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Speaker Bios

David Algire
Vice President of Retail Sales
Meredith Corporation

David Algire, Vice President of Retail Sales, Meredith Corporation is a 25+ year veteran of the magazine retail industry. Algire’s career began at Reader’s Digest, where he spent 11 years in sales and management positions. After leaving Reader’s Digest, Algire became Vice President, Retail Sales at PRIMEDIA.  He later returned to Reader’s Digest where he spent 7 years as VP, Retail Sales and was an integral part of the launch of Every Day with Rachael Ray and the successful expansion of the Taste of Home franchise.  Algire joined the Meredith Corporation in 2008.

Richard Alleger
Senior Vice President, Retail
Rodale, Inc.

Richard Alleger is Senior Vice President, Retail at Rodale, Inc., a position he has held since 2006. In this role, he is responsible for all circulation for Rodale. He began his career at Rodale Press in the marketing/circulation department, where he became Single Copy Sales Manager in 1983. Before becoming Vice President in 1995, he was Single Copy Sales Director and Director of Corporate Retail Sales. Prior to joining Rodale, Alleger was Regional Sales Director for the Marvel Comics Group. He serves on the board of the Periodical & Book Association of America and is a past President of the organization.

Steve Burbridge
Senior VP of Sales and Logistics, West
Time/Warner Retail Sales & Marketing

Steve Burbridge is the Senior VP of Sales and Logistics at Time/Warner Retail, responsible for the Midwest, West, and Wal-Mart, a position he has held since January 2005. He joined the former TDS in November of 1998 as the Director of Sales for the Drug Class of Trade.  In January of 2000, he became the VP of Sales Management responsible for areas such as Training, Field Force Automation, and Process Improvement. He assumed the responsibility for National Accounts in November of 2000 and for North American Sales in March 2004. Prior to joining Time Inc, Burbridge spent 10 years with CVS/pharmacy in roles in Merchandising, Advertising, and Marketing.

Chris Butler
Consumer Marketing Director
Hearst Magazines

Chris Butler is a thirty-year consumer marketing veteran with roots in the newsstand market.  From 1979 to 1989 he held a variety of executive positions at Select Magazines, a national distributor.  Since 1989 Butler has worked at Hearst.  From 1990 to 1996 he was Director of Hearst Newsstand Development at ICD, with responsibility for all aspects of newsstand planning for Hearst titles.  Throughout his tenure at Hearst, Butler has contributed to the development of the company’s industry-standard newsstand efficiency programs.  In the past two years he has focused on innovative business development with Hearst’s largest retail partners while acting as Consumer Marketing Director for Esquire, SmartMoney, and Popular Mechanics.

Ronald J. Clark
President and COO
Hudson News

Ron Clark’s career in the magazine industry has spanned over thirty years, encompassing virtually all aspects of magazine wholesale distribution. He is currently President and COO of all of Hudson News’s wholesale companies, a position he received shortly after joining the company in 1999 to manage the New York Division. He previously worked for Klein News Company, a magazine wholesaler in Cleveland, Ohio.  During his time at Klein, he managed warehouse operations, the delivery system, and the marketing staff, which then led to becoming Vice President of Operations. Following this position, he was made President, a position he held for 7 years.

Baird Davis
Circulation Consultant

Baird Davis, circulation consultant to the magazine publishing industry, began his magazine publishing career 40 years ago with Time Inc.’s fulfillment division in Chicago.  His career has included positions with CRM, Inc. (the original publisher of Psychology Today) and, for a period of 25 years, he was employed by Ziff Davis Publishing Company.  He retired from that company in 1998 as Senior Vice President Circulation. Currently, as Contributing Editor to Circulation Management he writes regular articles on various subjects of interest to the circulation industry.

Michael P. Duloc
President & Chief Executive Officer
Kable Media Services, Inc.

Michael P. Duloc has held his current position since June 2007. He joined Kable Media Services Inc. as Senior Vice President of Client Services and Business Development of the Distribution Services division, and was later promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of that group. Previously, he was President of Capital Distributing Company, a national magazine distributor, and prior to that he was President of Triad Services, Inc., a subscription fulfillment company. Earlier in his career, Duloc was in Technical Sales and Marketing with Diamond Shamrock Corporation.

Jay Felts
Senior Vice President, North American Sales
CMG

Jay Felts is Senior Vice President, North American Sales for CMG, with ultimate responsibility for the
company's relationships within the wholesaler and retailer communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Felts oversees the efforts of multiple Sales VP's, responsible for wholesale logistics/sales, retail chain marketing, in-store merchandising and in-store display fixtures. With related responsibilities in Category Management/Marketing Analysis, his overall team is responsible for CMG's approximately $1.3 Billion in annual retail sales. Before joining CMG, Felts was Senior Vice President of The News Group and previously held executive positions with Simon & Schuster. Earlier in his career, he held positions of increasing responsibility on the sales staffs of The New York Times Company and Time Warner Retail.

Todd Garland
Vice President, Marketing
DSI

Todd Garland is Vice President, Marketing for DSI.  He is responsible for all of the Marketing in the US and Canada for DSI Clients.  Garland has served in several capacities during his 20 years with DSI including District Manager, Account Executive, National Marketing Director and Divisional Vice President. Prior to DSI, Garland was with Globe Communications as a District Manager.

Rob Gursha
Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
Time/Warner Retail Sales & Marketing

Rob Gursha oversees a full range of sales, marketing and promotional services for more than 600 Time Inc. and client publications, which represent one third of all magazines sold at retail. Prior to joining TWRSM, Gursha was President of Time Inc. Home Entertainment, which publishes books, calendars, and videos for the Time Inc. family of magazines, and for third-party clients.  He is the immediate past Chairperson of the Direct Marketing Association(DMA) Circulation Council; recipient of the 2005 DMA Circulation Hall of Fame Award; and a faculty member of the Stanford Publishing Course in California.

John Harrington
Partner
Harrington Associates, LLC

John Harrington is a Partner in Harrington Associates, LLC, which publishes The New Single Copy and the annual Magazine Retail Sales Experience series of studies, provides services to the periodical distribution industry, and works with individual wholesalers, publishers, and national distributors. The data from his studies is considered the definitive measure of magazine single copy sales. Harrington Associates was founded in July of 1996. For nearly twenty years prior to that, Harrington worked for the Council for Periodical Distributors Associations, the trade association for periodical wholesalers in the United States and Canada, first as Editor of CPDA News, then as Executive Vice President, before being named President in 1986.

Nina B. Link
President and Chief Executive Officer
Magazine Publishers of America

Nina Link joined Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) in 1999, and has reinvigorated the organization through highly strategic initiatives in government affairs, advertising, circulation and professional development. And under her direction, the MPA website (www.magazine.org) has become one of the most popular resources for media professionals, and the Magazines 24/7 annual conferences has become the leading digital summit for the consumer magazine industry.  Previously, Link served as Group President, Publishing and Interactive for Sesame Workshop, where she was responsible for the magazine publishing, book publishing, database, interactive software and school divisions. Before that, she headed her own consulting firm, The Link Group, Inc., designing and developing multimedia educational and training programs.

Thomas Masterson
Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing and Manufacturing
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.

Tom Masterson is senior vice president, consumer marketing and manufacturing at Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Previously, Masterson was based in Hong Kong as VP managing director for BusinessWeek Asia. Masterson was VP / worldwide circulation for BusinessWeek from 1998 to 2005.

Al McClain
CEO and Founder
RetailWire.com

Al McClain is a founder of RetailWire.com, the online community for the retailing and related industries. He has spent 30+ years building businesses - both clients' and his own - in the retailing industry. McClain's career highlights include sales, marketing, and executive management positions at Unilever Bestfoods, Red Rose Tea, Trade Dimensions, and Progressive Grocer/Retail Insights. He co-founded IdeaBeat.com in 1998 and RetailWire in 2002. He regularly works with industry clients such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Nielsen, Oracle, DemandTec, Infosys, HCL, and Motorola. RetailWire.com is the retailing industry’s leading expert discussion community, with over 100 members of its BrainTrust expert panel and 45,000 readers.

Kathleen Meier
Vice President/Marketing & Sales
Harrisburg News Company

Kathleen “Kathy” Meier is Vice President/Marketing & Sales for Harrisburg News Company. She grew up in the magazine and book industry working at her dad’s (Joseph Meier’s) business, INCOR Periodicals, during her high school and college summers. INCOR Periodicals was then an independent magazine wholesaler based in Oregon. After college, Meier became a magazine sales representative for Warner Publisher Services, and was shortly appointed Division Manager overseeing wholesale sales. During her tenure at WPS/TDS, she was also Director/Retail Marketing and Marketing Director/Client Services. After gaining knowledge and perspective from the publisher/national distributor side, she returned to the wholesale side of the business, joining Harrisburg News Company in 2002.

Will Michalopoulos
Vice President, Retail Sales & Marketing
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.

Will Michalopoulos is responsible for all single copy marketing, distribution, and financial activities for all Hachette Filipacchi Media Consumer Magazines and Woman’s Day Special Interest Magazines.  Prior to HFM he served as Consumer Marketing Director, Retail Sales for Ziff Davis Media.  He also spent 5 ½ years as Newsstand Director, North America for BusinessWeek. Michalopoulos also held the previous positions of Retail Sales Manager, Consumer Reports & Consumer Reports Books. He began his single copy career as Marketing Representative for ARA Services – Magazine & Book Division, in Washington, DC.  Michalopoulos is the currently the chairman of the board for the Periodical & Book Association of America and had previously been the longest serving president of the organization (1998 – 2004).

Lee Nichols
President/CEO
Dechert-Hampe & Company

Lee Nichols is President/CEO of Dechert-Hampe & Company, a sales and marketing consulting firm with offices in Connecticut, Chicago and California. Nichols has worked in the Consumer Goods Industry his entire career, beginning with management positions at the Jewel Companies in Chicago, as well as executive positions with several large consulting firms. This experience has exposed him to over 100 product categories, and most of the sales, distribution, wholesale and retail channels through which consumer products flow, and includes over 12 years of experience in the Magazine category. In addition, Nichols has facilitated industry share groups and advisory councils, and published numerous articles in leading trade journals and books.

 
Michela O’Connor Abrams
President & Publisher
Dwell

Michela O’Connor Abrams is the President and Publisher of Dwell. Under her leadership, Dwell has been included on the Adweek HotList, the Advertising Age A-List, named a Cappell's Circulation Top Ten Performer multiple times, and, in 2005, awarded a National Magazine Award for General Excellence. In 2005, she was honored by Media Industry News as Sales Leader of the Year. Prior to Dwell, O'Connor Abrams was the President of Imagine Media’s Business Division. She has held executive positions at IDG, Ziff-Davis and McGraw-Hill. O’Connor Abrams serves on the Board of Magazine Publishers of America’s Independent Magazine Group, is an Operating Partner at Meriturn Partners, holds advisory roles at GOOD Magazine and Enclave Rising, and most recently was named Chair of the Rugmark International Board.

David A. Parry
President
The News Group US

David Parry began his career in 1982 with Condé Nast Publications, where he held a variety of positions within the company throughout Arizona, Texas and California. In 1992, after 10 years with Condé Nast Publications, he moved over to Martin News Agency and served as their General Manager.  Seven years later, in 1999, he became president of ETD Kromar. Within one year, Parry became the President of The News Group Central Division, a position he held for five years. In April 2005, he accepted the position of President and CEO of MagNet, L.L.P. In March of 2006 he took the position of President of TNG, LP and most recently, in January 2009, was named President of The News Group US.

Michael Sansolo
Retail Consultant

Mike Sansolo spent 13 years as Senior Vice President at the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the biggest food retail association in the United States.  In this role, he had oversight over all education, supply chain and research activities.  Prior to joining FMI, Sansolo was Editor-in-Chief of Progressive Grocer and was a reporter for Gannett Newspapers. He is a member of the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council and serves on the boards of The Food Institute and Aisle 7, the makers of Health Notes. He is a past member of the American Greetings Research Council, and a long-time member of the industry advisory board at Western Michigan University. Sansolo is contributing editor and a weekly columnist for Morningnewsbeat.com.

Andy Sareyan
President/Executive Vice President
Better Homes and Gardens/Meredith Publishing Group

Andy Sareyan joined Meredith Corporation in February 2006. Previously, he spent 18 years at Time Inc. While there, Sareyan served as President of Entertainment Weekly, a position he held from 2002 to 2006.  During his tenure, he led an ambitious and highly successful expansion of the Entertainment Weekly brand into television and radio programming, event marketing, mobile platforms and online, and also established a number of successful and innovative circulation partnerships for Entertainment Weekly and other Time Inc. brands. Also at Time Inc., Sareyan was President of The Parenting Group, founding Publisher of Real Simple, and Associate Publisher of InStyle. He began his career at Time Inc. by spending six years in a number of assignments in Consumer Marketing.

Robert A. Sauerberg, Jr.
Group President, Consumer Marketing
Condé Nast Publications

Robert Sauerberg, Jr. oversees all sales and marketing activities to consumers for Condé Nast Publications. Prior to being named Group President, Consumer Marketing in January 2008, he was Executive Vice President of Condé Nast Consumer Marketing. Sauerberg represents Condé Nast on the board of CMG, and also serves on the board of the Magazine Publishers of America. Until September 2005 he was Chief Operating Officer of Fairchild Publications, Inc., where he previously held positions of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Fairchild, Sauerberg spent 18 years with The New York Times Company, culminating in his being named CFO of the company’s Magazine Group. Prior to his time in magazines, he worked for several of the New York Times regional newspapers.

Alan Tuchman
President
Source Interlink Distribution

Alan Tuchman was appointed President of Source Interlink Distribution in October 2008. For the prior 2 years, Tuchman served as co-CEO of Source Interlink. Previously, he was an Executive Vice President of Source Interlink and President of the Alliance division, responsible for all DVD and CD fulfillment operations. Tuchman was President and COO of Alliance Entertainment Corp. (AEC) from 2000 through to completion of its merger with Source Interlink in February 2005. After joining Alliance in 1991, he was Vice President until 1996 when he became Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning. From 1997-2000, he was President of AEC One Stop Group, Inc., an Alliance subsidiary.

Kate White
Editor-in-Chief
Cosmopolitan

Kate White is the Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan, the best-selling women’s magazine in the world. She also oversees Cosmopolitan.com, Cosmo Radio and Cosmo Books. White began her career in the magazine business by winning Glamour Magazine’s Top Ten College Women contest and appearing on the cover. She was an editorial assistant at Glamour and later became a feature writer and columnist for the magazine. She went on to hold key jobs at several national magazines and eventually was named editor-in-chief of Child and then Working Woman and McCall’s.  Before joining Cosmo ten years ago, she was editor-in-chief of Redbook for four years. She is the New York Times best-selling author of the Bailey Weggins murder mystery series, and is the author of several best-selling career books.