AD COUNCIL
Linda Yaccarino has been named chair of the board of directors of the Ad Council. The chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, she succeeds Facebook chief revenue officer David Fischer.
COMCAST
Comcast has named Dana Strong as CEO of its Sky Group direct-to-home platform in the United Kingdom. She had been president, consumer services at Comcast Cable, responsible for the MSO’s residential business.
DISCOVERY
Eric Phillips was elevated to president of global distribution strategy at Discovery, focusing on direct-to-consumer partnerships for Discovery Plus. He had been president of affiliate distribution since 2013.
DISCOVERY
Michele Barney was named president of affiliate distribution at Discovery, responsible for strategic oversight and distribution of its content in Canada and the U.S. She was senior VP, content and programming at AT&T.
HEARST
Hearst Television has upped John Robertson to VP of distribution, tasked with supervising negotiations with over-the-top platforms and other digital video distributors. He had been senior director of finance.
IRTS
The International Radio and Television Society Foundation (IRTS) has elected 25-year board member Leo MacCourtney as its new chairman. MacCourtney is president of Katz Television Group.
OPERATIVE
Ad management technology firm Operative has tapped Hans Fischmann as VP, product strategy, leading its multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD ) market. He had been VP, product management at Xandr.
SCRIPPS
E.W. Scripps’s national network unit has named Yvonne Haugh as VP, distribution and affiliate relations. She was most recently senior VP, marketing and affiliate relations and chief of staff for Katz Networks.
SCRIPPS
Brad Samuels was named VP, distribution partnerships and strategy at E.W. Scripps, leading the national network unit’s crossplatform distribution efforts. He was most recently VP, distribution for Newsy.
SCRIPPS
Damian Riordan was named VP, broadcast distribution at E.W. Scripps’s national network unit. He had been senior VP, broadcast relations for Ion Media, which Scripps is in the process of acquiring.
WOW!
Rose Jerez has joined WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone as VP of customer success. Most recently a consultant on digital growth and delivery at Fox, she had been associate VP of retention marketing operations at AT&T/DirecTV.
WTMO
Telemundo-owned station WTMO Orlando, Florida, has named Miguelangel Lopez as vice president of news. He comes from Telemundo station KTLM Rio Grande City, Texas, where he was VP of news since 2014.
BRIEFLY NOTED
Other industry execs making moves
John Kearney has joined Aero Wireless Group as chief commercial officer. He had been senior VP, carrier services, Life and Safety Division at Intrado. … Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews has been named executive VP and Washington bureau chief at CBS News. She had been the acting Washington bureau chief since July. … Estrella Media has promoted Arya Towfighi to executive VP, general counsel. He had been a senior VP, overseeing the Spanish-language media company’s legal functions. … The Wireless Innovation Forum has added two directors: Dawn Szelc, lead communications engineer at MITRE, and Claude Belisle, former CEO of Nordiasoft. … Pedro Muñoz has joined digital and programmatic ad firm Vidoomy as VP, Europe sales, based in Madrid, Spain. … Jeremy Darroch has been named executive chairman of Comcast’s Sky Group. He had been CEO. … WPIX New York, acquired Dec. 30 by Mission Broadcasting, has promoted Ofelia Castiblanco to station manager and community affairs director. She had been community affairs director since January 2020.
