Michael Kassan
Michael Kassan | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 11, 1950 |
| Alma mater | University of California Los Angeles; New York University |
| Occupation | Chairman & CEO |
| Board member of | UJA- New York Marketing Communications Committee, National Association of Television Program Executives, Ad Council, San Diego Zoo |
| Children | 3 |
Michael E. Kassan (born December 11, 1950) is a digital media expert, entrepreneur, commentator, and adviser to media companies. Kassan is the founder and CEO of MediaLink.[1][2]
Biography
After receiving his BA from UCLA[3], JD from Southwestern Law School[4] and LLM-Taxation from NYU, Kassan began his career as a tax lawyer in the entertainment industry where he practiced for over 10 years.[5]
Kassan is married to Ronnie and has three children, Alex, Brett and Adam.[6]
Business career
After several entrepreneurial ventures, Kassan become the largest franchisee of El Pollo Loco and Rally’s Hamburgers in Southern California, Northern California, and Nevada.[7]
In 1986, Kassan entered the entertainment business as the President and COO of International Video Entertainment, a home video company which now comprises a large portion of Lionsgate.[8]
In 1994, Kassan joined Initiative Media Worldwide as President/COO and Vice-Chairman.[9] In that role, Kassan emphasized strategic management of diversified portfolios and helped grow media billings from $1.5 billion to over $10 billion.[10]
In 1997, he was named one of the top media executives in America by Advertising Age Magazine.[11]
MediaLink
Kassan founded MediaLink in 2003 as advertising, marketing, content, sales, service and commerce become more closely linked through technology.[12] The company advises leading media companies and executives.[13]" It has been described as "a powerhouse in the media and entertainment world."[14] It has over seventy operators working out of offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.[15] The company now offers agency reviews, executive search, trade marketing and financial due diligence.[16][17]
Since 2010, MediaLink has become a leader in agency reviews.[18] The firm has authored industry-advocacy reports, partnering with the Digital Citizens Alliance to create Good Money Gone Bad, which brought attention to how advertising dollars fund copyright infringement sites.[19]
The firm has helped to build industry consensus by organizing conferences and events, such as CES, Cannes, Mobile World Congress, ANA Masters of Marketing, AAAA's Transformation and the IAB.[20] As a partner to the CEA, MediaLink helped build the "Brand Matters" official programming track at CES.[21] that features keynote speeches and panel events with luminaries from Silicon Valley to Madison Avenue.
Since 2014, the firm has offered consulting in programmatic ad technology,[22] hiring Matt Spiegel, former SVP at MediaMath. Daryl Evans, a former VP at AT&T, was appointed SVP, Mobile, Media, and Advertising Strategy at MediaLink.[14]
Today, MediaLink employs about 70 people.[23] It has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta.[24]
Media career
Kassan produces and hosts a radio show on Clear Channel, "Medialinked -- Inside Advertising and Media with Michael Kassan." The show airs online on iHeartRadio and wor710.com.[25]
Kassan is a keynote speaker, moderator and blogger.[26][27]
His blog post highlighting measurement in media mix modeling prompted the radio industry to take out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal.[28]
Kassan has appeared as an industry expert in Forbes,[29] The Wall Street Journal,[12][30] Ad Week,[31] Ad Age,[32] The New York Times,[33][34] and the Los Angeles Times.[35]
He served as a Special Adviser to Buddy Media[36] through its ultimate acquisition by Salesforce.com.[37]
Kassan will serve as the advertiser co-chair of Forecast 2015, along Katz Media Group CEO, Mark Rosenthal.[38]
Community involvement
Kassan serves as Chair of the UJA-New York Marketing Communications Committee,[39] Co-Chair of the Advertising Hall of Achievement, on the Board of the National Association of Television Program Executives,[40] the Global Advisory Board of the Wharton Future of Advertising Program,[41] and a Director on the Board of the Ad Council.[42]
Kassan sits on the board of the San Diego Zoo[43] and previously served as Chairman of the California State Senate Select Committee on the Entertainment Industry.[44] He has been actively involved with the H.E.L.P. Group, a non-profit organization serving children with special needs, and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program of Los Angeles.
References
- ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey (October 15, 2014). "Martha Stewart Magazines to Be Licensed to Meredith Corp". The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Learmonth, Michael (November 5, 2013). "Ubiquitous-in-Adland Michael Kassan Gets His Own Radio Show". Advertising Age.
- ^ "Ultimate Mobilizer Kassan Finds More Success".
- ^ "State Bar Profile".
- ^ "Meet Michael Kassan, Ad Land's Connector".
- ^ Archerd, Amy (May 12, 2008). "Whatta Wedding". Variety.
- ^ "Meet Michael Kassan, Ad Land's Connector".
- ^ "Highlighted Speakers".
- ^ "Michael Kassan Expands His Advisory Role With Clear Channel".
- ^ "Advertising Space on Bananas? Why Not?".
- ^ "Wharton School".
- ^ a b Hagey, Keach (August 5, 2014). "Newspapers Press On, On Their Own". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Michael Kassan".
- ^ a b Bergen, Mark (October 27, 2014). "MediaLink Poaches Top AT&T Mobility Marketer". Ad Age. Advertising Age.
- ^ "Crunchbase".
- ^ "Media Link".
- ^ "Crunchbase".
- ^ "Overall Activity Billings". RECMA.
- ^ Moses, Lucia (February 18, 2014). "New Report Says How Much Advertising Is Going to Piracy Sites". Ad Week.
- ^ Kafka, Peter (January 12, 2014). "The Second CES: No Giant TVs, No Booth Babes — Just a Ton of Media Money and Michael Kassan". recode.
- ^ Kafka, Peter (February 12, 2014). "The Second CES: No Giant TVs, No Booth Babes — Just a Ton of Media Money and Michael Kassan".
- ^ Bruell, Alexandra (September 22, 2014). "MediaLink Aims to Expand Consulting on Programmatic Ad Tech". Ad Age. Advertising Age.
- ^ "MediaLink Expands Leadership Team with Programmatic Pioneer Matt Spiegel". SYS-CON Media. Business Wire. September 23, 2014.
- ^ Caitlin, Kelly (October 28, 2014). "MediaLink Appoints Daryl Evans As New Head of Media Strategy". Virtual Strategy Magazine. Business Wire.
- ^ "Clear Channel". August 13, 2012.
- ^ "What is the only advertising that works?". Radio Ink. Radio Ink. October 2, 2014.
- ^ "Twitter". Twitter.
- ^ "Media Link-ed".
- ^ Pomerantz, Dorothy (April 1, 2014). "With Disney Buying Maker, Do All Big Media Companies Need To Up Their YouTube Game?". Forbes.
- ^ Vranica, Suzanne (September 28, 2014). "Digital Media to Take Center Stage at Advertising Week". The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Creating Change in Cannes Even in Today's High-Tech World, Innovation Requires a Human Touch". Ad Week. Ad Week. June 9, 2014.
- ^ Peterson, Tim. "Maker Studios, Omnicom Sign Eight-Figure Upfront Deal for Web Video". Advertising Age. Advertising Age.
- ^ "Accounts and People of Note in the Advertising Industry". The New York Times. November 11, 2013.
- ^ Kaufman, Leslie (September 9, 2013). "2 Companies in Web Video Are Expected to Merge". The New York Times.
- ^ Chmielewski, Dawn (January 24, 2012). "YouTube video-game channel Machinima aims for the next level". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Lee, Edmund (August 15, 2011). "Buddy Media Raises $54 Million as Business Embraces Social". Advertising Age.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Drew (June 4, 2012). "Salesforce to Acquire Buddy Media for as Much as $745 Million". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "KASSAN TO CO-CHAIR FORECAST 2015". Radio Ink. August 25, 2014.
- ^ "Marketing Communications Division". UJA Federation of New York.
- ^ "Board of Directors". natpe.
- ^ "Michael Kassan". Wharton University of Pennsylvania.
- ^ "Board of Directors". Ad Council.
- ^ "Foundation Board". San Diego Zoo.
- ^ "Michael Kassan Expands His Advisory Role With Clear Channel". September 19, 2013.