ED BARON

President

Ed Baron & Associates
 

Ed has headed his own Washington-based training and consulting firm since 1995, and has spent nearly his entire working career involved in print and broadcast media and advertising. His current assignments include design and delivery of programs for advertising agencies, training for media sales representatives; business literacy, strategic planning, supervisory skills and service improvement programs; and computer-based management simulations.

He has developed and presented workshops, simulations and other programs for the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Lee Enterprises, Knight Ridder, Cox, McClatchy, The Dallas Morning News, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and many other newspapers. 

His work in advertising has included programs for DDB Needham, The Newspaper Network, MindShare, McCann-Erickson, Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies. His assignments have taken him throughout North America and to South America, Western and Central Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. 

Before starting his own firm, he was Director of New Ventures for the American Press Institute (API), where he was responsible for API's company-specific seminar and consulting services and its Executive Development Program.  Before joining API, Ed was a vice president of Sterling Institute, Inc., a consulting firm.

He spent eight years on the corporate staff of Gannett, involved the development of training and management development programs, and he was an award-winning print and broadcast journalist.
 

BRUCE BENSON
Senior Managing Director
FTI Consulting

Mr. Benson is a Senior Managing Director in FTI’s Economic Consulting practice and is the global leader of FTI’s Entertainment and Media Practice. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in all aspects of media and technology. He has consulted in a broad range of areas including strategy and market planning, economic analysis, operational effectiveness, intellectual property management and IT preparedness.

Prior to joining FTI, Mr. Benson was leader of PW’s media practice in New York and helped evaluate plant investments for the New York Times. From 2003-2005 Mr. Benson led SAP’s media practice where he led the investment & development of their newspaper solutions which cover ad sales, circulation, single-copy sales and fulfillment, as well as financials and HR. While at SAP he oversaw projects at New York Times, Washington Post, Cox Ohio Publishing, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Toronto Globe and Mail, Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, Times of India and the Morris Newspaper chain.

Mr. Benson is a recognized expert in media and advertising and has helped some of the world’s leading companies achieve their strategic goals, including Sony Music, Microsoft, Bertelsmann, Viacom, Young & Rubicam, Ogilvy, Harper Collins, NBC and Pearson. Mr. Benson has led over 200 projects with clients and as a media executive both in the US and oversees. These projects have focused on strategic planning, revenue optimization, operational effectiveness and cost containment, internet distribution and large-scale IT project management.
 

DAVID BREASHEARS

David Breashears is an accomplished filmmaker, adventurer, author, mountaineer, and professional speaker. Since 1978, he has combined his skills in climbing and filmmaking to complete more than forty film projects.

Breashears is an accomplished, highly sought-after professional speaker who has delivered his presentations throughout North America, Canada, Europe, and Asia. His lectures are closely tied to his ascent of Mount Everest in 1996 as expedition leader and co-director of the IMAX film team. He conducts quarterly lectures each year on leadership, planning and team building at the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France; widely recognized among the world's top-tier business schools as the most innovative and influential. He also speaks about "Leadership in an Unpredictable World" six times annually to groups of Admirals and Commanders at the Naval Post-Graduate School's Center for Executive Education in Monterey, California. - more -
 

STEVE BUTTRY
Director of Tailored Programs
American Press Institute

Steve Buttry has spent 37 years in the newspaper business. He was a reporter, editor and writing coach for six Midwestern newspapers. He became director of Tailored Programs for the American Press Institute in 2005 and has been a leader in the research and teaching of API’s Newspaper Next project. He is writing a Newspaper Next report on using databases to build audience and generate revenue.

Buttry has trained journalists and newspaper executives at more than 200 newspapers, seminars and conferences in more than 45 states and Canadian provinces as well as Mexico, Ecuador, Japan and Germany.
His writing on innovation and journalism has been translated into eight languages.
 

CYNTHIA "Cyndy" CARR
Vice President / Strategy

Cyndy Carr is currently the Senior Vice President with responsibility for Al Día, The Dallas Morning News’ Spanish-language daily; neighborsgo, a group of weekly community-generated newspapers and its companion Web site, neighborsgo.com; and Design Mail, Inc., a direct marketing company owned by The News.  

From August 2006 through May 2007, Cyndy was vice president for strategy at The Dallas Morning News.  She was responsible for developing and overseeing plans for new products and initiatives as the paper adapted to evolving changes in the media environment. Additionally, she identified business opportunities and provided cross-divisional project management for business plan preparation and execution to enhance financial performance. During this time, Carr was also the publisher of neighborsgo, a weekly community newspaper that appears in 16 editions serving 34 communities in print. In April 2007, she helped launch neighborsgo.com, Belo’s first social-networking/community journalism site that serves more than 20 communities that the print editions don’t cover.

Carr joined The News as director of business development, in June 2004. In September 2004, she was promoted to vice president/advertising marketing. In that role, she was responsible for supporting advertising sales activities for The Dallas Morning News advertising teams, including strategy and business development, advertiser communications, sales promotions, the development and publishing of custom publishing products, and all art design and layout.

From 2000 to 2004, Carr held the position of Engagement Manager in the Dallas and Houston offices of McKinsey & Company. 

Carr is a graduate of Texas Christian University and received her Master’s and Doctorate degrees from Rice University. 

She and her husband, Christian, have three children.
 

FREDERICK A. EIGENBROD, Ph.D.

Vice President
Ruotsource Consulting

Rick Eigenbrod is currently Vice President of Ruotsource Consulting, a global consulting services firm supporting client growth and performance through innovative approaches to leadership development, change management, and executive development. Recent projects include the co-design and facilitation of a yearlong leadership development program for the top 250 leaders of an American owned European energy company and also for the executive team and 150 senior managers of a U.S.A. multi media communications corporation.

Previously, Rick was Vice President, Consulting Services of the Right Management Consultants’ organizational development practice in Silicon Valley, CA. Rick provided individual and organizational effectiveness and management consulting services to technology companies throughout the various phases of companies life cycle—from start up through maturity.

Rick has an extensive background in organizational development specializing in work with senior management in the areas of Leadership Effectiveness, Executive Team Development & Facilitation, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Culture. He is a seasoned practitioner of the General Electric “Work Out” process that produces immediate gains in productivity and dramatic reductions in operating costs.

He has managed change management and performance enhancement projects for organizations such as AT&T, Network Associates, Stanford University, Trimble Navigation, DHL, and Hewlett Packard.

He has served as Chairman of three groups of CEOs for The Executive Committee (TEC) as well as serving for over 15 years as a Resource Speaker for 300 TEC groups nationwide. Rick continues to be a featured speaker at TEC and corporate management meetings throughout the United States.

Early in his career, Rick was Co-Director of Psychological Services, Counseling Center at the University of California, Davis. He also served as the Training Development Officer for the Peace Corps in Nepal. For 10 years he conducted Communication Skills Training for the United States Air Force in the U.S., Europe, and the Far East.

Rick holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Clinical Psychology, a M.A. from Auburn University and a B.A. from Tulane University.He is a member of the American Psychological Association.
 

MARTIN “Skip” GRUBANOWITCH

Director,
Cost Segregation Services

Skip has 25 years of experience in providing cost segregation studies, helping clients to defer tax payments and maximize their cash flow.

He has served clients in the following industries:

• Airline • Food & Beverage • Research & Development

• Automotive • Health Care • Restaurants

• Commercial Real Estate • Hotel & Convention • Retail Stores

• Computers/Fiber Optics • Insurance • Sports Stadiums

• Consumer Products • Manufacturing • Other Service Industries

• Financial Services • Newspaper
 

MARK HAWLEY
CEO
Tactician Media, LLC.

Mark Hawley is CEO of Tactician Media LLC, a target marketing services and technology company he co-founded in 2001.  Tactician Media develops and markets internet-based software to support the sales of targeted print advertising at major newspapers in the U.S.  Mark is also manages Tactician’s consulting practice which provides a wide range of related services to newspapers, including:  target marketing sales strategy; the development of effective TMC programs;  methodology for sub-USPS  Zip Code distribution zones; competitive intelligence;  key account acquisition strategy;  formation of newspaper alliances; and, effective direct mail utilization.  Mark is regarded by many to be the foremost authority in the industry today on Valassis’ shared mail distribution system (formerly ADVO).  Currently, over (63) newspapers representing most Top 20 publishing groups use Tactician Media’s mapping,  sales proposal development, and/or order entry software.

Mark’s background includes thirty (30) years of extensive experience in the media industry.  Mark has been on the client side as head of companies engaged in the purchasing of media; he has been General Manager of a full service advertising agency; and, he spent six years with ADVO leading a number of strategic corporate initiatives.  The most significant of those ADVO initiatives was the development of ADVO’s core microtargeting platform called ATZ’s or ADVO Targeting Zones.  This capability has been the underlying driver of ADVO’s growth since fully implemented on a national level in the late 1990’s and one of the main reasons that Valassis sought to acquire ADVO.

Mark received his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a PDM  from the University of Missouri –Kansas City.  He is a frequent speaker at newspaper industry trade meetings, including the Newspaper Target Marketing Coalition (NTMC), International Financial Executives Association, and numerous State Press Associations.
 

HAROLD HIGGINS

Chairman
Cost & Revenue Study
 

Harold Higgins is chairman of the National Cost and Revenue Study. He recently retired after a 28-year career with Knight Ridder where he was publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in Aberdeen, SD, Boulder, CO, San Luis Obispo, CA, and St. Paul, MN.

Higgins has been teaching publishers and financial officers how to strategically improve profitability for several years. He has been an instructor on cost and management at API, Inland, INFE and newspaper associations in New York and Ontario.
 

JERRY KACKLEY
President
K Group

President of K Group and has over 20 years of experience as a senior marketing executive.  He holds advanced degrees in business and economics from Kansas State and Carnegie Mellon University.

Jerry headed Marketing and Business Development functions for Marriott Corporation and Frito Lay/PepsiCo prior to starting K Group in 1989.

His firm, the K Group, serves the newspaper industry in circulation and advertising pricing, sales compensation and revenue forecasting. 

Clients have included:
 

LEON LEVITT

Vice President Digital Media

Cox Newspapers, Inc.

Leon joined Cox Newspapers as Vice President of Digital Media in May 2005. He is responsible for helping Cox Newspapers build local audience, transition and grow revenue, and craft a sustainable Internet strategy. Leon also oversees COXnet, the shared services group that provides Web based utility tools, nontraditional content, design assistance, project management, and infrastructure support.

Prior to joining Cox, Leon was executive vice president at The Arizona Republic where his focus was to develop strategies and business plans that aggregated audience across multiple online and print products. This included young readers, Hispanics, and convergence with a company-owned television station.

Leon joined The Arizona Republic as VP/Circulation in 1996. Prior to joining The Arizona Republic, Leon was vice president of circulation marketing for the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) where his responsibilities included developing programs to better understand readership trends, repositioning the role of circulation as a marketing function, and to add a more business-like approach to subscriber acquisition and retention.

Prior to NAA Leon worked at newspapers in Wilmington, North Carolina and Gadsden Alabama.

Leon began his newspaper career at the Las Vegas Review-Journal after graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies, and an emphasis in journalism.  In 1978 he was editor of the Yell, the campus student newspaper.

While in Arizona Leon served on the board of one of college football’s premier bowl games, the Fiesta Bowl, and in 2001 was the organization’s chairman.

Leon’s wife’s name is Libby, and he has two adult children, Elizabeth and Stephen.
 

A Texas native, Sammy Papert is a graduate of St. Mark's School of Texas and Stanford University. 

He has a background in retail:  He owned and operated the Executive Toy Store, a Sharper Image before its time. 

In media, Mr. Papert spent 15 years at the Papert Companies, a national advertising sales organization that grew to represent 500 daily newspapers during his tenure.  It was this experience that provided key research insights – to both the newspaper and research industries.

In July 1999, Mr. Papert became Chairman and CEO of Belden Associates, the premier newspaper research and consultancy in North America

Papert is and has been involved in many civic organizations.  These include: the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Salesmanship Club, Theatre Operating Company, St. Mark's Alumni Association and Dallas Child Guidance Clinic.

Mr. Papert is married; enjoys swimming, tennis, reading, writing and eventually visiting all the Caribbean Islands, along with collecting Hawaiian shirts.
 

LONNIE STOCKWELL, CPA, CPLC

Vice President/Client Advisor
JPMorgan

Lonnie Stockwell, CPA recently joined JPMorgan as a Vice President/Client Advisor in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Until May 1, 2007, Lonnie was the managing director of the New Orleans offices of Postlethwaite & Netterville, the largest regional accounting and business consulting firm in Louisiana with seven offices located in southeast Louisiana.  He was a tax director in the firm and was admitted as a partner in 1985.  Lonnie served on the firm’s management committee from 1997 until his retirement in 2007.  He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Society of Louisiana CPAs and served as the president of the LCPA in 2000 – 2001.  He is a frequent speaker on a local and national level on subjects such as Leadership and Generational Issues in the Workplace.

Lonnie is a Certified Professional Life Coach and is also certified as a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Technician (NLP is the science of how the brain codes learning and experience).  As a result of his position with P&N, he benefited greatly from dealing with a wide variety of business and community leaders over the years.  His experiences provided him a breath and depth of knowledge and exposure in dealing with difficult people in challenging situations.

Community service has been a focus of Lonnie’s for many years. 
He has been recognized numerous times on the local, state and national levels for his many accomplishments in the civic and community arenas.  He received the AICPA’s National Public Service Award, the highest honor bestowed on a CPA nationally (out of 360,000 CPAs) for community leadership and distinction.  He was the founder and organizer of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute and Leadership Jefferson, both programs that encourage involvement of regional leaders in a process to make their communities the best they can be.  He serves on numerous boards of civic organizations and is committed to giving back to the communities that have allowed him to be successful.

Lonnie resides in and is a native of Baton Rouge and is a graduate of Louisiana State University.

EARL J. WILKINSON
Executive Director and CEO
International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA)
 

Earl J. Wilkinson is chief executive officer and executive director of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA). During his career, Mr. Wilkinson has written books and reports related to the future of media, marketing, and the strategic outlook for the newspaper industry. The 42-year-old Texas native is the publisher of ideas magazine and The Newspaper Industry E-Newsletter, as well as a frequent speaker at newspaper industry conferences worldwide. His views on where newspapers fit into the new media landscape are sought after by the world's leading newspaper companies, and he is widely quoted in trade magazines, newspapers, industry web sites, and more.
 

L. MICHAEL ZINSER
Founding Partner, The Zinser Law Firm,

INFE's Chief Counsel

L. Michael Zinser is the founding partner of the Zinser Law Firm in Nashville, TN.  The Zinser Law Firm has a heavy concentration of clients in communications media.  Mike Zinser is an honors graduate from the University of Cincinnati and he received his law degree from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1975.  He is a member of the Antitrust, Labor Law and Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association.

Since 1975, Mike Zinser has spent the great majority of his time representing communications companies and industry trade associations. Mike is General Counsel to many newspaper trade associations, including INFE.  In addition, Mr. Zinser has worked as private legislative counsel to newspapers and press associations seeking to gain statutory language changes to protect independent contractor status.  Mike’s twenty six years of practice has, in particular, focused on labor/employee relations and circulation legal issues.