George Stewart
George Stewart is SVP, Media Sales at Next New Networks.
George brings over 17 years of brand management and media sales experience to Next New Networks. He is the rare combination of seasoned traditional marketer and digital media veteran able to build brands and drive revenue for start-ups and Fortune 500 operations. George started his digital media career in 1999 with music pioneer LAUNCH.com following 10 years in brand management at ConAgra Foods. In 2001, Yahoo! acquired LAUNCH where George was Vice President of Sales, responsible for sales teams located in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
At Yahoo! he served as the National Director of Sales and Category Development Officer for Yahoo! Music. In this role, George and his team developed interactive marketing solutions anchored in online music and integrated into the entire network of Yahoo! services. George and his team placed specific emphasis on the integration of consumer brands into the organic flow of the music consumer experience where personalization, choice, control, discovery, search, community and location independence have dramatically altered music distribution, consumption and brand marketing opportunities.
George also served as Chairman of the IAB (Interactive Advertising Board) Digital Video Committee, focused on understanding the dynamics of the evolving web-driven video marketplace and developing advertising solutions.
George is a classically trained brand manager with an extensive background in traditional marketing and product management. For ten years, he directed the marketing, advertising and event sponsorships for several ConAgra Foods brands, including the flagship brand, Slim Jim. During this period he worked closely with ESPN, MTV, World Championship Wrestling, NASCAR, NBA Hoop-it-Up and the Professional Bull Riding Association to create immersive marketing programs where brand connection with the consumer was paramount.
Mr. Stewart holds a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.