Michael Kassan, Principal, Media Link, LLC
Michael E. Kassan is an internationally recognized leader in the area of media, advertising and entertainment. Mr. Kassan is and has been a strategic/brand development consultant to brands and companies including General Motors, AT&T, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, Viacom, Sony Pictures Television International, Sprint, MSN, Unilever, Comcast Corporation, Citibank, Motorola, Panasonic, Johnson & Johnson, The Home Depot, Digitas, TV Guide (Gemstar), Bain & Company, Bear Stearns (Constellation Ventures), Cerberus Capital Management, Fact Based Communications (FBC), Mindshare Worldwide, Mediaedge:CIA (Group M), General Atlantic Partners, Dune Capital, Colony Capital, National Lampoon, Visible World, DIC Entertainment, College Sports Television (CSTV), TVOne, Playboy Enterprises; The Cimarron Group, Dennis Publishing (MAXIM), Entertainment Industry Foundation, Verizon Wireless, SBI-Razorfish, The Leverage Group, Loews Cineplex, Rentrak Corporation, Premier Retail Networks (PRN), Virgin Mobile USA, Fremantle Media, Meadowlands Xanadu, heavy.com, TiVo and Veoh Networks.
Mr. Kassan is a well respected speaker and commentator in the field of media and advertising. He is frequently quoted and featured in industry periodicals as a leading expert in the field and is a frequent keynote or panel member at Industry events and seminars on a global basis.
Previously, Mr. Kassan was the President/Chief Operating Officer and Vice-Chairman of Initiative Media Worldwide a division of The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG:NYSE), at the time, the largest and most diversified media management company in the world, with more than 75 offices in North America, Europe and Asia. In 1997, he was named one of the top media executives in America by Advertising Age magazine.
Mr. Kassan joined Initiative Media Worldwide in 1994 and was instrumental in the sale of the company to IPG. While there, he oversaw the day-to-day operations in North America and was the architect of the firm's international expansion and helped grow media billings from $1.5 billion to over $10 billion.
Mr. Kassan, an attorney, was counsel to the Los Angeles law firm of Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro. He had been President and Chief Operating Officer of International Video Entertainment (Artisan Entertainment).
Mr. Kassan has been a director and advisor to many charitable and community organizations, having served on the Board of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society, and previously serving on the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy. He also has been Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on the Entertainment Industry in California and in 1998 was elected to the Board of the American Advertising Federation.
Mr. Kassan has served on the following Boards as Director: H.E.L.P Group, Big Brothers of Los Angeles, Stephen S. Wise Temple and Skirball Cultural Center.
