Brand Response Council

Chris Foster is vice president, new business at Modern Postcard, a national direct marketing company that services business of all sizes and in all markets. As a marketing and branding executive, he understands how to help any-sized business better position and brand themselves and tell their most authentic story to engage their audience. In addition to leading the creation and execution of new business strategies at Modern, he has taught brand strategy at UCSD Extension since 2009. Chris is a contributing author for TargetMarketing Magazine and NonProfitPro and has presented at numerous professional conferences nationally.

Shane Allor is an account executive at Kount. Allor is part of a team that drives sales efforts in risk mitigation/payments and helps manage a portfolio of more than 150 merchants — more specifically, focusing on eliminating chargebacks and driving efficiencies for e-commerce merchants across the globe. A big part of the goal for the team he is a part of is to continue to allow customers and brands expand their revenue streams, while protecting the overall brand experience. In his spare time, Allor enjoys skiing, working out, and catching a concert or comedy show. He played golf at Boise State University, where he earned a B.A. in business and currently lives in Boise.

Jack Barrett is the founder and creative director at Urban Legend Productions, a brand response agency and production company. A 30-year veteran of the advertising industry, Barrett and his team at Urban Legend specialize in creating performance-driven linear, OTT, and CTV campaigns that build brand awareness and produce measurable results. When not creating the next big TV campaign, he specializes (less successfully) in waterskiing, flyfishing, and cross-fit training.

Doug Bognar is vice president of sales and new business for Apex Media Partners Inc. He has spent virtually his entire 30-year career in the direct-to-consumer industry. He has been a media director/senior manager with a top-40 media buying agency as well as having held director-level sales positions at both rep firms and networks, responsible for eight-figure budgets. A seasoned, data-driven professional, Bognar has extensive experience developing direct-to-consumer networks and worked for several years building aggregated programmatic platforms. As vice president, he takes on growing the Apex Media portfolio of client-focused services, including short-form media buying, station representation, ad sales, and navigating the rapidly expanding and complex world of over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

Chris Brombach brings 20-plus years of agency and client-side performance marketing experience. He started his ad career on the general market/brand side at agencies including Carat, DDB, PHD, and evolved into hybrid/DR while working on client side at Beachbody. He then spent seven years at Havas Edge. Brombach is currently senior vice president, integrated media, at Cannella Media DTC. He is a firm believer in an effective hybrid approach – where awareness and response are not considered mutually exclusive.

Carey Chase serves as senior vice president of media at Modus Direct. Chase and the media team are responsible for media strategy, planning, placement, and optimization across all available media channels (linear/streaming TV, OOH, print) for both D2C as well as brand-focused clients at Modus. She has spent nearly all of her 30-plus year career in DRTV (except for those “lost years” as a UX web designer), working in-house and on the agency side for both large and boutique shops. One of her greatest thrills has been living this industry’s transition from dismissed as “remnant media” to respected as “performance media” — while spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the process. A leader at every agency she has worked at, Chase has trained and counselled countless buyers who have gone on and excelled in their own careers in advertising and ad tech. She currently resides in Chicago.

Alex Dinsmoor is executive vice president and chief strategy officer at Script to Screen. He joined the company in 1999 and works closely with companies exploring direct-to-consumer sales and marketing strategies. During his tenure, Dinsmoor has helped many brands successfully execute direct response marketing strategies including Blink by Amazon, Shark/Ninja, Keurig, Omaha Steaks, Generac, and L’Oreal to name a few. In 2010, he launched a lifestyle-based product via direct response and effectively moved it into retail. His experience on both the agency and client side of the business provides perspective that benefits all clients. Dinsmoor earned his bachelor of arts degree from Pepperdine University. He is married with three children and enjoys golf, tennis, and sailing.

David Futterman is vice president, digital advertising sales, performance media at Paramount.  Futterman and his team are responsible for maximizing revenue and optimizing yield across Paramount’s streaming services and digital video products. He brings nearly two decades of sales and leadership experience to Paramount. As a seasoned data-driven performance marketing expert, Futterman has a proven track record of unlocking growth and opportunity for Paramount and its partners. He has built trust-based relationships with clients, agency partners, and D2C brands through his analytical approach, which has resulted in strong outcomes across the media ecosystem. Prior to joining Paramount, Futterman held a series of positions at NBCUniversal and Pop TV, formerly Pop Media Group. He holds an M.B.A. in communication and media management from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University and graduated from University of Delaware with a B.S. in management. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two sons.

Sarah La Voi is a partner in the Chicago office of BakerHostetler. She focuses her practice on commercial negotiations within the advertising ecosystem, including agency agreements, media buys and activations, brand collaborations, sponsorships, digital marketing, influencer protocols, intellectual property and dispute resolution. Business-focused and practical, she provides counsel to clients on forming strategic advertising and brand partnerships and creating in- house systems to manage clearance risk operationally. She also assists with advertising review and compliance, both self-regulatory and regulatory.

Maria Kennedy is the founder of Responsive Media Sales. A pioneer in the DRTV space, Kennedy ran the DR group at Discovery for nearly 16 years before doing the same at FETV. She was a leader in rebrands and launches of TLC, Animal Planet, BBC America, Travel Channel, Investigation Discovery, OWN, AHC, and Destination America, among others. Under her leadership, Discovery was one of the first network groups to offer key sponsorship opportunities, syndicated series, cause marketing, and both quarterly and yearly packages to DR clients across all platforms. Kennedy was inducted into the Direct Response Hall of Fame in 2015, and, in 2017, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the ERA.

Paul Mosenson is the seasoned founder of NuSpark Media Group, a media agency specializing in crafting high-impact media campaigns for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). With more than three decades of experience in media buying across various industries, Mosenson has honed his expertise in delivering top-notch tracking and promotional offers that drive measurable results. His approach combines data-driven strategies with creative flair, ensuring that each campaign not only reaches its target audience but also resonates with them. A thought leader in the field, Mosenson's extensive knowledge and hands-on experience make him a go-to resource for businesses looking to amplify their media presence and achieve sustainable growth.

Sean Robertson serves as vice president, direct-to-scale, in NBCUniversal’s Advertising and Partnerships division. Robertson and the direct-to-scale team are responsible for leveraging NBCUniversal’s suite of premium content and industry-leading advanced advertising capabilities to assist direct-to-consumer brands scale their businesses in new and engaging ways. Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Robertson served as director of partnerships for DISH Media — connecting new, non-traditional agencies and media technology to the DISH and Sling platforms. Robertson joined DISH Media in 2011 and served on various teams across the organization including performance media, digital advertising, programmatic media, and addressable advertising. He’s spent his professional career working toward the goal of a more diverse and inclusive media industry. He currently serves on the board of the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS). Robertson holds a B.S. in journalism, with a focus in advertising, from West Virginia University. He also earned his M.B.A. at Brown University and IE Business School. Robertson lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

Mark Sullivan has been with Paramount for more than 15 years. He is responsible for co-managing a convergent sales team of 11 sales executives across 19 networks and digital platforms. Top networks and digital platforms include Nickelodeon, MTV, Paramount Network, and Comedy Central. Sullivan has helped lead the team into the digital video side of the direct response business, and it has delivered significant growth during the past couple of years. He lives in Hoboken, N.J. with his wife and three sons.

Matt Timothy brings a rare combination of successful digital and traditional experience that bridges product development and advertising sales in digital, TV, radio, and cable. As Blockboard’s executive vice president of customer success, he leads all of the company’s customer facing efforts. His deep experience in video and TV advertising began at CBS where he rose from account executive at KPIX TV to vice president, general manager of both CBS.com and CBSNews.com. As president of Vindico, the first MRC-accredited video ad server, Timothy was instrumental in its growth to a market leader. He then immersed himself in the addressable TV space as CMO at Sorenson Media. Timothy is passionate about growing world-class sales and marketing teams with a clear mission: to help brands and their agencies innovate and thrive by harnessing the potential of the massive media disruption to the advertisers’ benefit.

Max Van Heel is the vice president of sales & marketing for Pacific Media Technologies Inc. Van Heel works with media agencies and advertisers, creating relationships and tailoring services to ensure that their DRTV message is received by the TV networks and ultimately aired according to the media buyers airing schedules. Van Heel has worked remotely for PMT for more than 10 years and lives in Great Falls, Mont. Previously, he was the president and CFO of another dub house in Montana. He has been in the DRTV industry for more than 20 years. When not working or traveling for business, he is an avid golfer and bowler. Van Heel has been married to his wife Jill for nearly 45 years, and they have three grown children and seven grandchildren — and love spending time with them all.

Adam Warfield is vice president of sales and strategic partnerships at Bluewater. Warfield has over eleven years of experience in the field of direct response marketing and eight years in international sales and marketing. He held positions at Infusion Brands, Home Shopping Express, and Oak Lawn Marketing before coming to Bluewater as international marketing director in January 2018. Warfield is a Florida native and Florida State University alumnus but currently calls Spain his home.

Mike Wilmot is an agency veteran serving as Conductor’s head of growth and relationships. Prior to joining Conductor, Wilmot spent five-plus years with Zozimus as executive vice president, director of client relationships. He spent six years as director of client services with Breakaway, a brand capital firm that invents, reinvents, and reinvigorates brands. Wilmot was a partner with Catz Sports and senior director of social marketing with the United Way of Mass Bay. Agency experience includes management positions with Modernista!, MMB, Pile & Company, Lowe & Partners, Hal Riney & Partners, Hill Holliday, and Arnold Worldwide. Wilmot is a graduate of Colgate University with a degree in psychology.

Shira Witelson founded RSLT.IO to help marketers and media buyers make the most out of their advertising budgets. Leveraging machine learning, the platform provides attribution metrics for TV and digital advertising. RSLT monitors advertisement fatigue and recommends where to invest next. Witelson worked in the analytics space with top brands and agencies in New York. She earned a master’s in statistics from Columbia University, a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management from the Technion, and a bachelor’s in statistics from the Hebrew University. She has spoken at numerous conferences on big data and analytics. Witelson resides in New York with her husband and three kids.