For much of the 2000s, he was a top ad sales executive at NBCUniversal. In the 1990s, he was a western region sales leader for the former Paramount Television. And, since February 2012, he had been known as the national ad specialist for Twentieth Television.
Now, this 1983 Hobart and William Smith Colleges English degree holder has been named the Executive Director of asset management company Manhattan West.
That would be Robert Wussler, who will be based in New York — a move designed to expand the presence in New York of an operation headquartered in the Century City business district of Los Angeles.
Specifically, Wussler will provide “tailored asset-management services to a select group of high-net-worth private clients” from the Big Apple, while also launching a practice specializing in evaluating investment opportunities, including venture funding and private equity transactions, in the technology-media-telecom (TMT) sector.
Naturally, Wussler will have a focus on opportunities within the media/entertainment, sports and consumer tech fields.
“Manhattan West, while based in Los Angeles, has clients all over the country, which made it a logical next step to establish a New York footprint,” said Manhattan West CEO Lorenzo Esparza. “I’ve known and collaborated with Rob for decades and his analytical approach as well as the skill sets he brings – in developing client relationships, building business portfolios and evaluating broad trends, among others – are ideal for our mission and will be invaluable as we grow our firm.”
Wussler has been an active investor in real estate, capital markets, private equity and venture capital over the last 30 years — and he’s been a client since Manhattan West’s inception. “I’ve had a very successful personal relationship with the team here and the opportunity to join them is the perfect fit for me,” Wussler said. “My business experience will help me to bring a disciplined data-driven approach to identifying and helping clients make sound investment decisions, and I’ll be working with some very smart and accomplished colleagues hailing from the top universities and firms such as JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley.”
In his most recent post at Fox’s Twentieth Television, as VP/Sales and Integration, Wussler managed major advertising agency relationships for the company’s syndication business, a portfolio in excess of $300 million. He also directed integrated media executions across all company platforms, cultivated new advertisers, developed new revenue streams via non-traditional advertising clients, and drove formation of several new technology partnerships.
Wussler is also a senior advisor to two vertically integrated technology companies where his experience and guidance drove numerous financial innovations and created new revenue initiatives. He also has successfully completed the development of eight residential real estate projects.
From 1990-2002, Wussler served as VP/Western Region and Division Sales Manager for Paramount TV; In 2003 he became VP/Midwest and Eastern Manager for Program Distribution at NBCU. There, he managed NBCEnterprises Chicago’s syndicated program sales and staff during a significant portfolio expansion. Wussler transferred to New York following the merger between NBC and Universal, creating NBCUniversal.
