Leadership

President and Chief Executive Officer of Tribune Media Services (TMS), David Williams led TMS’ transition from a syndicator of print products to newspapers to its present position as a broadly based aggregator and distributor of multimedia content to print and online media companies, broadcast and cable television and Fortune 1000 companies.  Also during this period, TMS expanded its distribution of content products and services from the United States and Canada to more than 100 countries worldwide.  Under David’s 19-year leadership, TMS developed strong advertising networks through its newspaper and Internet television listings distribution service, and, through strategic acquisitions, expanded into the production and distribution of print, online and cable television guide products and movie theater showtimes and advertisements. David also serves on the board of McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), Tribune’s joint venture with The McClatchy Company which provides news, photo and graphics services.

Alexa Bazanos was named Vice President/Human Resources for Tribune Media Services in January 2003.  She is responsible for the organization’s human resource activities and leads the Human Resources team to develop and implement programs and services that will enhance recruitment, retention and employee development. Previously, Ms. Bazanos served as Director/Human Resources at TMS and Manager/Human Resources for the Chicago Tribune from February 1996 to February 1999.  Prior to joining Tribune Company, Ms. Bazanos served in various Human Resources positions with Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Omni Hotels in Chicago. Ms. Bazanos holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from University of Michigan.  She is a member of Society of Human Resource Managers.

Jay Fehnel leads Tribune Media Services’ Entertainment Products division, a team of over 500 people serving thousands of media and technology customers in over 40 countries.  A 17-year veteran of TMS, Jay has held several general management and business development positions and played key roles in TMS’ strategic planning, acquisitions, divestitures, internal start-ups and venture investments.  Jay is a member of the board of directors of Yellowbrix, Inc., a provider of filtered news services for corporate and individual users.  Jay previously worked in research and marketing for the NBC TV Stations group, Katz Television and Walt Disney Company.  He is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Purdue University.

Michael Gart is responsible for all financial functions, including operating and capital planning, general accounting, financial reporting and acquisition and divestiture analysis and integration.  Mike also is a board member for McClatchy Tribune Information Services, a partnership between Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company.  Prior to joining TMS, Mike held several senior positions with other Tribune Company businesses including Director, Supplier Services at Tribune’s corporate office, Vice President, Finance at NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company and Senior Vice President, Finance & Operations at Farm Journal Publishing Company in Philadelphia.  Mike holds a bachelor degree in Finance from Loyola University of Chicago and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago.

Walter Mahoney joined TMS in 1974 and has held sales, marketing and executive positions for the company in it syndication and news service business. Today he serves as Senior Vice President for Global Information Services for the company and is responsible for worldwide sales and marketing for the McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT).  MCT, a joint venture of  Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company is recognized as one of the world’s leading supplemental news services that incorporates news, business news, graphics, photo and broadcast, and web services.  MCT serves more than 1,200 media customers throughout the world.

Steve Tippie manages intellectual property rights for TMS content properties and new market development in new media for syndicated content. He develops products, services and new markets across a wide range of U.S. and international channels, including film, television and stage production; consumer products; print and eBook publishing; interactive and online gaming; slot machines and other games of chance; and mobile news, gaming and lifestyle applications.  Before coming to TMS, Steve was a co-founder of Picture Network International, now called JupiterImages, the first on-line B2B stock image aggregator and distributor and the first commercial Web site to use artificial intelligence-based text indexing and search technology. He has also worked as a technology marketing consultant and economist in both the private and government sectors. Steve has a B.A. from Wake Forest University and an M.A. from Duke University.

John Zelenka is Senior Vice President, Business Development and News & Features. He leads TMS’ business development efforts, including strategic planning, product development, alliances, and M&A activities. In addition to his business development responsibilities, John leads TMS' News & Features division, a leading international provider of popular features, editorial cartoons, commentary, lifestyle content, games, comics and related services for use in print, online and on-screen media. Previously, John held senior roles in media business development and healthcare marketing with the Orbis Broadcast Group and Interpublic’s Weber Shandwick Worldwide.  He also worked in journalism with the ABC News affiliate news service. John holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University, a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business.

Rebecca Baldwin is Vice President and General Manager of Zap2it.com, overseeing site operations, strategic planning and product development for the TV and movie information web site. Before joining TMS, Baldwin was Director of Product Development at Tribune Interactive, where she led the launch of the entertainment site Metromix.com.  Baldwin joined Tribune Company as an editor at the Orlando Sentinel and later moved to the Chicago Tribune, where she edited the Arts & Entertainment and Style sections of the newspaper. A native of North Carolina, she holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, a master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Florida, and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Ken Carter has been involved in the entertainment information business for more than 16 years in a variety of executive capacities involving general management, finance, sales and business development.  His involvement in the industry began as CFO of TVData Technologies. Ken currently is responsible for the TMS international entertainment information business.  He personally oversaw the launch of TMS’ Amsterdam office and recently returned from a four year assignment in Europe. Prior to joining TVData in 1992, Ken managed mergers and acquisitions for Coca Cola Enterprises. Before that he was CFO for the company that developed and launched the Cabbage Patch Kids.  Ken began his career as a CPA with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells. He holds a BBA from the University of Georgia.

Dana Gage leads division-wide marketing efforts for TMS Entertainment Products. She and her team are focused on understanding the customer, communicating the value TMS brings to each market and extending TMS’ lead in entertainment data, content and promotion services. Previously, Dana was VP of Marketing and equity partner in JDTV, a cable publishing and TV information company acquired by Tribune in 1998. Prior to that, Dana was Director of Marketing for the satellite division of Fox Sports. She began her career in the TV information business, selling entertainment data to cable and newspaper companies. Dana holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. She is involved in both the WICT and CTAM organizations and has been an active member of the WICT Greater Texas board since 2004.

Richard Thomas Hill is the Managing Director of Marketing Services, responsible for building and managing one of the nations’ fastest-growing direct response agencies. His team is focused on creating measurable campaigns that help clients more effectively acquire, up-sell and retain customers. Prior to joining Tribune, Richard was Vice President for The Work Group where he was responsible for growing the agency account roster and billings from $2m to $16M during a 4-year period. Before The Work Group, Richard spent five years at CommTek serving as Publisher for the nation's largest publisher of television guides for the satellite industry and eight years with Fox Sports leading their custom publishing group. Richard attended University of Texas at Arlington. He is active in the non-profit community serving on boards supporting Rotary Club, Boys and Girls Club and Gladney Center for Adoption.

Todd Kavemeier manages the TMS Custom Media division with a diversified background within both operational and sales arenas.  A graduate of Marquette University, Todd has unique experience in the Cable, Direct Marketing and Publishing Industries. Together with his team, Todd manages a magazine circulation of over 800,000 paid subscribers, primarily under the title of Channel Guide Magazine. Channel Guide Magazine rivals the circulation of top 20 paid circulation magazines and generates an average of $21 more in cable services per subscribing household vs. those that don’t receive the magazine.  Todd lives and works in Milwaukee, WI. He is a strong advocate for helping disadvantaged youth via the Boys and Girls Clubs and Big Brother Big Sisters of the Greater Milwaukee area.

John Kelleher is a 23-year veteran with TMS.  He has managed technology-oriented businesses throughout his career.  John has held several technical and operating management roles with full responsibility for core business functions including strategic planning, operations management, software and product development, sales and marketing.  He has been accountable for P&L performance in several roles for businesses in the start-up, turnaround and growth stages.  He is currently responsible for TMS’ Entertainment Information operations in Queensbury, NY.  John holds an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.A. in Computer Science & Mathematics from Ithaca College.

Lanna Langlois is responsible for the accounting, financial analysis and reporting functions within the Entertainment Products division. Her team’s responsibilities span the gamut from billing and collections to operational metrics to new business analysis. In addition to traditional finance functions, Lanna is responsible for TMS’ customer relationship management application, utilized by TMS’ Sales, Customer Service, Operations and Finance teams. Lanna was VP of Finance for TV Data Technologies, before that company was acquired by TMS. Prior to that, she was Director of Special Projects for United Media’s Licensing division. Langlois began her career in public accounting at Deloitte & Touche and is a CPA.   She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Williams College and a Masters in Accounting from New York University.

Kathy Tolstrup heads up sales and marketing for TMS Entertainment Information products and services and its partners including Zvents, Fandango and ScreenPlay.  She directs all entertainment data and advertising sales throughout North America. Kathy has 30 years experience in general management, sales, marketing, and business development in the entertainment information industry. Her background includes leadership roles in startups, and in both public and privately held companies.  Kathy is a graduate of The University of Arizona with a B.S. in Business Education.

Melissa White is Managing Director, Technology Architect, Tribune Technology.  Melissa leads TMS’ information technology team and is responsible for the coordination of technology strategies, projects and operations across TMS’ Entertainment Products division.  Her team focuses on the development and support of the applications and databases that drive TMS’ production operations and products. Her team also serves as key players in the company’s product development process.  Melissa joined TMS in 1989 as a programmer/analyst, and has held a progression of leadership positions in software and Information Technology. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Albany in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics.

Scott Cameron is the head of domestic sales for Tribune Media Services (TMS).  Scott is responsible for all TMS News & Features, including, political commentary, advice, horoscope, personal finance, real estate and other special interest features.  Additional content solutions include comics, editorial cartoons, games and puzzles, for syndication to print and online accounts.  Scott works closely with his sales staff to implement TMS content services and solutions across a wide variety of market segments.  Scott and his sales staff work to maximize the use of TMS content to increase audience and revenue in partnership with our customers.  Additionally, Scott oversees the sales activities with our “Content on Demand” e-commerce service to provide specialized content for the advertising market. Scott received a B.A from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Mary Elson supervises the daily operations of the News & Features department and works with the domestic and international sales directors to develop and market new syndicated content – whether from former U.S. Cabinet officials to video game experts. She supervises the staff that edits and distributes more than 150 syndicated columns, editorial cartoons, comic strips, puzzles, word games and other features to newspapers and magazines worldwide. She also manages the TMS Specialty Products group, which supplies stories, images and paginated special sections and niche products to newspapers and other publications. She is a former manager and writer at the Chicago Tribune and also worked at four other newspapers. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. degree in English from Vanderbilt University.

Michael Fioritto’s background includes 20 years of experience in a variety of management roles within the media industry. His primary responsibilities include directing all operations-related activities within Tribune Media Services' News & Features division including their revamped syndication platform and customer service. His experience includes stints at online newspapers, consumer online and B2B services.

Jan Guszynski is a 23-year marketing professional responsible for the development, implementation and day-to-day management of integrated marketing campaigns for the domestic and international TMS News & Features (N&F) Division and McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT).  She oversees the brand management, marketing strategy and web-marketing efforts for more than 150 syndicated features, as well as for the N&F Division and MCT.  Jan holds a BA in advertising from Michigan State University. She is a former 16-year member of American Women in Radio and Television, having served as Vice President (2000-2001) and President (2001-2002).

James Pinnick is the Manager of Finance and Strategy, responsible for leading the News & Features team through the annual strategic plan and operating budget processes along with continual analysis and planning projects.  He is involved in business development, financial modeling, and longer-term projects focused on the syndication business in an evolving media environment.  Prior to joining TMS, James held strategic planning positions in consumer electronics and content consulting companies.  James has a journalism degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from Baruch College.

Ryan Stephens is a 16-year professional in international syndication who has spent his career traveling the world and working with his colleagues to take high end content to the global publishing market.  In his position as International Sales Director, Ryan oversees the foreign offices and agent relationships and coordinates sales efforts for various magazines, news services, games, puzzles and columns that TMS represents in the international market.  Ryan has worked as Director of Article Sales in New York and Director for Latin America in Los Angeles before assuming his current responsibilities in Chicago.  Ryan received a B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1991.