement within each site. Her earlier experience focused on retention for a range of publications at Time Inc., including Money and Fortune. She is also presently earning her MBA from Columbia.
Brad M. Mitchell
Director, Circulation and IT
Babcox Publications
Brad has been with Babcox Publications since 1996 where he currently holds the position of director of Circulation and Information Technology. Brad has spent his professional career immersed in circulation and marketing activities for business to business publishing. Brad launched his career in circulation from the service bureau side of the business in 1988 with Pub/Data Inc., first as an account representative and later as manager of client services. He has spent the last 14 years in circulation management with several publishing companies including Meister Publishing, Small Business News, and Babcox Publications.
Julie Nachtigal
Vice President-Audience Development
Cygnus Business Media
Julie is the VP-Audience Development at Cygnus Business Media and have been in publishing for over 20 years. She currently oversees and manages audience development strategy and in-house fulfillment for 54 of Cygnus' print media properties, including managing a staff of 40 employees. Her primary focus has been in audience development and marketing for both paid and controlled strategies, as well as custom marketing, list rental and consulting with smaller B2B publishers.
Mike Oberman
Chairman and CEO
Omeda
Mike Oberman earned his BA in Sociology and Philosophy from Brandeis University followed by an MBA in Marketing from the Kellogg School (Northwestern University). His business career began in b-to-b publishing, working on Scrap Age Magazine and then founding Waste Age Magazine. Mike started Omeda, Inc in 1980 and has led it to a pre-eminent position in the field of database, email, and circulation management for the b-to-b media industry.
Jerry Okabe
VP Audience Marketing/Circulation
Penton Media Inc.
Jerry is responsible for all elements of circulation and audience development for Penton Media's 110 business-to-business magazines. Jerry has 29 years of circulation experience in publishing. Prior to joining Penton in 2003, Jerry served as VP Member Relations at BPA Worldwide. His magazine publishing experience includes over 20 years with Miller Freeman, as well as PBI Media (now Access Intelligence) and Cars & Parts Magazine.
Kate O'Neill
Director, Customer Experience & Product Development
Magazines.com
Kate O'Neill leads the Customer Experience group at Magazines.com, in which she has begun to establish a culture of experimentation to build the business by serving the customer. She formerly managed content at Netflix during the company's early years, developing its content strategy to support the subscriber base and inform the customer experience. More recently, Ms. O'Neill held a core contributor role throughout a legacy intranet replacement project with Hospital Corporation of America in which she principally guided search and content strategy for 200,000 employees across more than 300 hospitals and business units.
Rob Paciorek
Senior Vice President/CIO
Access Intelligence, LLC
Rob Paciorek is Senior Vice President/CIO for Access Intelligence, LLC and serves as the co-chair on the company’s E-Media Core Team. Rob has been with Access Intelligence over 6 years and under his leadership; the Web Development team has most recently been engaged in a two year project to re-engineer all of the company’s websites while looking for new ways to help drive revenues from the web.
Kent Palmer
Circulation Director
Madison Magazine
Kent Palmer, Madison Magazine's Circulation Director since 2004, tends an ever-growing subscription file, public place and newsstand operations. He also authors their monthly beer column and an award winning blog. Previously serially self-employed, Kent has served on the Madison (WI) City Council and directed Greenpeace's Chicago canvass operation as well.
John Papalia
President
Statlistics
As CEO and President of Statlistics, John has corporate responsibility for one of the industry's leading list management and list brokerage firms. He daily interacts with staff and business-to-business and consumer publishing clients. John started his direct marketing career in 1980. Joining Statlistics in 1995, John became an owner, president and CEO in 2000. He is actively involved in the direct marketing community and a member of several direct marketing clubs.
Don Pazour
CEO
Access Intelligence, LLC
Don Pazour is a 30-year veteran of the business publishing industry and currently serves as CEO of Access Intelligence, LLC. AI is a leading information provider in several vertical markets. The company is a fully integrated media and consulting business with more than half of its revenue deriving from information sales.
Lesley Pinckney
Director, Digital Development
Essence Communications
Lesley Pinckney is the director, Digital Development for Essence Communications Inc. Responsible for strategic partnerships and multi-platform development, she plays an integral role in the development of the brand's online content and the creation and distribution of original programming produced by the magazine's new multimedia division, ESSENCE Studios. Prior to joining ESSENCE, Pinckney was a vice president at MTV Networks' Tempo and was previously vice president, Talent Development & Casting at Spike TV.
Delicia Poole
Director, Circulation & Fulfillment
Grand View Media Group
Delicia Poole is director of circulation & fulfillment for Grand View Media Group, a division of EBSCO Industries. She began her career in the publishing industry in 1987 and has been with Grand View Media Group since 2005. She manages the circulation of seven b-to-b magazines and the fulfillment of nine consumer magazines.
Jennifer Posey
Circulation Manager
Golf Inc.
Jennifer Posey is circulation manager for Golf Inc. magazine, a 16-year-old title published by Cypress Magazines. She began her career in the publishing and circulation industry in 2001 as circulation manager for Well's Publishing. She later went on to become the operation director for Cusp Communications. During her circulation career she has launched three print magazines and two digital magazines successfully meeting all BPA and postal requirements. She currently oversees all new acquisition and requalification efforts, BPA audits/statements, and marketing for both Golf Inc's print and digital version.
Joy Puzzo
Corporate Circulation Director
Advanstar Communications
Joy Puzzo has been the Corporate Circulation Director at Advanstar Communications since July 2005. She manages a department of 20 employees, is responsible for 39 print publications and 17 digital editions in both B2B and B2C markets with paid and controlled strategies. She is currently the Chair of the ABC; Business Publications Industry Committee. Prior to the acquisition of the Medical Economics magazine group by Advanstar she spent over 10 years working in circulation on Thomson Healthcare publications.
Sue Ravenscraft
Founder and President
Founder and President
RS Media Service Company
Sue is the founder and president of RS Media Service Company. She is also currently the president of the Midwest Circulation Assoc. Sue started her career in Circulating at Gorman Publishing, and worked her way up to VP. She next went to Putman Publishing where she started out as business manger and soon became VP of Operations. In 1999 she joined Stagnito Communication and once again rose to the post of VP.
Bruce Rhodes
Circulation Director
Harvard Business Review
Bruce Rhodes is the Circulation Director at Harvard Business School Publishing in charge of subscriber acquisition, retention and single copy initiatives for Harvard Business Review and HBSP newsletters. Prior to joining HBSP, Bruce worked at Morningstar, managing a portfolio of newsletters, books and co-branded investment conferences.
Beth Roy
Vice President, Consumer Magazines & Media
CDS Global
Beth Roy, vice president of Consumer Magazines & Media for CDS Global, oversees all account management groups for CDS Global consumer clients. She has played a key role in strategic company initiatives, including the creation of a digital platform strategy. Beth currently serves as executive secretary for the FMA.
Linda Ruth
President & CEO
PTSS (Publishers Total Sales Services)
Linda has over 20 years of experience in magazine marketing, and has held management positions at McGraw-Hill and IDG Communications. She has conducted seminars for publishers nationwide, including American Express, Future Network USA, Success Magazine, National Wildlife, Harris Publishing, Pennwell Publishing, Hope Magazine, A&E's Biography, Time Ventures, Time 4 Media, Blue Dolphin, and the Lighthouse Publishing Group. As president and CEO of her consulting firm, Linda offers advice on the keys to audience development at retail and online. Her clients include the Harvard Business Review, Future Network USA, New Bay Media, The Old Farmer's Almanac, Aspire Media, Yankee Magazine, and Discovery Girls. She is one of the original founders of Women in Periodical Publishing and a current board member. Linda is also President of Newsstands of America, a retail chain with more than $52 million in annual magazine sales.
Eric Rutter
Vice President, Audience Marketing
Reed Business Information
Eric Rutter is vice president, audience marketing at Reed Business Information; a leading global provider of business-to-business information. Eric leads an organization responsible for the audience marketing activities of over 30 of the company's print titles and over 150 e-newsletters. Prior to joining RBI in 1993 (then Cahners), Eric also held executive circulation positions at Institutional Investor and CMP Media. He got his start as an auditor for BPA International.
Lou Ann Sabatier
Principal
Sabatier Consulting
Ms. Sabatier, principal of Sabatier Consulting, has twenty-five years of experience in the publishing industry. She and her team of consultants work with consumer, trade, association and custom publishers. Services include preparing business plans, evaluating operations, finance, editorial, content licensing, production, advertising sales, circulation marketing, fulfillment, market research, internet strategies and recruitment. Ms. Sabatier is an expert business strategist, adept at evaluating strategies and operations with resulting recommendations that help publishers achieve their mission and enhanced profitability in tough markets.
Amanda Schuster
Director of New Media & Audience Development
Summit Business Media
Amanda Schuster is director of New Media & Audience Development for Summit Business Media. Prior to joining the b-to-b magazine group at Summit, she worked for F+W Publications as marketing director for the book clubs and as circulation manager for their consumer magazines, as well as at Ziff-Davis as circulation manager for the technology newsletters.
Mike Serino
Director of Circulation
Scranton Gillette Communications
Mike Serino is a 25 year veteran of circulation management and is presently Director of Circulation for Scranton Gillette Communications. His experience ranges from business directories (Official Airline Guides), to regional business (Crain's Chicago Business), to consumer (Golfweek and Links-The Best of Golf), to b-to-b trade journals (Scranton Gillette Communications). He has successfully managed titles of paid, paid with controlled and controlled only with file sizes of 5,000 to 300,000.
Shelley Shames
Operations Director
Working Mother Media
Shelley Shames is currently Operations Director at Working Mother Media. With over 20 years in the industry, her experience includes managing in-house fulfillment operations as well as outside service bureaus. She has worked with large- and small-circulation titles in both the consumer and b-to-b publishing.
Camp Shropshire
Newsstand Director
Wenner Media
Camp has been CMD at Wenner Media since 2004 where his primary responsibilities include all single copy distribution and merchandising. In addition he is actively involved in cover design and execution, brand positioning in relation to television and the web, and new product development. Previously, Camp spent 10 years at Time Warner Retail Sales and Marketing managing several of their print products and one of their sales regions.
Sylvia Sierra
Senior VP of Corporate Audience Development
Access Intelligence
Sylvia Sierra is Senior VP of Corporate Audience Development for Access Intelligence, LLC. Sylvia has been at Access Intelligence for 12 years, and she is responsible for circulation, web traffic, SEM, postal and distribution, list sales, reprint sales, reader service. She is a member of the BPA Audience Development Advisory Committee.
Laura Simkins
VP, Consumer Marketing
8020 Publishing
Laura Simkins recently joined 8020 Publishing as their VP, Consumer Marketing. Prior to that she was a part of the original launch team for Dwell and during her eight year tenure there, grew circulation over 400% to its current rate base of 325,000. Laura was responsible for Dwell being listed in Capell's as one of the top ten best performers in circulation, three years running. Past experience also includes stints at Health and Mother Jones magazines.
Terri Smith
Director of Circulation
Branch-Smith Publishing
Terri Smith has over 25 years of publishing experience and has been director of circulation at Branch-Smith Publishing for the past 14 years. She oversees and manages all aspects of circulating company products to targeted audiences through postal and electronic mail systems. She is a member of the BPA Audience Development Advisory Committee and has served on the board of the WFMA.
Heidi Spangler
Director of Circulation and Audience Development
Questex
Heidi has been working in business to business media since 1990, when she secured her first job as a circulation coordinator at Ziff Davis. In 1993, she went to Chilton Publishing where she was a circulation manager for a group of magazines in the metals industry. Heidi moved to Cleveland in 1996, when she accepted a Circulation Director position at GIE Media Inc. She took a year off and worked in a homeless shelter from 1998 - 1999 and worked at Penton Media from 1999 - 2003. In 2003, Heidi went back to GIE as the Director of Circulation and Database Operations and started at Questex as the Director of Circulation and Audience Development in February 2007.
Michelle Tauber
Senior Director of Distribution and Operations
Rodale
Michelle Tauber is an 18-year circulation professional who began her career in subscription marketing. She is currently Senior Director of Distribution and Operations for Retail Sales at Rodale, Inc., publisher of some of the best-known magazines in health and wellness, including Men's Health, Prevention, Runner's World, Women's Health, and Best Life. Tauber is responsible for overseeing retail sales distribution, operations and financial performance of Rodale magazines and special interest publications.
Dave Ventresca
President
MAGHOUND Enterprises, Inc.
Dave Ventresca is a 10+ veteran of Time Inc.'s consumer marketing division and has been spearheading the development of MAGHOUND there for the past 3+ years. Previously, he directed membership marketing at Uproar.com and also held multiple strategy roles in AOL's Interactive Marketing department.
Kelsey Voss
Director, Circulation
Ziff Davis Enterprise
Kelsey Voss is the Enterprise Circulation & List Rental director at Ziff Davis Media. Recently, her focus expanded beyond subscriber acquisition to include new name acquisition for the enterprise-wide database. Prior to Ziff, she held positions at Condé Nast, Metal Bulletin PLC and Faulkner & Gray.
Jonathan Weber
Founder, Publisher and CEO
New West Publishing
Jonathan Weber is the founder, publisher and CEO of New West Publishing, a next-generation media company based in Missoula, Montana. The company's flagship product, NewWest.Net, is a local and regional online publication about the Rocky Mountain West. NewWest.Net combines traditional reporting and writing with various forms of participatory journalism, and has local sites in 7 communities around the region. NewWest.Net also produces conferences and events, and operates community event calendars in its local markets. The company recently launched its first print publication, a quarterly magazine called The New West that's focused on growth and development in the region. Prior to launching New West, Weber was the co-founder and editor in chief of the Industry Standard, the award-winning newsweekly that chronicled the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. He also served eight years as a writer and editor at the Los Angeles Times.
Jim Wessel
Audience Development Director
Watt Publishing
Jim is a 34 year veteran in the Circulation, Fulfillment and Audience Development arena. He has working knowledge in B-to-C, B-to-B, ABC, BPA. Jim is currently building that "Super" Audience Development Database to further develop our on-line products and audiences.
Michael Westcott
Managing Director
Event Marketing Institute
Michael leads the research and marketing innovation activities at EMI and Red7Media where he helps organizations apply the latest thinking to drive change, productivity and profits. He has been instrumental in helping to shape the dialogue in social and experiential marketing. He has founded and managed several non-traditional agencies including Firebrand, Fitch, and PatternWorks and served as Vice President of Marketing for The George P. Johnson Company (which was ranked No. 20 in Ad Age magazine's global agency listing). He has written and spoken extensively on brand strategy, social marketing and experiential design.