Nielsen Business Media Announces Leadership Team for New Entertainment Group

Nielsen Business Media Announces Leadership Team for New Entertainment Group

Nielsen Executives Howard Appelbaum and Eric Mika Named VP/Publishers for Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter; Andrew Bilbao Promoted to VP/Chief Operating Officer, Entertainment Group

NEW YORK, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Nielsen Business Media today announced the promotion of three executives to senior leadership roles within the organization's recently created Entertainment Group. The new team includes: Howard Appelbaum, who was named Vice President/Publisher of Billboard; Eric Mika, who was promoted to Vice President/Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter; and Andrew Bilbao, who was tapped as Vice President/Chief Operating Officer, Entertainment Group. The executives report to Gerry Byrne, new Senior Vice President of the Entertainment Group, who made today's announcement.

The establishment of Nielsen Business Media's Entertainment Group brings together the company's leading entertainment brands into one powerful unit. It allows the company to take a more comprehensive approach to serving the entertainment industry and more effectively harness the resources of its music, film, TV, literary and theater brands. The group includes Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage, Kirkus Reviews, The Bookseller, Film Journal International, and the film industry expositions ShoWest, ShowEast, Cinema Expo International and CineAsia Exposition. On March 1st, industry veteran Byrne began leading the integrated, global unit, with responsibility for driving growth across digital, print and face-to-face platforms.

"In addition to expanding the market leadership position of our individual brands, these exceptional executives are charged with driving innovation and integration across our entertainment portfolio to ensure our businesses are unified, competitive and successful in all areas," said Byrne. "Howard and Eric's strong cross-platform, digital and global entertainment experience are invaluable to this leadership team. Andy brings a high-level of knowledge and experience in all aspects of business -- publishing, strategic planning, sales, marketing and finance -- all of which are essential to our continued success.

Byrne continued, "This is an exciting time for the business of entertainment and I couldn't be more pleased to be working with such extraordinary talent as we forge new ground for Nielsen and the industry."

In addition to Appelbaum, Mika and Bilbao, Byrne's Entertainment Group leadership team includes Jeff Black, Vice President and General Manager of Back Stage, and Bob Sunshine, Vice President of the Film Exposition Group.

Howard Appelbaum, Billboard VP/Publisher

As Billboard VP/Publisher, Appelbaum manages all aspects of the Billboard business including editorial, charts, digital and mobile initiatives, advertising sales, and face-to-face events. He also continues to oversee Nielsen Business Media's Licensing Group, which grew over 300% in profitability under his leadership through strategic deals with top television and radio networks, Web sites, newspapers, e-Tailers and consumer product companies.

Since 2005, Appelbaum served as Vice President of Licensing and Events for Nielsen Business Media, where he was responsible for launching 16 new events such as Media and Money -- a high profile conference produced by The Nielsen Company and Dow Jones, and Mobile Entertainment Live! -- a major tradeshow seminar for CTIA -- The Wireless Association. Appelbaum expanded Billboard's presence internationally with licensing deals in Turkey and Russia, and developed innovative agreements with global powerhouse companies including Hanshin Content Links Corporation, a prestigious Japanese company that operates Billboard Live clubs in Japan. He forged a strategic alliance with AEG Live, one of the leading providers of live entertainment that is now expanding existing Billboard-branded live events and will soon create new Billboard concerts, festivals and televised awards shows around the world. In addition, he was instrumental in creating a deal with Telemundo to broadcast the annual Billboard Latin Music Awards show.

Appelbaum came to Nielsen in 1998 as Associate Publisher of Marketing for Billboard, and was quickly asked to manage both events and licensing for the business. Prior to joining Nielsen, he was a music industry entrepreneur who spent most of his career as a principal of Kemp Mill Music, a Washington, D.C. based record retailer with more than 40 stores. During Appelbaum's time at Kemp Mill, he served as Marketing Director and Executive Vice President before being named President of the company.

Eric Mika, The Hollywood Reporter VP/Publisher

As VP/Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, Mika is responsible for all aspects of the brand, including day-to-day leadership of the sales, marketing, operational and editorial teams, brand development and P&L management. He will also drive strategic initiatives across the brand's digital, print and face- to-face properties, developing new cross-platform initiatives that expand upon The Reporter's leadership in the global entertainment community.

A publishing industry veteran with more than two decades in the business, Mika joined Nielsen Business Media in January 2007 as Senior Vice President, Managing Director, International and was promoted to SVP/Publishing Director in April 2007. During his time with Nielsen, Mika has been key to THR's overall strategy and in building its new management team. He was instrumental in the launch of The Hollywood Reporter's Premier Edition, the national day and date edition for the East Coast, and market/festival dailies in Pusan, Dubai, AFM, Berlin and Hong Kong. He also launched international newsletters and the new THR-Asia.com.

Prior to joining Nielsen, Mika was Vice President and Managing Director for Variety where he oversaw business operations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He spent a total of 13 years at Variety during two separate stints in which he launched new print and electronic products throughout Europe and Asia and was responsible for Variety China and its domestic market strategy in Beijing. Between stints at Variety, Mika was Senior Vice President at a Vivendi Universal company, where he successfully launched five VU digital sales and marketing companies throughout Europe, integrating content and distribution technologies. In 2003, he co-founded the BCMA, Branded Content Marketing Association in London, and in 2004 co-founded the GSMA Content Advisory Board. He is a member of the Paley Center and on the board of the Creative Coalition.

Andrew Bilbao, VP/Chief Operating Officer, Entertainment Group

Industry veteran Bilbao has been with Nielsen since July 2003 and was most recently Vice President/General Manager of the Music & Literary and Film & Performing Arts Groups. As VP/COO of the Entertainment Group, Bilbao oversees the day-to-day operations of the entire portfolio of businesses. His responsibilities include developing strategies and operating plans that reflect the overall vision and goals for the business. This will involve building an infrastructure to achieve objectives and providing financial and operational leadership to improve and maintain the effectiveness of the group.

Bilbao joined Nielsen as VP/GM of the Music & Literary Group. In his nearly five years with the company, he was appointed to several leadership roles including VP/GM of the eMedia & Audience Marketing Group. During his tenure at Nielsen, he played a significant role in the growth of the Music & Literary Group and was critical to the acquisition of Radio & Records magazine in 2006.

Prior to Nielsen, Bilbao held several senior leadership positions including Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of EMAZING, Inc., a SONY Group Company. He was also General Manager of Popular Science Properties, Director of Corporate Development for Times Mirror Magazines, Inc., later known as Time 4 Media, and Director of Finance at IDG Newsletter Corporation.

About Nielsen Business Media

Nielsen Business Media, a part of The Nielsen Company, is a leading market-focused provider of integrated information and sales and marketing solutions, helping businesses go to market more effectively and efficiently.

Serving more than 30 industries spanning entertainment, media and marketing, retail, travel and performance, and design, Nielsen Business Media provides business-to-business products and services in print, online and face- to-face.

With 42 publications, over 135 trade shows and conferences, and 195 digital products and services, Nielsen Business Media offers insight, analysis and face-to-face contacts to help professionals better understand their markets, serve their customers and grow their businesses.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

Source: The Nielsen Company

CONTACT: Marisa Grimes of The Nielsen Company, +1-646-654-5759,
marisa.grimes@nielsen.com

Web site: http://www.nielsen.com/
http://www.nielsenmedia.com/

---

Profile: International Entertainment