Advisors

Brian D. Fisher

Brian Fisher is Vice President of Digital Media Sales at the ABC Television Network and oversees national sales for the ABC Television Network family of websites including ABC.com, ABCNews.com, SOAPnet.com, Oscar.com and the Hulu Network.

Previously Mr. Fisher was Account Executive for News Sales for the ABC Television Network and Senior Account Executive for ABC Digital. Mr. Fisher made his first foray into the digital space at The Excite Network as an Account Executive representing iWon.com and Excite.com.

Prior to joining The Excite Network, Mr. Fisher was an Associate Account Executive at CNN and a network television buyer at McCann-Erickson.

He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona in 1996. He resides with his wife, Meredith, and their children, Noah and Emerson in Livingston, New Jersey.

Tim Hanlon

Tim Hanlon is the Founder and CEO of The Vertere Group, LLC, a boutique investment advisory and strategic consulting firm focused on helping today’s most forward-leaning brands, content producers, entrepreneurs, and investors benefit from rapidly changing technological advances in marketing, media and consumer communications.

Hanlon was previously Founder and Managing Director of Velociter, the innovation-centric partnership and strategic investment arm of Interpublic Group’s corporate media agency division Mediabrands – where he was chiefly responsible for driving entrepreneurial innovation through proprietary relationships with more than a dozen emerging venture-backed media/marketing startup firms.

Before Velociter, Hanlon was Executive Vice President/Managing Director of Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi Ventures –  the strategic partnership and investment arm of VivaKi (comprising Starcom MediaVest Group, Zenith Optimedia Group, Digitas, Razorfish, and Denuo), which he founded in 2008, after launching predecessor Ventures practices for Denuo (2006) and Publicis Groupe Media/PGM (2005).  In those roles, Hanlon served in formal advisory and directorial positions with over three dozen media-related startups, while managing successful exits with more than a half-dozen firms, including Sling Media (acquired by Echostar/Dish Network, 2007); Navic Networks (Microsoft, 2008); Rapt (Microsoft, 2008); SnapTell (Amazon/A9, 2009); Dapper (Yahoo, 2010); Pelago (Groupon, 2011); Tumri (Collective Media, 2011); Panache (24/7 Real Media/WPP, 2011); Sezmi (KIT Digital, 2012); and Brightcove (IPO, 2012).

Prior to founding the Denuo Ventures and PGM Ventures practices, Hanlon was Senior Vice President/Director, Emerging Contacts for Starcom MediaVest Group.  He was chiefly responsible for all US client activity and agency initiatives in the field of emerging media technologies, including the firm’s ground-breaking TV 2.0 Practice, centered around evolutionary television platforms such as interactive/ enhanced television, on-demand video, digital video recording, interactive program guide navigation, addressable advertising, and digital broadcasting/multi-casting.

Hanlon has over 20 years of classic, digital and “emerging” media and marketing experience including senior management positions at marketing promotions agency Frankel (Chicago), regional advertising agency Creative Alliance (Louisville, KY), digital content pioneer Starwave (Bellevue, WA), and credit card issuer MBNA America (Wilmington, DE).

Hanlon also has wide-ranging journalism experience, including production, editing and writing stints at CBS News, Sports Illustrated, the former Radio & Records, and the Voice of America.

Hanlon holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, and a BA from Georgetown University.

Marc Ruxin

Marc leads Universal McCann’s global Innovation practice across businesses and disciplines. In this capacity works with traditional media companies on cutting edge brand integrations, develops groundbreaking social media ideas, and works with VCs and emerging media technology start-ups to create scalable digital marketing opportunities for clients. He is based in the company’s San Francisco office. Marc had spent the previous three years in a similar role at sister company McCann WorldGroup.

Before joining UM/McCann, Marc was chief operating officer of The Mill Group, the leader in commercial visual effects, and Beam.tv, the leading advertising digital asset management system. Before that time, Marc served as vice president of business development at iVast, the early leader in MPEG4 technology, and as vice president of business development and marketing at Eveo, Inc., one of the earliest use-generated content portals. Marc also worked for WPP Group, where he was an MBA Marketing Fellow and ultimately led West Coast new media strategy.

Marc sits on the Boards and Advisory Boards of numerous internet and technology start-ups in Silicon Valley. He started his career in A&R at EMI Records. Marc has a BA from Hamilton College and an MBA from Columbia Business School, and lives in San Francisco with his wife and three children. Marc blogs about music and film at Snooze Button.

Jim Stanley

Jim Stanley is a seasoned expert in marketing, product, and consumer insights strategies. Jim has over 15 years of experience leading product organizations for interactive media businesses, spanning strategy, product marketing, content, product and program management, operations, customer experience, and customer care.

Jim drove the creation of marketing, product, and analytics disciplines for StarStar and Zoove from 2010 – 2012, and transitioned to an advisory role in 2013. Prior to Zoove, from 2005 – 2010, Jim was Vice-President, Products for CNET where he oversaw every aspect of CNET’s product strategy and operations. Jim began working at CNET in 1998 and guided many different aspects of CNET’s products and businesses during his tenure, including running Download.com and driving numerous mobile initiatives such as CNET’s first iPhone and Android apps. Upon CBS’s acquisition of CNET Networks in 2008, Jim also helped drive the relaunch of CBS News in 2009. Jim is also the founder of Good-natured Consulting, a successful product strategy consultancy based in San Francisco, CA. Jim is an alumni of University of California, San Diego where he studied Literature/Writing and Economics.

Ken Hayes

Ken Hayes has a passion for technology in general and mobile technology in particular. Over more than 16 years of working for growth-stage companies in the mobile universe, he has led sales, marketing and account management teams for both mobile operators and for companies providing mobile services and applications. His most recent position was EVP of carrier relations for mobile content provider Thumbplay, and he has previously served as SVP of sales at Motricity, senior director of the Interactive Wireless Services division of InPhonic and several marketing roles at Nextel.

Ken has a BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia and an MS in Marketing from Georgia State University. He is an avid runner, cyclist and triathlete.

Chuck Parrish

Chuck Parrish, formally cofounder and executive vice president of Phone.com (PHCM) (now Openwave Systems, Inc. (OPWV) in Redwood City, California, is now a private investor and advisor to several technology companies. Before cofounding Openwave, Mr. Parrish was vice president of marketing and general manager of Mobile Data for GTE Mobile Communications (now Verizon (VZ)). Prior to that, he was senior vice president of operations at Contel Cellular, Inc. and cofounder and CEO of AmeriCom Corporation in Atlanta.

Mr. Parrish also served as chief of staff in the Department of Interior during the Carter Administration, Carter/Mondale Texas campaign manager during the 1976 general election and national field director during the 1979-1980 Carter/Mondale primary campaign. Mr. Parrish served as a division director in the Georgia Department of Natural Resources under Governors Jimmy Carter and George Busbee. Mr. Parrish Chairs the Board of the Family Independence Initiative in Oakland, CA and is a member of the Boards of Novarra, Inc. in Itasca Illinois, the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, DC, and the Peninsula Youth Sailing Foundation in Palo Alto, CA.

Mr. Parrish is married with two grown children and splits his time between San Francisco, CA, Martha’s Vineyard, MA and Sarasota, FL.

Joe Peyronnin

Joe Peyronnin is currently an investor and adviser to several digital media companies. He also is a journalism professor at both the New York University and Hofstra University as well as a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, where he writes about politics, business and the media. Joe has spent forty years working in the field of journalism as a senior executive, producer, writer and educator covering ten national elections, a dozen international summits and a handful of military conflicts.

Joe created and ran Telemundo’s first network news division as its Executive Vice President. During his tenure he created newsmagazine programs, such as Sin Fronteras and A Rojo Vivo, as well as the weekend newscast called Noticiero Telemundo Fin De Semana. Previously, Peyronnin served as President of Fox News, put together the core of what is now the Fox News Channel and was instrumental in creating Fox News Sunday.

Previously he was Vice President and Assistant to the President CBS News, responsible for worldwide news gathering and programming, including 60 Minutes and the CBS Evening News. Prior to Joe’s position as Washington Bureau Chief at CBS News, he was a CBS Evening News producer in Washington, covering the White House, Congress and foreign assignments, as well as meeting six U.S. Presidents and many world leaders.

He has won two Emmy Awards, a Polk Award and a special award from MHA-NYC. He is a Trustee at Columbia College Chicago and Gracie Square Hospital, Executive Vice Chair of the Board of the Mental Health Association of NYC, and member of the Council of Foreign Relations. He has an MBA from Walter Heller School of Business at Roosevelt University and a BA from Columbia College Chicago.

Howard Ziment

Howard Ziment has over 22 years experience as a senior business executive and strategic marketer. He is currently a management consultant, strategic and marketing advisor and coach of senior executives and entrepreneurs.

For over 20 years Howard served as CEO of The Ziment Group, growing revenue to over $80 million and becoming the fourth largest private health care research organization in the world. In 2001 he sold The Ziment Group to The Kantar Group, the information and consultancy division of the WPP Group (the world’s largest marketing services organization), and continued as CEO of the division for five more years. Since 2006 he has served as the Non-Executive Chairman of The Ziment Group.