Niche Magazine Conference for B2B, Consumer and Start-up Publishers

2009 Speakers coming soon!
(2008 sample shown below)

Club Pros

Tom Lorge Director of Circulation & Research Ascend Media Healthcare (Circulation B2B, Advanced Ciculation) After a six-year stint in circulation with specialty magazine publisher Kates-Boylston Publications, Tom stepped into his current position of Director of Circulation & Research at Ascend Media in 2003. Tom is responsible for 12 titles with a combined monthly circulation of 1.3 million with titles including Pharmacy Times, Surgical Rounds and Dental Product Shopper. In addition, he runs an in-house fulfillment operation for three of the titles with circulations ranging from 50,000 to 180,000. In 2006 Tom was awarded the first ever Circulator of the Year award by Circulation Management magazine.		Paul Barron Publisher NetWorld Alliance (Electronic Media Intro, Events Workshop) Paul Barron, publisher and innovator of QSRweb.com, fastcasual.com and Fast Casual Magazine, has been involved in new media and web based technology systems for business verticals for more that 15 years. As a publisher and consultant to many large brands, Paul identified the restaurant segment known as fast casual in the mid 90s and was successful in launching the first segment web portal to focus on this new business area. Paul is considered a top source for consumer trends as well as marketing and advertising topics in publications such as USA Today, Business 2.0 magazine, Yahoo News and Market Watch.

Dan Ambrose Managing Director ambro.com Corporation (Ad Sales Management, Integrated Sales) Dan Ambrose knows that advertising sales gets more competitive every year. He has been helping media companies win in this fierce economy for 14 years. After leading Child Magazine to be honored on AdWeeks 10 Hottest list twice, he left the New York Times Company to provide strategy consulting and training to media management. He worked on the founding of iVillage.com and about.com, and created the business plan for mediabistro.com. To help print clients plan strategy and train sales forces, Dan created Hybrid Media strategy and formulated Strategic Sales Tactics (SST) to train sales forces to sell larger packages at higher client levels.		Mike Bannan COO IDEA Health & Fitness Association (Events, Events Panel) Mike is COO of IDEA Health & Fitness Association, the worlds largest membership organization of fitness professionals. IDEA has more than 22,000 members in over 70 countries. Since joining IDEA, attendance at IDEAs World Fitness Convention has grown to over 7,000 attendees, and an additional 2,500 professionals attend the IDEA Fitness Fusion, Personal Trainer Institute and Inner IDEA conventions. Under his leadership, IDEA conducts the four annual education conferences, and produces three print publications and three web-based publications. He has a broad range of experience and has led two Inc. 500 companies.

Nick Singh V.P. of Circulation Apprise Enthusiast Media (Niche Newsstand Strategies, Advanced Circulation) Nick Singh is the V.P. of Circulation for Apprise Enthusiast Media and manages circulation for over 20 niche brands in various categories such as automotive, hunting, sports collectibles, childrens collectibles, and the mixed martial arts category. Over 15 years of experience that predominately includes all levels of consumer-newsstand marketing and distribution. Prior to his current position, Nick managed over 50 niche publications at PRIMEDIA Automotive and Sports Enthusiast Groups for 8 years. Some of the current magazines under his responsibilities include Beckett Baseball, Pokemon, Street Trucks, Drag Racer, Ultimate Grappling, Knives Illustrated and Romantic Homes.		Phyllis Spence Group Publisher D Magazine (Ad Sales Management Panel) Phyllis Cole Spence is a major factor in the success of D Magazine. In the last 6 years under her guidance the company has grown from 2 publications to 24. She is responsible for an ad sales staff of 18 sales people and three ad managers. She was recently named Group Publisher of D Magazine Publications which includes the flagship brand and all D branded ancillary publications: D Home, D Wedding, D Beauty, D Fashion, Dallas Medical Directory, Private School Handbook, Eating and Drinking and DallasCEO.

Steve Churm CEO Churm Media (Keynote, Free Distibution Maqazines, Regional Magazines) Steve Churm is one of the most successful publishers of regional and lifestyle magazines in the country. Churm Media produces seven magazines that include OC METRO Business, OCMenus.com, OC Family, Southland Golf, Body Beautiful, and Southern California Home and Outdoor. Churm publishes more than 500,000 magazines each month reaching a total of 1.8 million readers. He also produces custom publishing for corporate clients and operates nine websites and consumer trade shows.		Jerry Okabe VP Audience Marketing Penton Media (Advanced Circulation) Jerry is responsible for all elements of circulation and audience development for Penton Medias 110 business-to-business magazines. Jerry has 28 years of circulation experience in publishing. Prior to joining Penton, Jerry served as Vice President of Member Relations at BPA Worldwide. His magazine publishing experience includes over 20 years with Miller Freeman, Inc. with responsibility for 105 magazine titles. He also served as vice president of circulation at PBI Media, Potomac, Maryland and as circulation marketing manager at Cars & Parts Magazine.

Chris Schriever Vice President Blue House (Ad Sales Panel) Chris runs the Blue House custom publisher and rep firm. He heads 14 publication accounts. After Joining Blue House in 1999, Chris built million-dollar advertising programs for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Foundation for Ambulatory Surgery, WC&AN Miller Corporation and others. He got his start in publishing by helping conceive and launch Providence Monthly, a successful Rhode Island magazine.		Regina Starr Ridley Publishing Director Stanford Graduate School of Business (Selling Your Magazine) Regina Starr Ridley is the publishing director of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, published by the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Previously she was a group president at CMP Media, where she ran a division of magazines, tradeshows, and related websites in the technology market. During her 20-year career at CMP and Miller Freeman, Ridleys responsibilities also included the identification, acquisition, and integration of numerous publishing companies. She has previously served on the boards of Miller Freeman and BPA International.

Mike Obert Vice President, Sales and Marketing Beckett Media (Ad Sales Management Panel, Expanding Panel) Mike Obert oversees sales marketing for all of Beckett Media, which publishes over 60 magazines each year including award winning Beckett Yu-Gi-Oh Collector, Beckett Baseball, Beckett Football and Beckett Massive OnLine Gamer and Beckett Pokemon. In addition to the monthly and bi-monthly magazines listed, Beckett focuses on launching new magazines based on trends and fads within the kids collectible market. Mike has been responsible for launches that have grown to over 500,000 circulation in less than six months. Mike has worked at Beckett for over 11 years and has successfully managed the advertising sales department and was publisher of the Specialty Title Group prior to his new role as VP of Sales and Marketing.		Chas Edwards Publisher/Chief Revenue Officer Federated Media Publishing (Blogging for $) Chas Edwards is a digital technology wizard and blogger extraordinaire at Federated Media Publishing, a network of leading independent websites and podcasts such as TechCrunch, PROTRADE, and Sportsblog Nation. Previously, Chas was vice president of sales and marketing for CNET Networkss B2B Portfolio. He also served posts as VP for CNETs broadband & webcasting unit. Chas blogs about the world of digital marketing at ChasNote.com.

Patricia Cameron-Loyd Former COO, Fawcette Technical Publications University of California, Berkeley (Publishing Financials) Patricias 25-year publishing career includes magazine, website and conference launches and acquisitions, executive corporate management, and financial planning and development. The first ten years she developed and managed financial planning systems for Miller Freeman. The following ten years, as Group Vice President, she published niche magazines like Guitar Player and Digital Video. Then, as Chief Operating Officer of Fawcette Technical Publications, Patricia managed several magazines and conferences and oversaw corporate infrastructure. She is currently a researcher at University of California, Berkeley.		Jim Nissen President SW!TCH Studio (Design-O-Rama) Jim Nissen is President and Creative Director of SW!TCH studio, a creative services firm specializing in publication design and branding with offices in Phoenix and New York. In 14 years SW!TCH studio has designed over 50 different titles, producing over 600 issues for 30 publishers nationwide for clients such as Amnesty International, REI and the PGA tour.

Ryan Dohrn General Manager Morris Communications Interactive (Websites, Web-O-Rama) Ryan Dohrn has been an innovative force in the marketing, promotion, and internet business since 1995. Prior to emerging on the internet promotion scene, Ryan developed his marketing expertise as the Promotions Manager for WLS TV in Chicago. In 1996, Ryan translated his passion for horses into a revolutionary online equine marketplace: HorseCity.com. In 2000, Ryan sold the website to the Fortune 1000 publishing company Morris Communications. He is currently the General Manager of Morris Magazines Interactive (15+ magazine properties).		John Miller Principal Miller360 (Design-O-Rama) John Miller has worked in media for more than 20 years as an art director and editor at numerous publications, among them Vanity Fair and Esquire. He now runs Miller360, developing print and online publications for The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, MSNBC, Target, Amazon, and many others.

Erin Zilis VP/Custom Media McMurry (Custom Publishing) Erin has more than 15 years experience in marketing, content delivery, account management, and new business development. She has successfully launched and managed complex custom publishing projects for more than 200 clients, including the Ritz-Carlson, Chemical Private Bank, and Estee Lauder. Currently, she leads McMurry's custom media sales team, where she has spent 10 years developing custom branded content programs for corporate clients. Here expertise in consumer and B2B publishing crosses a wide variety of industries including travel, financial services, higher education, health & beauty, luxury lifestyle, and more.		Beth Kereszturi Marketing Manager Long Point Media (E-Marketing) As Long Point Medias Marketing Manager, Beth Kereszturi carries out marketing initiatives for Ohio consumer regional publications that include Lake Erie Living and Over the Back Fence magazines. Beth manages subscriber relations and acquisition programs, advertising sales and event promotions. Prior to joining Long Point Media, Beth worked in interactive communications and advertising agencies for over nine years. During that time, Beth consulted and developed thousands of email campaigns on behalf of clients.
Lisa Hill Media Planner DGS&M Idea City (Media Buyers Speak Out) Lisa Hill is a Media Planner at GSDMs Idea City, the largest advertising company in Austin. GDSM manages national accounts for BMW, Southwest Airlines, MasterCard, AARP, John Deere, and many other notable clients. Lisa has worked on the traditional media for the BMW account for almost two years now, with an emphasis in print/magazine planning.		Bob Fincher General Manager Technology Division EVP NetWorld Alliance (Integrated Sales Panel) For almost eight years Bob Fincher has lead the sales and marketing efforts of NetWorld Alliance, a leading Internet, magazine, and e-mail publisher devoted to eight different industries. Bob created highly effective integrated sales and marketing strategies, including integrated online and print media, effective integrated pricing, and guaranteed performance and value of services for clients, that have created 25-43% annual growth. Prior to joining NetWorld Alliance Bobs experience includes principal ownership of a Web development firm and ATM industry consulting with a major manufacturer.
Bill Bowman President/CEO Kidsville News Inc. (Events Panel) Weekly community newspaper publisher Bill Bowman is the creator and president of Kidsville News! Inc. Using exclusive and selective marketing, development and licensing techniques Bill has grown Kidsville News! from three local North Carolina editions with a circulation of 80,000 per month to 100 editions nationwide with a monthly combined total circulation of over 1.3 million in less than three years. Bill created a national publishing conference for local editions of Kidsville News! that offers training in sales techniques and sponsorships.		Thom Singer Director of Business Development VCFO (Media Buyers Speak Out) Thom Singer is the director of business development for VCFO, Inc. He is also a professional speaker and the author of two books on the power of business relationships and networking. He has sat on both sides of the advertising isle in his career, having both purchased and sold print advertising.
Todd Kotlarek General Manager Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Specialty Media (Free Distribution Magazines) Todd Kotlarek is responsible for six print publications, ten local event marketing properties, and website revenue. Todd grew Metroparent Magazines two publications to nine, driving revenue gains of 500% during an eight-year period. He is responsible for a team of twenty-three in marketing and operations. Todd has also created special events marketing department which today provides over a quarter of total company revenue.		Ed Cohen Vice President, Marketing Gatti's Pizza Ed Cohen has served as Vice President of Marketing for Gattis Pizza since May 2006. Gattis Pizza has over 140 stores, including the family entertainment restaurant GattiTown, and was ranked as one of the top pizza companies by Pizza Today. Ed has also served as President of Interactive Endeavors, a marketing consulting agency, Managing Director of Fusion 5, a Connecticut-based brand innovation and strategic consulting agency, and Dallas/Chicago Marketing Manager with US Concepts, a New York-based grass-roots marketing and promotions agency.