WASHINGTON, DC – - NAB Joint Board Chairman Jack Sander, senior advisor to Belo Corp., has announced the appointment of ION Media Networks President and CEO Brandon Burgess to a network representative seat on the NAB Board of Directors. Burgess will also fill the seat on the NAB Executive Committee vacated by Disney Executive Vice President of Worldwide Government Relations Preston Padden, who will remain on the NAB Television Board of Directors.
Burgess joined ION Media Networks in November 2005 and launched a series of initiatives to position the company for growth, using its national broadcast network and assets.
Burgess formed a joint venture among ION, Scholastic, Corus Entertainment, Classic Media and NBC Universal to launch qubo, a new television and multimedia children's network focusing on literacy and positive values. ION's digital initiatives also include ION Life, the country's first network dedicated to consumer health and wellness, and the recent launch of Open Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology utilizing over-the-air digital television spectrum.
Prior to joining ION, Burgess spearheaded NBC's acquisition of Universal Entertainment and served as executive vice president for NBC Universal. He handled the restructuring of Rainbow Media, giving NBC its first entertainment cable channel, Bravo. His other accomplishments included the NBCOlympics.com online venture, as well as NBC Weather Plus, the first U.S. digital broadcast network in a network-affiliate joint venture.
Before joining NBC, Burgess worked in PepsiCo's Corporate Planning group in Purchase, New York, and in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs in London and Frankfurt.
Burgess is a graduate of the European Business School and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In addition to serving on the NAB Board, he is a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association that advocates on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television stations and also broadcast networks before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts. Information about NAB can be found at www.nab.org.
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