It will likely be years, not months, before TEGNA‘s assets can be fully integrated into parent Nexstar Media Group‘s holdings as litigation short of an unwind of a merger DirecTV and a coalition of state Attorneys General led by California’s Rob Bonta contest.
This explains the swift addition of “top sales roles” under Patrick Paolini.
They’ll be taking on “new and expanded roles,” TEGNA announced on Thursday, under the leadership of Sr. VP of Sales Mark Cornetta:
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Jay Donovan has been promoted to Vice President of Digital Sales, leading digital growth strategy across the company. “With over 15 years of experience in digital media and advertising technologies, Donovan works with businesses and marketers to harness data and use precision targeting to drive measurable results,” TEGNA said in an announcement.
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Kristie Gonzales has been named Vice President of Ad Sales, overseeing teams in TEGNA’s Northeast and Southeast regions. She rises from VP of Revenue and, concurrently serves as President/GM of WXIA-TV “11Alive,” the NBC affiliate in Atlanta.
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Kari Jacobs has also been named a VP of Ad Sales, and will focus on TEGNA’s Midwest and West regions. Jacobs has been with TEGNA for more than 20 years, serving as a general manager and revenue lead in several markets.
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Byron Wilkinson has been named VP of Ad Sales for TEGNA’s Texas and Mid-South regions. Wilkinson currently serves as President/GM of ABC affiliate KVUE-TV in Austin and has spent more than 26 years in broadcast and digital media, building teams and strategies that span local and national sales across linear, streaming, and digital platforms.
Cornetta commented, “Jay, Kristie, Kari and Byron have proven they know how to bring technology, sales expertise and creativity together to serve our clients. In an increasingly competitive environment, we need experienced leaders willing to rewrite the playbook for our local sales teams, and they’re the right people to do it.”
