Leadership

CEO LinkeIn

Andrew Kandel

Andrew Kandel is the Chief Executive Officer for NYI, leading all divisions of the organization including Sales, Operations, Marketing, Research and Finance.

Andrew brings over 20 years of experience across a suite of the world’s top digital, TV and sponsorship properties. Frequently recognized for his work in advertising innovation and sales excellence, Andrew most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer of Waze @ Google, Americas, where he led sales, business development, acquisition and partnerships.

Prior to Waze, Andrew founded the Sales Excellence Program for Google’s Enterprise Ads Practice after serving as Head of Industry for Google’s Telecom sector for four years. Andrew also held leadership roles at NBC, the National Basketball Association (NBA), NASCAR and Endeavor/IMG, where he represented the US Olympic Team’s sponsorship efforts.

Andrew is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, with a BA in International Relations. He, his wife Melissa, and their two children Samantha & Jack are native New Yorkers who live in Chelsea. He’s a passionate foodie and an avid fisherman.

COO

Tom Donohue

As NYI’s Chief Operating Officer, Tom leads the ad sales operations, products and strategy. He plays a crucial role in the design and implementation of NYI’s Audience One platform (which offers advertisers a seamless, integrated solution to reach over 20 million people in the largest advertising market in the country).

Tom was the COO for Altice Media Solutions, which included NYI as well as Altice Local Media East & West (formerly Suddenlink). His responsibilities included overall technology leadership, strategy, pricing & planning, traffic, commercial insertion, information technology, campaign management and products.

Tom has more than 35 years of technology experience. He served as Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc., where he was a member of the HFM U.S. executive team for three years. He was also on the Lagardère Active International IT Governance Council where he played an integral role in its strategic direction, development and growth.

He also served as Vice President of Information Technology Applications at Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, and Vice President of Professional Services & Software Development at Syllogy Corp.

Tom co-authored a white paper, TV Advertising Programmatic Trading Protocol, which outlined a new procedure for facilitating the buying and selling of TV inventory based on segmented audiences.

Tom received a B.S. from Manhattan College.

Favorite Quote:
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die,
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.

– from the poem “Solitude” by Alexander Pope

CFO LinkeIn

Bill Little

As the Chief Financial Officer for NYI financial strategy, Bill is tasked with maximizing linear, addressable and digital advertising opportunities to over 17 million people in the New York market.

Bill is an accomplished Fortune 100 financial executive with extensive knowledge and expertise in financial operations and reporting, treasury management, global business development and corporate strategy functions. He has a proven track record in financial management, increasing sales and operational efficiency in the execution of new business initiatives and cost structure management.

Prior to joining NYI, Bill spent over nine years at DIRECTV, most recently as Senior Vice President, Business Development & Treasurer. In that role, he was responsible for all global capital structure management, treasury operations and strategic new business development initiatives for both DIRECTV U.S. and DIRECTV Latin America, totaling over $30 billion in annual revenue and over 35 million television subscribers.

He also served as Vice President of Media Investment Banking for Merrill Lynch, and prior to that was an Associate for Lazard Freres Real Estate Investors, LLC.

Bill earned his Doctor of Law (J.D.) degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, and his B.A. from the University of Virginia.

SVP, Sales

John Verre

John Verre is the Senior Vice President of National Sales and Advanced Products for the NYI. As the head of sales, John is responsible for setting and executing the company’s national sales strategy while leveraging NYI’s best-in-class Audience One platform to maximize reach and revenue for his team’s high-profile clients and brands.

Verre’s highly-distinguished career in media sales spans over two decades. Prior to being named to his current position at NYI, John held several senior management roles throughout his twenty-plus year career at Cablevision. He is widely known and respected in the industry for his strong business instincts, astute strategic vision, and comprehensive knowledge of markets across all categories.

An invaluable member of the NYI family, Verre consistently delivers strong results—with stellar ROIs—for numerous advertisers across all business verticals.

General Counsel

Karen Au Claro

As General Counsel for NYI, Karen handles all of the company’s strategic and operational legal matters. She brings over 30 years of legal experience and expertise in complex intellectual property issues, licensing and ownership of technology, privacy and data security issues, advertising and media law, and commercial transactions.

Prior to her current position, Karen worked for twenty years at Cablevision Systems Corporation where she was an in-house lawyer for various sports, entertainment and news businesses, including AMC, IFC, Fuse, SportsChannel, MSG, Newsday and News12. Her responsibilities included managing both an in-house legal team and outside counsel that provided operations-related legal support.

Karen began her career at Robinson, Pearce, Aronson & Berman, which merged with Bryan Cave LLP in 2002. As an associate in the Corporate Department of that New York City law firm, she worked on numerous corporate, financing and securities matters for several high-profile companies.

Karen earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her B.A. from Binghamton University.

BEST PIECE OF CAREER ADVICE:
Always be curious and never stop learning.

VP, Marketing & Communications LinkeIn

Dana Barakat

As the head of marketing and communications for NYI, Dâna is responsible for driving strategic positioning and impactful marketing campaigns for NYI’s various products and services, leading all corporate communications, social media, sales collateral and content marketing efforts. She brings with her 15+ years of experience in marketing and strategy, along with a unique blend of creative and collaborative leadership experience across agency, corporate and consulting environments.

Prior to joining NYI, Dâna was the Vice President of Marketing and Client Services for Altice USA, where she was responsible for all media sales divisions including Altice Media Solutions, Suddenlink Media and New York Interconnect. From 2010-2016, Dâna worked as a consultant in marketing and product development, collaborating with media agencies, technology start-ups and production companies on key campaigns, product development, product marketing and TV/video production. Some of her high-profile clients included Cablevision Media Sales, Hachette Filipacchi Media, Fox News, Ritani and Sprinklr.

Dâna has an M.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts, and a B.A. from the University of Maryland College Park.

“Generosity is giving more than you can. Pride is taking less than you need.“
-Khalil Gibran

VP, Human Resources LinkeIn

Judy Courtney

Judy is the Vice President of Human Resources for NYI. She leads HR in all areas of the department including everything from the development, guidance and implementation of company culture, systems and processes to executive development, employee engagement, company innovation and the corporate leadership that fosters the growth of the entire organization. Judy’s extensive experience in business and human resources make her an expert in the areas of building business performances and aligning the inter-departmental strategies that are an immeasurable contribution to the overall success of the company.

Prior to becoming part of NYI, Judy was already a valued member of the Cablevision family having served as the Vice President/Senior Business Partner at AlticeUSA where she supported all sales organizations throughout the rapidly changing company transformations. Judy’s impressive 20+ year career also includes leadership roles for JP Morgan Chase where she served as Vice President, Leadership Development, and Capital One where she was Senior Director of HR.

Judy has a B.A. and M.A. from Manhattan College and is very active in local civic organizations having served as President of the Garden City Eastern Property Owners Association and as Director at the Recreation and Culture Affairs Commission, as well as being a founding member of the Garden City Mobility Impaired Committee. She also lends her HR and business expertise to speak on industry panels, webinars, and in thought leadership pieces.

In addition to all her efforts in furthering the success of the corporation, Judy never loses sight of the individuals who make up that organization. She prioritizes the well-being of the people of NYI by creating Town Halls, team-building activities, and heading up The Great Life Team to make sure that there’s always some fun in the mix! When she’s not busy bettering the lives of her NYI teams, Judy loves to travel the globe, spend time with friends and family, and no matter what happens, Judy will never – never – give up on the Mets!

Favorite Quote:
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
– John Quincy Adams

VP, News LinkeIn

Michael Felicetti

As the Vice President of NYI’s News division, Michael oversees all local news sales business from agencies, brands and ad-buying services. His main responsibilities include the implementation of strategies that drive the News 12, NY1 portion of NYI’s revenue, while overseeing inventory management, sales training and on-air sponsorships. He also serves as the main point of contact for News 12 and NY1 station management.

Before being named to his current position at NYI, Michael served as Vice President of New Sales at the former New York Interconnect, where he led the migration of the News 12 Networks regional and national revenues into the NYI sales organization, which totaled $29 million.

From 2008-2016, Michael was the Vice President of Regional Sales for News 12, where he developed strategic sales plans and led a team of six account executives to 100% growth over eight years—ultimately resulting in $20M in revenue. Prior to joining News 12, he held senior positions at 1010 WINS. As the General Sales Manager from 2003-2008, he was responsible for the development and implementation of overall strategic plans designed to achieve annual sales budgets of $60M.

Michael is also credited with helping to generate new direct-to-client revenue for 1010 WINS by building a new sales division from the ground up, overseeing all recruitment, training and sales initiatives. During this time, revenue grew to $5 million in 3 years.

He began his career as a Promotion Director for WFAN Radio.

Michael holds a B.S. from Syracuse University.

BEST PIECE OF CAREER ADVICE I’VE EVER RECEIVED:
“I was given two ears and one mouth for a reason – to listen twice as much as I speak.”

VP, Political, Programming, and Local Sales LinkeIn

Randi Langford

Randi leads all of NYI’s political sales efforts, both regionally and nationally. She is responsible for the management of all accounts, strategies, delivery and reporting to clients throughout the NYI footprint.

Randi is an experienced sales executive who has been a part of the NYI family for over 25 years. She brings with her a solid track record that includes hugely successful cross-platform ad campaigns and a strong network of agency and client relationships. Her more recent accomplishments include generating political revenue for 2020 and 2021 that surpassed all projected budgets and expectations.

Prior to the April 2018 spin-off of the new NYI, Randi held the same position at parent company Altice USA. She also served as the Director of Regional Sales (prior to its acquisition by Altice USA) for five years. In this role, she was tasked with leading the execution of media strategies, managing the assignments of accounts, agencies and prospects and owning the annual budget.

She began her career with an 18-year run as an Account Executive at Rainbow Media (a division of Cablevision, now AMC Networks), where she helped deliver market share growth for major blue-chip accounts including General Motors, American Express and Chase.

Randi, a Cynopsis Top Women in Media award winner, earned her M.A. at Teachers College, Columbia University and her B.A. from George Washington University.

Favorite Quote:
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
– Walt Disney

VP, National Ad Sales LinkeIn

Beth Miller

As the VP of National Sales for NYI, Beth is responsible for identifying and selling unique advertising opportunities across the New York market to national and regional brands, leveraging NYI’s best-in-class linear, addressable TV, IP targeting, OTT and VOD solutions.

Beth has built a successful career by developing new and innovative opportunities for clients, and by executing campaigns across a multitude of media platforms—ensuring a more targeted, powerful reach and stronger ROI.

Prior to being named to her current role, Beth held several positions with NYI, including Senior Director of National Sales and National Sales Manager. She began as an Account Executive in 2013, where she was responsible for account management as well as negotiating cable, addressable, digital and interactive advertising solutions.

Before joining NYI, Beth worked at Cablevision for over five years, more recently as the Senior Media Planner, supporting sales staff in all areas, including linear, cable media, interactive advertising, marketing and research. She joined the company in 2007 as a National Sales Coordinator.

Beth earned her B.A. from Marist College and played D1 lacrosse for all four years as the point position, the last line of defense before the goalie. Go Red Foxes! She also played center midfield and sweeper positions in club soccer and was an avid member of dance club. To date, and with the tally always rising, she has run 7 marathons, including NYC (3x), Philly, Chicago, and San Diego (2x).

Most recently, in the spring of 2021, Beth earned an Executive Women in Leadership Certificate from Cornell University.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
“You give life to what you give energy to.”

VP, Regional Sales LinkeIn

Tom McLoughlin

As NYI’s Vice President of Regional Sales, Tom leads the execution of critical media strategies, as well as account management for agencies and prospects. He is responsible for maximizing ad revenue across all platforms through the execution of data-driven, cross-screen campaign strategies that consistently deliver impressive results.

Tom is a client-focused sales executive with over 15 years of experience in advertising and media sales. He has built a strong network of agency and client relationships through years of successful ad campaigns.

Prior to being named to his current position, Tom worked as an Account Executive where he was responsible for selling targeted TV campaigns, including traditional linear and addressable. Before joining NYI, Tom held several positions at Cablevision, including Sales Planner and National Sales Coordinator. He joined the company as a Sales Assistant in 2003.

Tom received his B.A. from Providence College.

VP, Regional Sales LinkeIn

Mike Minardi

As the Vice President of Regional Sales for NYI, Michael leads the execution of highly-successful media strategies, managing the assignments of accounts, agencies, and prospects while ensuring that both individual and team goals are consistently met.

Michael has 20+ years of experience in the media sales industry. He is an expert in working alongside high-profile clients on large-scale campaigns that drive engagement and revenue while using best-in-class multiscreen advertising solutions. Prior to being named to his current position at NYI, Michael served as Account Executive and was tasked with selling targeted TV campaigns including traditional linear and addressable.

He received his B.A. from St. Bonaventure University.

VP, Operations & Campaign Management LinkeIn

Sona Pehlivanian

Sona serves as NYI’s Vice President of Operations and Campaign Management for Advertising and is responsible for strategic development regarding data, market and research analytics, inventory sources and partnerships, technical process improvements, and operations support for data, linear, addressable, interactive and digital sales.

Sona is a marketing and operations executive with an accomplished track record of contributing to the development, operations and revenue growth of award-winning advertising technologies including addressable advertising.

Prior to joining the NYI, Sona held a similar role at Altice USA where she served as one of the original members of the Advanced Platforms Sales Team. She began her career on the marketing team for Softbank Ziff-Davis and quickly advanced to managing major accounts including Yahoo and Hotmail for one of the nation’s first online advertising sales organizations.

Sona has been the recipient of several industry awards including Most Powerful Women in Advertising by CableFax and as an Industry Leader for the Top Women in Media Awards by Cynopsis.

Sona has a B.A. in Communications from Rutgers University.

Best piece of career advice:
Be prepared. It makes your meetings and interactions more direct and efficient and carries over to all aspects of your life. (Some of my best managers were exemplary of this and I always feel more confident when I’m prepared and with facts straight.)

VP, Pricing and Planning LinkeIn

Michael Philbin

As the Vice President of Pricing and Planning for NYI, Michael is responsible for delivering advanced media solutions to both clients and Account Executives.

He is tasked with identifying pricing and revenue opportunities aimed at improving the customer experience and increasing inventory sellout rates. He’s also instrumental in developing the necessary tools, systems and dashboards needed to build smarter schedules and optimize the utilization and packaging of inventory.

Michael has been a key member of the NYI family for over 13 years, with a demonstrated history of leveraging his expertise in analytics, sales and account management across multiple positions. His track record includes the creation of packages which have consistently met customer needs by expanding and extending NYI’s reach across all networks and day parts.

Prior to being named to his current position, Michael was NYI’s Director of Pricing and Planning, where he managed commercial inventory, developed rate cards and assisted in the creation of consumer segments pertaining to NYI’s programmatic buying platform. Additionally, he performed financial and inventory-based ad-hoc analysis for executive management across six P&Ls, including linear and advanced platform businesses, totaling $240 million in annual business. Michael also served as Manager of Sales Services, where he led the analyst team and worked closely with consultants on new product deployments. He joined NYI as a Sales Assistant in 2005.

Michael received his B.A. from Sacred Heart University.

Best piece of career advice I’ve ever received:
“Good things take time, as they should.  We shouldn’t expect good things to happen overnight. Actually, getting something too easily or too soon can cheapen the outcome.”
– John Wooden (former UCLA basketball coach)