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Abby Auerbach
EVP, Chief Communications Officer, TVB and Executive Director, NEXT Women
Abby is responsible for advocacy, public relations, corporate communications, events/conferences, and TVB.org. She directs TVB’s NEXT Women program and leads the organization’s DEI Task Force. Previous to TVB, she ran the local broadcast buying unit at Ogilvy as Senior Partner, U.S. Director. Ms. Auerbach serves on the board of the International Radio & Television Society, is a former director of the Alliance for Women in Media, and a member of She Runs It. She is a past chair of the 4A’s Local Broadcast and eBusiness committees. In 2019, she was a recipient of the TVNewsCheck Women in Technology Futurist Award for her work leading the development and adoption of ePort.
Greg Balasco
Owner & President, Lakeland Automall
Greg Balasco has been the Owner & President of Lakeland Automall since 2011. Balasco, resides in Tampa Florida with his wife, whom you see in many of his commercials. He joined Lakeland Automall in 2009, and two years later purchased the business.
Nikki Bethel
President & CEO, Emma Bowen Foundation
Nikki Bethel is a dynamic, results-driven senior leader with over 20 years of experience in strategic planning, DEI, talent management, leadership development, and public speaking. As President and Chief Executive Officer of the Emma L. Bowen Foundation (EBF), Nikki is responsible for leading the development and implementation of EBF’s mission to prepare students of color for the workforce and increase and sustain diversity in the media industry. A primary spokesperson for EBF, Nikki works with staff, board and stakeholders to develop the foundation’s future strategic direction, including building bridges with corporate and industry partners while guiding financial sustainability, brand identity, and long-term success.
Tom Buono
Founder & CEO, BIA Advisory Services
Tom Buono has been tracking the television industry since he launched Investing in Television, a publication profiling every television in the nation, shortly after starting BIA in 1983. Since then, Tom has been involved in valuing hundreds of stations and creating the firm’s Media Access Pro™ and BIA ADVantage™ dashboard products profiling local stations and advertising in every market in the nation. Tom is also the founder and CEO of SpectraRep, the leading provider of datacasting services in the U.S. with distribution on over 130 full power TV stations. Tom can be reached at tbuono@bia.com.
Joe Cerone
Executive Vice President, Local Investment, IPG Mediabrands
Joe leads a renowned team of local-investment experts, negotiating on behalf of clients across the IPG Mediabrands network, spanning UM, Initiative and Mediahub. Earlier in his career, Joe spent seven years at Initiative in the greater Atlanta area, later joining Publicis Media’s Zenith, where he served as Executive Vice President, Director of Local Investment. His career has included time as a broadcast VP at Carat USA, and he started as a buyer at Ogilvy & Mather. Clients that Joe has advised span the universe of global brands, including CVS, American Express, Estee Lauder, Hyundai Motor America, and Toyota Motor America/Lexus Motor America.
Missy Evenson
Vice President Sales, Local Media, Scripps; Chair, TVB Board of Directors
Missy Evenson is VP Sales, Local Media for Scripps. Missy has been with Scripps for twelve years and in her current role as VP Sales, Local Media for six years. Prior to this role Missy was a Regional Director of Revenue Strategy for Scripps, Director of Sales at KMGH in Denver and held previous management roles in broadcasting in Texas. She has been on the planning, buying and sales side of the media business. Missy is the current Chairperson for the TVB Executive Board of Directors, Member of the Scripps Employee Women’s Resource Group and member of the executive women’s program Chief.
Michelle Gelman
SVP, Product Management, Nielsen
Michelle Gelman is SVP, Product Management for Nielsen’s National TV, Local TV, and Radio core audience measurement businesses. During her nearly 10 years at Nielsen, she has developed Nielsen’s audience measurement products that have fundamentally altered how companies transact on audience measurement data. In her role, she leads the end-to-end product vision for Nielsen’s highest-value products, including the strategy, execution and client delivery. Her wide range of experience has included Television and Digital measurement, both within the US and Internationally.
Hadassa Gerber
EVP, Chief Research Officer, TVB
Hadassa Gerber was named Chief Research Officer of TVB in June 2014. Hadassa joined from the Syndicated Network Television Association (SNTA), where she served as the Director of Research and Systems. Prior to joining SNTA, she served in several senior and executive director roles for leading advertising agencies including Y&R, Media Edge, DeWitt Media, and McCann Erickson. Known as an industry thought leader in media analytics, media strategy and digital, Hadassa has worked with numerous blue-chip companies, agency executives, and brand managers to help develop innovative solutions to complex marketing challenges and maximize return on investment. She is a board member of the Media Ratings Council (MRC), a member of NAB’s COLTAM, the ARF and CIMM.
Susie Hedrick
CEO, WideOrbit
CEO Susie Hedrick returned to WideOrbit as President and Managing Director of Traffic Systems in 2023, having previously served as SVP Sales, North America, and Vice President of radio sales. In between, she was President and COO at vCreative, ultimately becoming CEO in 2021. Susie brings over 20 years of executive experience and expertise in media advertising technology sales and operations.
Dave Heller
President, Main Street Communications & Main Street Baseball
Dave Heller is one of the top media consultants and campaign strategists in the Democratic Party. As President of Main Street Communications, Dave has compiled the best won-loss record in the Democratic Party helping clients win election to Congress. His clients have won 15 out of 19 open seat House races and all four of his congressional clients won their elections in 2022. He’s handled the media for 30 different Members of Congress and earned 19 Pollie Awards for his TV and radio ads. Dave also owns two Minor League Baseball teams, the Quad Cities River Bandits (K.C. Royals affiliate) and Wilmington Blue Rocks (Washington Nationals affiliate).
Erin Keating
Executive Analyst, Cox Automotive, Inc.
Erin Keating is an Executive Analyst and Senior Director of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive. She has 25 years of experience in marketing and communications, including 10 years with Audi of America, where she also ran Audi Motorsport North America. With a focus on the wider industry, the individual automakers, and consumer shopping and buying behavior for new vehicles, Erin provides analysis and insights leveraging the breadth and depth of data from DRiVEQ, Cox Automotive’s data intelligence engine. Upon joining Cox Automotive, Erin was responsible for Enterprise Data Strategy – Partnerships.
Steve Lanzano
President and CEO, TVB
Steve Lanzano is President and CEO of TVB. Steve joined TVB as president on January 1, 2010. He came to the association from HAVAS U.S., where he was the Chief Operating Officer. Previously he was the North American CEO of Mediaedge:cia (now Wavemaker), responsible for overseeing the agency’s operations across the U.S. and Canada. Steve was also global media director at sister agency Mindshare, where he was responsible for the American Express business.
Bob Liodice
CEO, ANA
Bob Liodice is CEO of the ANA. He was previously EVP, responsible for member relations, business development, strengthening relationships with ANA member companies, and broadening the membership base. Prior to joining ANA, he was VP of global marketing and sales for Grupo Televisa, and he worked for over 15 years in marketing and financial management at Kraft General Foods. Bob serves on the boards of directors of The Advertising Council, Better Business Bureau National Programs, ANA Educational Foundation, Digital Advertising Alliance, Trustworthy Accountability Group, and World Federation of Advertisers.
John McLaughlin
CEO/Partner, McLaughlin & Associates
John McLaughlin has worked professionally as a strategic consultant and pollster for over 40 years. He earned a reputation for helping some of America’s most successful corporations and winning some of the toughest elections in the nation. Since 2016, John worked as an advisor and pollster for President Donald Trump, Reagan/Bush, and Bush/Cheney as well. His political clients included former Presidential candidates Steve Forbes and Fred Thompson, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and 22 current and former U.S. Senators and 21 current House Republican members including flipping 5 House seats from Democrat to Republican in 2022.
Mark Mellman
CEO, The Mellman Group
Former President of the American Association of Political Consultants, a member of the organization’s Hall of Fame, Mark Mellman is one of the nation’s leading public opinion researchers and communication strategists. His clients include leading political figures, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the nation’s most important public interest groups. Doonesbury labeled Mellman a “Prince of Polling.” Mellman also serves as President of Democratic Majority for Israel, an organization of leading party figures dedicated to ensuring Democrats’ success and the party’s continued support for a strong U.S.- Israel relationship. Mellman has helped guide the campaigns of thirty U.S. Senators, a dozen Governors, over three dozen Members of Congress, and numerous state and local officials.
Erin Peckinpaugh
Former VP, Marketing & Corporate Responsibility, Hensley Legal Group, PC
Erin Peckinpaugh is the Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Responsibility at Hensley Legal Group, where she handles public relations, media placement, and community events. In this ever-evolving digital world, Erin is a firm believer that “Top of Mind Awareness” drives bottom of the funnel action, a principle that guides all of her efforts on behalf of the firm. Prior to joining HLG, Erin worked as an Account Executive for the CBS and NBC affiliates in Indianapolis, then served as the Executive Director of a local non-profit.
Brad Seitter
EVP, Local and National Business Development, TVB
Brad oversees TVB’s business development team including two regional SVPs, VP of Digital, Automotive Expert and Marketing Administrator. Brad develops presentations and strategies for the division, presenting directly to advertisers via one-on-one consulting, large auditorium group settings and national conventions across all 210 DMAs. He also oversees all of TVB’s sales work in the Political category. TVB’s business development team, led by Brad, has successfully moved millions of dollars in ad spend from other media to broadcast TV. Brad’s broadcast background includes 30 years in television in the sports and sales departments with TVB, Scripps and FOX O&O. Previous to his work with TVB, Brad was the Executive Producer for the Kansas City Chiefs official television show handling all content, talent, production, sales and syndication.