Kelly Benish named VP of Business Development; Gretchen Vogel joins as Senior Director of Strategic Sales
CHANTILLY, Va. (June 8, 2015) – BIA/Kelsey, the authoritative local media research and advisory firm, today announced the hiring of two accomplished business development professionals to accelerate the firm’s growth. Kelly Benish has been named Vice President of Business Development, and Gretchen Vogel joins as Senior Director of Strategic Sales.
“We’re thrilled to have Kelly and Gretchen aboard to help advance our company’s strategic vision,” said Tom Buono, CEO. “Kelly’s rich local media industry experience, extensive industry contacts and proven ability to connect across organizational lines, and Gretchen’s deep expertise in digital with both B2C and B2B companies and agencies will be a tremendous asset to our clients as we help them drive revenue and success.”
As VP of Business Development, Benish will focus on securing and conditioning strategic partnerships and developing new avenues for company growth. She will also provide both traditional media and digital clients specific assistance, such as assessment of process and digital offerings, structuring of cross-platform sales and go-to-market strategies.
Benish brings more than six years of working directly with newspaper, broadcasters, platform and Yellow Pages publishers. Her experience in past roles in the startup world includes training publisher salesforces, channel partner development, franchise and national sales, executive consulting around digital agency deployment and product development. Her prior sales leadership roles include: VP of Publisher Development for Civic Science, VP of Sales & Marketing for Search Influence and VP of Business Development at Universal Business Listing. She serves on the Board of Directors for Angel Ed Inc. and on the Partners Committee for the Association of Directory Publishers.
As BIA/Kelsey’s Senior Director of Strategic Sales, Vogel will work to further BIA/Kelsey’s key relationships with clients and partners, with a focus on the implementation of digital strategies. In particular, she will also expand BIA/Kelsey’s work with digital agencies by building on the company’s rich set of business data, analytics and insight around advertising and marketing. She will also advise clients on advertising data interpretation to pinpoint best sales opportunities and market-specific packaging and pricing strategies.
Prior to joining BIA/Kelsey, Vogel served as Director, National Accounts – Southeast, for LivingSocial, responsible for high-value retail and service clients, including The Body Shop, Burger King, Coca Cola, Hamilton Beach, Hanesbrands, The Home Depot, HSN, Perry Ellis, PGA.com, Spanx and Turner Broadcasting Systems. Previously Vogel served as Business Development Manager for Onward Search and as Sales Executive – Southeast Region, for EyeWonder.
Benish and Vogel will report to Stacey Sedbrook, who leads BIA/Kelsey’s strategic sales consulting practice. “Kelly and Gretchen both bring an exceptional record of performance and development of innovative, revenue-generating sales and marketing initiatives,” said Sedbrook. “Their expertise will be invaluable in helping us conceive winning strategies and high-impact solutions for our clients.”
About BIA/Kelsey
BIA/Kelsey advises companies in the local media space through consulting and valuation services, research and forecasts, Custom Advisory Services and conferences. Since 1983 BIA/Kelsey has been a resource to the media, mobile advertising, telecommunications, Yellow Pages and electronic directory markets, as well as to government agencies, law firms and investment companies looking to understand trends and revenue drivers. BIA/Kelsey’s annual conferences draw executives from across industries seeking expert guidance on how companies are finding innovative ways to grow. Additional information is available at https://www.bia.com, on the company’s Local Media Watch blog, Twitter (http://twitter.com/BIAKelsey) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/biakelsey). Stay connected by subscribing to the firm’s bi-monthly newsletter.
For more information contact:
Eileen Pacheco
For BIA/Kelsey
(508) 888-7478
eileen@tango-group.com
