The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau's CEO search, via Korn/Ferry
International, is now said to be down to "two or three" finalists, sources
said.
One candidate is believed to have pulled out, with another added at the last
minute.
Erica Gruen and Michael Lotito are the two names most often mentioned as
still in contention. Gruen, now a consultant, was an executive at Food Network
and ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, while Lotito was CEO at Mindport, a
Web-based back-office media-management firm folded last fall by its three
ad-agency owners.
If the search drags on beyond March 31, when current CEO Joe Ostrow
officially steps down, the CAB may have to renegotiate a contract extension.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated move, CAB research vice president Jonathan Sims
will leave later this month to join Comcast Corp.'s Comcast Advertising Sales in
New York in a similar capacity.
