Clifford (Cliff) E. Marks is an Advisor and Consultant for the Media industry specializing in sales and revenue strategies. A highly experienced executive with an affinity for people and leadership. After a 35 year career as an Advertising, Marketing and Sales professional Marks retired as President of National Cinemedia after 19 years of leading the company’s revenue, affiliate partnerships, marketing and Public Relations.

Mr. Marks joined NCM as an original member of the company’s leadership team in 2002, when it was then the Regal Entertainment Group media subsidiary known as Regal CineMedia Corporation. He was named president of sales and marketing when Regal CineMedia became National CineMedia in 2005 with the addition of AMC and later Cinemark as founding member theater circuits. Marks was the visionary behind the creation and evolution of NCM’s groundbreaking movie pre-show, FirstLook,— the first to combine entertainment content and advertising — turning cinema into not only a powerful sight-sound-and-motion medium, but a key premium video option in today’s fragmented media landscape. Marks was listed on several occasions by Media Week Magazine as one of the most influential people in media.

Before joining NCM, Marks was a 14-year veteran of ESPN/ABC Sports, where as senior vice president he oversaw its $2.0 billion sales organization. Marks was instrumental in developing vertically integrated advertising packages for clients across multiple platforms, including ABC Sports programming, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNews, ESPN.com, ESPN magazine, ESPN radio and ESPNZone restaurants.

Marks began his media sales career as an account executive at The Nashville Network (TNN) in 1986. He began his career in the media departments at prominent New York advertising agencies Young & Rubicam (1985-86) and BBDO (1983-85).

He currently serves as a director on the Executive Board of the Screen Advertising World Association (SAWA), and has had several stints as the President of the Cinema Advertising Council (CAC). Marks also acts as Chairman of non-profit Jack and Jill Late-Stage Cancer Foundation.

Christopher Eames is a purposeful leader, delivering results for brands while building partnerships, relationships, and goodwill. Eames has led teams of motivated and high-integrity sales and marketing professionals driving billions in cross-platform revenue for media companies, including ESPN and Turner Broadcasting.

Eames currently is Founder and President of Big Idea Group, an advisory group in sports & entertainment marketing and a consultant in EdTech.

Eames holds an Executive Masters degree in Sports Management from Fox School of Business at Temple University and a BS in Economics from Emory University. He is a contributing author to collegiate

textbooks in sports marketing and a published author of a full-length novel. A husband of 33 years, and father of three, Eames lives in Roswell, Georgia and enjoys fishing, writing, tennis, golf, hiking, skiing, and an occasional cigar with good friends.

Jeff Gregor is a principled and accomplished C-Suite executive with stellar reputation and record of achievement with over 30 years in sports and entertainment television, media and marketing. Former Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Catalyst Officer and General Manager for Turner Broadcasting. Proven leader in business development, brand marketing, strategic planning and general management for TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, The Coca-Cola Company, Wunderman Cato Johnson, Cleveland Indians and Philadelphia Phillies. Comfortable navigating emerging trends and operating at the intersection of
media, technology and social impact.

Mr. Gregor is creatively driven, forward-thinking and a passionate problem solver. He has a passion for building organizational structures, systems, culture, people and teams. Hyper-focused on goal development, operational excellence and bottom-line results.

Jeff spent 18-years at Turner Broadcasting leading sports and entertainment programming and marketing for two of television’s most successful ad supported network brands; TNT and TBS. In 2007 he was promoted from SVP of Sports Marketing and Programming to become the first Chief Marketing Officer where he retains the distinction of longest tenure in company history. While CMO, Mr. Gregor launched numerous award-winning marketing campaigns for original series and late night television including winning a digital Emmy for Conan O’ Brien. Under his watch Jeff managed over $150M in marketing budgets for a $5B enterprise while rebranding TNT and TBS as drama and comedy networks. Gregor was the first and longest tenured CMO at Turner Broadcasting serving in that role from 2007 until 2017 and adding the title of Chief Catalyst Officer in 2015 where he initiated an Omni-Channel sales approach and Marketing Asset Management System. While at Turner Mr. Gregor was awarded the prestigious Peabody Award twice.

Prior to Turner, Jeff held management and executive roles at The Coca-Cola Company, Wunderman Cato Johnson/Miller Sports Group, the Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Mr. Gregor graduated in 1983 from Albion College with a Batchelor of Arts in Economics and recently obtained during 2020 an Executive Masters in Sports Business from Temple University.

Jeff has obtained numerous professional awards such as Grady College Fellow, Peabody Award Winner, Emmy Award Winner, Clio Award Winner, Promax Award Winner, Marketer of the Year—Faxie, Atlanta Leader of the Year Recipient. He currently serves on multiple boards and with charity endeavors such as Leadership Atlanta, Brand 50 Member (10 Years), Cure Childhood Cancer, Board Member University of Georgia, Grady School of Journalism Board of Trust, 21st Century Leaders, and the Atlanta Archdiocese Council.

Ms. Walden has more than 20 years of experience in the wireless industry, where she worked for McCaw Communications and AT&T Wireless as well as AirTouch and Verizon Wireless. Through out her wireless career she has held various leadership and operating roles inside of Verizon. Ms. Walden served as President of the Southern California Region at Verizon Wireless. In this position, she was responsible for providing strategic direction, overseeing general operations and demonstrating sales leadership for Verizon Wireless in southern California, the largest single market in the United States for wireless service. She then went on to lead the Midwest Area Operations managing 16 states for Verizon.

In 2010 Ms. Walden was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer for Verizon Wireless. In this role she was responsible for all marketing initiatives and the management and development of mobile products and services. This included brand management, media buying, agency management and website integration across Verizon Wireless. In 2012 Ms. Walden was again promoted to Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Verizon Wireless and was responsible for the nationwide operations and delivery of industry- leading performance for consumer and business customers.

In 2015 Ms. Walden served as Executive Vice President and President of Global Media and New Business at Verizon Communications Inc. where she was a direct report to the Chairman of Verizon as well as a top 5 officer of the corporation. Ms. Walden was responsible for building products and services for the core business (Wireless, Wireline and Enterprise), leading content negotiations and partnerships as well as establishing new businesses for future revenue generation for all of Verizon Communications. She also led the Corporate strategy team which included the Acquisitions and investments through Verizon
Ventures.

In November of 2017 Ms. Walden announced her plans to leave Verizon.

Ms. Walden currently serves on multiple boards including: Draft Kings, Persado, 4C, Mobilize Solutions, Alphabets Project Loon, and Airlinq; while serving in advisory roles for Open Signal, Goldman Sachs, and New Mountain Capital.

Among her many awards, Ms. Walden was listed as one of the Most Powerful Women in Wireless, Fortunes Most Powerful Women and awarded as the Working Mother of the Year.

As a life-long Atlantan who has led three brands synonymous with the city, Steve Koonin was named CEO of the Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena in April 2014. In his role, Koonin oversees all business, financial and strategic operations. In August, Koonin was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Atlanta Sports Council.

Under Koonin’s leadership, the Hawks have transformed their brand, building and presence in Atlanta. The recently renovated State Farm Arena has been ranked first in the NBA for “Overall Game Experience” as well as being named by Pollstar as the “Best New Concert Venue in the United States”. Additionally, during Koonin’s tenure, the Atlanta Hawks have used innovation and strategic partnerships to “Build Bridges through Basketball” and reimagine the Atlanta Hawks Foundation, which has forged authentic and meaningful relationships with Atlanta communities and provided for the underserved in their greatest times of need. He provided the vision and has spearheaded the transformation of the award winning State Farm Arena to become Georgia’s largest-ever polling location, becoming the first team in professional sports to convert their venue into a polling precinct for the 2020 General Election. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Koonin led the organization through a partnership with Goodr, Inc. which provided more than 277,000 meals to Metro Atlantans.

In 2015, the Hawks also fulfilled their pledge to build 25 state-of-the-art basketball courts in five years in disadvantaged communities. By the end of 2019, the Hawks created 27 courts which provided more than 250,000 area youth access to the sport of basketball in a safe and fun way.

The team has continued to grow their fanbase and appeal to the next generation of Hawks fans. The Hawks became the first franchise in the city to own an esports team, entering the NBA 2K League with Hawks Talon GC in 2018 and in 2019 the College Park Skyhawks, an NBA G League franchise, made their debut, playing their games on the southside of Atlanta at the Gateway Center @ College Park. Koonin, a longtime entertainment and marketing veteran, joined the Hawks after spending the previous 14 years with Turner Entertainment Networks, most recently serving as the division’s president. Prior to his stint at Turner, Koonin helmed the marketing and worldwide advertising operations at The Coca-Cola Company, where he spent over a decade.

Koonin is a longtime entertainment and marketing veteran with marquee brands headquartered in Atlanta. Prior to joining the Hawks, Koonin spent 14 years with Turner Entertainment Networks and helmed the marketing and worldwide advertising operations at The Coca-Cola Company, where he spent over a decade. A lifelong resident of Atlanta, Koonin serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Georgia Aquarium, is on the boards of Rubicon and the Fox Theatre and is an Executive Committee Member of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. In addition, WWE® recently elected Koonin to its Board of Directors.

Among his many accomplishments, Koonin is a former recipient of SportsBusiness Journal Sports Executive of the Year, and has been named one of: The 100 Most Influential Atlantans by Atlanta Business Chronicle; Atlanta Magazine’s Most Powerful People Shaping Atlanta; Entertainment Weekly’s Smartest People in Television; and was selected for The Power List by TV Guide.

Eric Johnson joined EGF as CEO in early 2020 after partnering with the organization as Consulting Chief Revenue Officer during a phase of tremendous growth. Eric is also the Founder & CEO of WON WORLDWIDE, a global sports media and entertainment revenue advisory firm. Founded in 2018, WON specializes in revenue creation and implementing full-service go-to-market strategies defining value between marketers, sports leagues, teams, media owners, digital content/social distribution and via athletes/influencers.

Prior to founding WON, Eric spent 18+ years at ESPN where in the role of EVP, Global Advertising Revenue and Sales Operations, he was responsible for leading a 400 person team dedicated to growing a nearly $4 billion advertising business for all of ESPN’s media properties around the world including: ESPN television networks, ESPN Digital Media, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Audio, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Regional Television and Global X Games

Eric started his career on the media planning & strategy side, working at many high-profile agencies including Grey (G2), Deutsch, Dentsu and Foote, Cone & Belding where he grew to VP, Media Director working across major categories such as automotive, QSR, tech, motorcycle, and insurance. Eric is also now currently both Board Member and Faculty Director of UCLA Anderson’s Media, Entertainment and Sports (MEMES) Center. As the leading center for business thought leadership in media, entertainment & sports, MEMES provides the academic foundation and relevant industry perspective to manage and thrive in an increasingly complex business environment. In 2008, MIN (Media Industry Newsletter) named Johnson’s team the “Multiplatform Sales Team of the Year.“ He was also named to The 2008 Mediaweek 50, a list of “the most indispensable executives shaping the future of media.”

Eric splits time between New York and his home in Los Angeles.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Starcom USA, as well as a member of the Publicis Groupe U.S. Management Team, Kathy Ring led the marketing giant’s investments in data and analytics, consumer insight and marketing strategy, investment strategies and talent capabilities to drive business transformation for the agency and their clients.

Kathy is a highly accomplished executive who, as CEO, turned around the agency by unlocking growth through purposeful strategy that combined creativity, data and technology. She transformed both the culture and work product and won several major new clients including Lowe’s Home Improvement, Lionsgate, Chick-fil-a, Red Bull, and Fiat Chrysler.

Under her leadership, Starcom built industry leading digital offerings and products with its data and analytics practice, oversaw more than $10 billion in media billings and was the most awarded media agency in the country. Kathy guided teams to overcome challenges on behalf of the world’s leading marketers and new establishment brands, including Airbnb, Allstate, Bank of America, Fiat Chrysler, Disney, Kellogg’s, Kraft Heinz, Lionsgate, Lowe’s Home Improvement, Samsung, Visa and more. Kathy has deep experience and expertise in marketing and advertising and leveraging data to drive consumer media consumption to deliver more meaningful connections. Previously, she served as President and COO of Starcom USA where she founded the LA operation and landed Disney as the anchor client. She also founded Starlink which is now known as Spark Foundry, and before that, she led Starcom’s multicultural efforts as well as many major client assignments. She has personally guided strategic investments and partnerships for some of the world’s largest brands.

Kathy is an experienced and respected business leader with extensive C-Suite, Consumer and Marketing expertise. She is adept at identifying and driving long-term strategy and has a track record of delivering strong financial results, delivering operational excellence, and cultivating a very close and cohesive high functioning culture. Talent retention across all levels reached and stayed at an all-time high during Kathy’s 6 years as CEO. A long-time champion of cultural belonging and inclusion, Kathy served as executive sponsor of the Belonging Advisory Board.

She is known for her strategic acumen, exceptional marketer perspective, integrity, inspirational leadership and deep client relationships.

Kathy served on the national board of the 4A’s for the past three years. She is actively involved in a number of LLC organizations and charities. She graduated from Michigan State University with a Masters of Arts in Advertising.

After almost a 40 year career within the media buying space, Andrew (Andy) Donchin founded Oak Trail Media to share his experience and expertise with clients, agencies and sales groups.

Andy worked within the Dentsu Aegis Network for close to 30 years. He oversaw all media investment for clients such as Pfizer, Anheuser Busch InBev, Procter & Gamble, MasterCard, Jaguar Land Rover, The Home Depot, Microsoft, Disney Parks, 21st Century Fox and General Motors. What started as Andy being a one-man department, he helped grow total US media billings to over $12 Billion and 160 employees within the video investment group alone. Eventually he rose to the role of Chief Investment Officer and following, Chairman of Media.

Under his leadership, Andy enhanced their marketplace investment strategies to better follow evolving content consumption trends and expand the overall marketplace supply to secure greater negotiation leverage. These maneuvers included an early embrace of online, connected, programmatic and addressable TV platforms, as well as the use of more robust data to improve audience targeting. He developed deeper partnerships with key media owners to take advantage of their full content portfolios and facilitate more holistic negotiations. In his time at Dentsu, Andy’s efforts resulted in productivity savings to their clients exceeding $1 billion.

His career began at Young & Rubicam where he worked on General Foods and Johnson & Johnson. He was recruited by Wells, Rich and Greene as a buyer on Procter & Gamble before moving over to J. Walter Thompson overseeing television buying for Warner-Lambert and Sprint. Andy was then appointed as the Director of National Broadcast at Levine, Huntley, Schmidt and Beaver.

Andy is the former chairman of the AAAA National Television/Radio Committee. He received the Media Maven, Media All-Star, Media Buyer of the Year and the John A. Reisenbach Distinguished Citizen Industry Awards. He is an avid cyclist and rower.

Lee Tyner was named the inaugural General Counsel at Texas Christian University in April, 2018. Before coming to TCU, Lee was as an attorney at the University of Mississippi for almost twenty years, serving as General Counsel from 2003-2018. Before working at Ole Miss, Lee was a litigator at Butler Snow in Jackson, Mississippi, with experience in media law, public interest litigation, and constitutional law. During his years at Ole Miss, Lee also served as Chief of Staff, coordinated external affairs, and served in an interim leadership role in communications and marketing. Lee regularly taught courses in Business Law and Communications Law in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.

Lee is a national leader among higher education lawyers, serving two terms on the Board of Directors and as the chief elected officer for the National Association of College and University Attorneys. Lee regularly speaks on a wide range of topics, most frequently in the areas of free expression, diversity and access, student affairs, and intercollegiate athletics. Lee has been called upon to provide the campus lawyer’s perspective to national leaders and government agencies, including testifying before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on the need for liability protections in returning to campus during COVID 19 and in listening sessions on various issues with the Department of Justice, the White House Task Force to Protect Students Against Sexual Assault, the Family Policy Compliance Office, and the Office for Civil Rights.

Lee is an alumnus of the Institute for Education Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and of Leadership Mississippi. Lee is a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and an organizing board member for the Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information. Lee also served on the advisory board for the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and on the Commission for the Future of North Mississippi. Lee has also been active in his church, playing leadership roles at the local and regional level.

Lee is admitted to practice in Mississippi and Texas and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Lee received his B.A. from the University of Mississippi and his J.D. from the University of Virginia. Lee and his wife Susan have been married thirty two years, and they have five children.

Dennis Adamovich retired as the CEO of the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in June 2020, after leading the Hall in engagement with college football fans across the country as one of the nation’s premier sports destinations that celebrates and honors the people, traditions, and passion around the game of college football.

During his tenure, he made a concerted effort for the Hall to host more high-profile events like SEC Media Days, the Sports Illustrated party during Super Bowl LIII and ESPN’s “The Home Depot College Football Awards,” as well as numerous tailgate receptions, watch parties and corporate private events. In 2018, Adamovich played a key role in securing Chick-fil-A as the Hall’s title sponsor, guaranteeing the critical financial support the venue needed to remain a vibrant part of the Atlanta community while expanding its role as a powerful national destination.

Adamovich joined the Hall of Fame in 2016 with more than 20 years of experience leading brand strategy, marketing and digital technologies to develop entertainment and sports promotions and solutions with high touch activation across multiple platforms.

His entrepreneurial spirit and vast experience led Adamovich to launch DA Brand Activation Group, LLC in 2015 to develop entertainment promotions and solutions for clients seeking high-touch activations across multiple platforms. Examples of platforms the entrepreneur has spearheaded include “Next Country,” a first-ever country artist music competition digital platform, and “Front Row,” a mobile application for artists/talent that aggregates all communication into one place and allows artists direct engagement with their fans. Dennis is currently consulting with Times Square Live Media as Chief Development Officer.