Mark Finney Joins Bell Media

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

Mark Finney has joined Bell Media, Toronto, in the newly created position of vice-president, strategic sales, effective immediately.

Reporting to Stuart Garvie, president, media sales, Bell Media, Finney will oversee all of Bell Media’s English and French-language sales marketing, brand partnerships , and mix teams, the first time these streams have been brought together under one group and leader. Finney will work with the Bell Media sales team to develop and implement a focused and comprehensive approach to better serve clients and partners, while leveraging and cross-selling Bell Media’s premium portfolio of TV, radio, out-of-home, and digital brands.

Bell Media will benefit from Finney’s tremendous international media sales experience says Garvie, adding, “In a time of great industry change, Mark’s stellar track record and strategic vision will provide a new approach to servicing clients, providing them with maximum opportunities.”

Finney says, “Media is a complex and fascinating industry and I’m really excited about working with Stuart and his team to laser focus our approach while developing a collaborative process with our clients that identifies targeted opportunities that work seamlessly across brands and platforms.”

Throughout his 20-year career, Finney has gained solid sales and corporate strategy experience at several internationally known news organizations. He began his career at Express Newspapers in the U.K. in 1993 before joining daily newspaper The Guardian in 1997, where he held several key positions, including sales director. Most recently he held the position of vice-president, office of the publisher at Star Media Group, owner of Metro and The Toronto Star.

In his role, Finney will support Dave Caporicci, managing director, brand partnerships; Anouk Bourassa, general manager, brand partnerships (Québec); Lucy Collin and Nathalie Doré, vice-presidents, marketing and innovation – integrated sales, for English Canada and Québec, respectively; as well as Debbie Drutz and Michelle LaBarre, vice-presidents, Bell Media Mix, for English Canada and Québec, respectively.

Bell Media is Canada’s premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada’s #1 television network; 34 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada’s most-watched specialty channels in English and French; and four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran. Bell Media is also Canada’s largest radio broadcaster, with 106 licensed radio stations in 54 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral Out-of-Home, one of Canada’s most dynamic and innovative out-of-home advertising companies with a network of more than 10,500 advertising faces in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Québec, and Nova Scotia. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites; delivers TV Everywhere with premium subscription on-demand streaming service CraveTV, as well as its innovative GO video streaming services including CTV GO, TMN GO, and TSN GO; holds an equity stake in digital startup Hubub; is partners in Cirque du Soleil Media, a joint venture with Cirque du Soleil; and owns Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc..


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