Sean Cunningham Named President & CEO Of The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau

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Sean Cunningham Named President & CEO Of The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau

EVP-Managing Director Of Universal McCann To Assume CAB Post In Mid-June

May 29, 2003

Sean B. Cunningham, who is one of the nation’s top agency media strategists as Executive Vice President/Managing Director of Universal McCann/New York, has been named President & CEO of the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau. He will assume his new post in mid-June and succeeds Joe Ostrow—CAB President since 1994—who is retiring and will become a consultant to the organization.

The selection of Cunningham, 42, concludes a search initiated by CAB’s Board of Directors last Fall. “We believe that, in Sean Cunningham, we’ve found an outstanding leader and strategic thinker who will make CAB even more successful in helping the cable industry effectively communicate its extraordinary benefits to the advertising community and achieve its tremendous advertising revenue potential,” said CAB Board Chair Kim Kelly, who is President/COO of Insight Communications.

Cunningham has been in his present position at Universal McCann, one of the largest global media agencies with annual billings of more than $15 billion, since 2000. He has been responsible for the New York office, which has $6 billion in billings and a 165-person media planning/buying staff. In addition, he has been instrumental in numerous new account wins, including Wendy’s, Sony, Maytag, Bacardi, Newell and Avaya. Universal McCann—a division of Interpublic’s McCann-Erickson Advertising Worldwide—was named “Media Agency of the Year” in 2002 by both Advertising Age and Adweek.

From 1990 to 1999, Cunningham was affiliated with agency Ammirati Puris Lintas—rising from Vice President/Associate Director (New York), to Senior Vice President/Media Director (Toronto) to Executive Vice President/Media Director (New York). As EVP/Media Director, he helped win the Dell, Ameritech, GMC and Nickelodeon accounts; and launched the agency’s Chicago media operation. As SVP/Media Director, he played a major role in launching Ammirati’s Toronto operation and winning Canada’s second-largest media account: Labatt.

When Interpublic merged their Ammirati Puris Lintas and Lowe media units in 1999, Cunningham was named Executive Vice President/Media Director of Lowe Lintas, where he served before being named to his present position at Universal McCann.

A graduate of Boston College (BA, English/Communication), Cunningham began his advertising agency career in 1985 as an assistant planner at Benton & Bowles (New York), rising to media planner and, ultimately, assistant media director.

Cunningham is the fourth CEO since CAB’s founding in 1981. Previous CEOs were Bob Alter (1981-1991), Thom McKinney (1991-1994) and Ostrow (1994-present). “The CAB Board has made a wise decision in its selection of Sean Cunningham, who will be a highly credible and articulate voice in communicating the unparalleled strengths of our medium to advertisers—nationally, regionally and locally,” said Ostrow. “I look forward to providing him with input during the transition and beyond, as he guides CAB to new levels of accomplishment.”

The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau is devoted to providing sales and marketing support to the cable industry to promote its growth as a local, regional and national advertising medium. Members include virtually all the ad-supported cable networks and system operators representing more than 90 percent of all U.S. cable subscribers.

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