ABC names new chief of ad sales

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Just in time for the upfront season, when networks sell ad time for the fall, ABC has named a new head of sales.

Geri Wang, a familiar face on Madison Avenue, has been promoted to president of sales and marketing. She succeeds her longtime boss, Mike Shaw, who stepped down late last year. Wang had most recently served as senior vice president of prime-time sales.

‘To be trusted with this stewardship is an incredible honor, one that I am thrilled to accept,’ Wang said in a statement distributed by Disney.

The management move comes at an important time for the network. ABC is in the process of selling commercial time for one of its signature broadcasts, next month’s Academy Awards, and in May the network plans to roll out its new fall programming and begin wooing advertisers and wrangling with them over ad rates.

Wang went to work for ABC in 1990 as an associate director of daytime sales proposals. In 1998, she was elevated to vice president of prime-time sales and, two years later, became senior vice president of prime-time sales. She began her career at Grey Advertising in New York as a media research analyst after graduating from Ithaca College in 1982.

‘Geri has proven herself to be a fierce advocate for ABC, someone who understands the value of our network and who has developed the skills and relationships necessary to ensure that value is fully recognized by the marketplace,’ said her new boss, Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney/ABC Television Group. ‘She’s earned this promotion, and I’m thrilled to have her as part of my senior team.”

-- Meg James