Donna Speciale & John Nitti

Donna Speciale
President
Turner Entertainment

Donna Speciale is president of Turner Entertainment & Young Adult Ad Sales. In this capacity, she leads ad sales for the company’s entertainment and young adult portfolios of television networks, Web sites and digital platforms including TBS, TNT, truTV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, teamcoco.com and adultswim.com. Additionally, Speciale co-leads Cartoon Network Enterprises which includes consumer products, licensing, home video/DVD and retail development for the brand. She is based in New York and reports to David Levy, president of sales, distribution and sports for TBS, Inc.

Before joining Turner in February 2012, Speciale held the position of President, Investment & Activation and Agency Operations for MediaVest Worldwide, where she led the agency’s integrated digital, broadcast, print and out-of-home practice, overseeing investments on behalf of clients including Kraft, Walmart, P&G, and Coca-Cola. Prior to joining MediaVest, Donna led the broadcast investment team at Mediacom. Over her career she has managed investments for several leading marketers including Warner Brothers, GlaxoSmithKline, Hasbro, Kmart, Diageo, Staples and Subway.

A veteran of the broadcast industry for over 20 years, Speciale is well known for driving innovation in the marketplace and has received numerous much industry recognition and accolades including the Advertising Age “Top Women in Advertising” (2012), CableFAX “100” and “Women of Cable” (2012), Television Week “TV Buyer of the Year” (2006), MediaWeek“All Star” in the broadcast category (2003), Advertising Age “Woman to Watch” (2001) ), and “Agency of the Year” by both AdWeek and Advertising Age (under SMG in 2005). Speciale has thrice been honored by Advertising Women of New York (AWNY): in 2011, she was the recipient of the 2011 AWNY “Advertising Woman of the Year”; in 2008, she was the recipient of AWNY’s “Impact Award,” honoring her mentorship work within the industry; and in 2006, she received an AWNY “Working Woman Award,” recognizing female executives who earned success in their personal and professional lives. In addition to her professional accolades, she is an active member of Advertising Women of New York (AWNY), AdClub and Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB).

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world. Turner brands and businesses include CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN.com and HLN; TBS, TNT, truTV and Turner Classic Movies; Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Adult Swim; and Turner Sports.

John Nitti
President, Activation
Zenith

As President of Activation at Zenith, John Nitti has helped transform the agency from a player to a leader within the media landscape.

Joining Zenith in 2009 to lead ZenithInteractive, the full service digital media arm of the agency, John built the unit from the ground up. Bringing on over 10 clients such as JPMorgan Chase, Gucci and Reckitt Benckiser, and more than 50 new hires, he increased billings from $3MM to $180MM in less than a year.

Under John’s leadership, Zenith has merged its magazine and digital divisions in an effort to give clients a more content centric approach to media. Overseeing both units, which bolsters a cross-trained staff of 80 integrated planners and buyers, John and his team have brought in over 20 clients with more than $540MM in billings.

John has played an instrumental role in clients’ successes at Zenith and developing Chase’s exclusive advertising launch partnership with the iPad’s NYT app.

In 2012, John was promoted to the newly created position of President of Activation where he is charged with trading, investment, execution and activation for all Zenith craftskills including Digital, Magazines, Newspaper, National Broadcast, Local Broadcast and OOH. This significant elevation recognizes both the evolving media marketplace and John’s vision of content centric media investments.

Prior to joining Zenith, John was Director of U.S. Media & Sponsorships at American Express where he was responsible for developing and overseeing traditional and digital media planning and strategy efforts across various business areas for the company.

In addition to his work at Zenith and American Express, John has worked with Young & Rubicam and Time Inc. He possesses nearly 15 years of experience in media planning, buying and sales.

John holds a Bachelor of Science in marketing and finance from Wagner College. He resides in Staten Island, New York, with his wife Noelle and sons John III and Christopher.