ATLANTA— Gray Television announced a new management structure. Effective immediately, Gray will have a management team of five individuals who report to the president and CEO. These five individuals will be given responsibilities, some traditional and some new, that best elevate the talents of each. The five individuals are:
- Nick Waller, currently regional vice president for Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and North Carolina, will become senior vice president of the Mid-Atlantic and South regions. In addition to his current states, Waller will oversee operations in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, and continue to manage the Gray traffic hub in Tallahassee.
Prior to joining Gray in 2000, Waller spent twenty years with Datasouth Computer Corp., a designer and manufacturer of computer printer products, serving first as chief financial officer and eventually as president. He has served since 2003 as president and general manager of WCTV in Tallahassee, Fla., and since 2005 as a regional vice president. He is a director of the Florida Association of Broadcasters. - Bob Smith, who currently is our regional vice president for Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, and Nevada, will become the senior vice president of the Midwest and West regions. In addition to his current states, he will oversee our operations in Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas. He also will work with the vice president and director of National Sales, Michael Spiesman.
Smith started in the broadcast industry as an account executive at WEAU in Eau Claire, Wis., in 1986. Over the next 14 years, he served in a variety of sales manager roles as well as general manager of WHSV in Harrisonburg, Va., and, later, WIFR in Rockford, Ill. Smith has served as the general manager of WMTV in Madison, Wis., since 2000 and as a regional vice president for Gray since 2002. He has served on the boards of the Wisconsin Broadcaster Association, the Madison Chamber of Commerce, and the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. - Jason Effinger, currently regional vice president for Texas and portions of the Midwest, will become the senior vice president for Media and Technology. In this new role, Jason will oversee all of the media, Internet and technology experts and resources that support stations, including Gray Digital Media, Technology, Production, and the digital media product called Mom's Everyday, which Effinger developed and implemented at television stations owned by Gray and others. Effinger also will lead efforts to license certain products and services developed in-house at Gray to other broadcasters.
Effinger started in the broadcast industry in news and operations at WKBT in La Crosse, Wis., in 1991. Over the next nine years, he assumed various leadership news and operations duties at WKBT and other stations. In 2001, he became station manager of WMTV in Madison, Wis., and, in 2005, he became general manager of WEAU in Eau Claire, Wis. In 2007, he became general manager of KWTX in Waco, Texas and a regional vice president. He subsequently served as general manager of KAKE in Wichita, Kansas, and, most recently, general manager of KOLN/KGIN/KSNB in Lincoln, Neb. Effinger has been active in broadcasting associations while in Wisconsin, Texas and Kansas. He currently is the vice chair of the Nebraska Broadcasters Association. - Jim Ryan, senior vice president of Finance and chief financial officer, will continue in this role. As such, he will continue to oversee accounting, finance, tax, benefits, and risk management functions at all levels in the company. He became assumed the role in October 1998 with Gray's acquisition of Busse Broadcasting.
- Kevin Latek, general counsel, becomes senior vice president of Business Affairs. In addition to his current responsibility for law and strategic development, Latek will oversee corporate communications and network and MVPD relationships. Prior to joining Gray in early 2012, Latek spent 15 years as a media lawyer in a Washington law firm, where he primarily represented network affiliated television stations in affiliation, retransmission, and transactional matters. He currently serves as the co-chair of the In-House Counsel Committee of the American Bar Association's Forum on Communications Law.
We made two additional changes that will facilitate our further growth and performance:
- Charlie Effinger, regional vice president for portions of the Midwest, will become the vice president of Corporate Development. In this new position, he will be primarily responsible for program acquisitions and relationships with the broadcast networks and syndicators, working closely with Corporate Programming Director Greg Conklin. Effinger also will manage our external and internal communications. He will report to Kevin Latek.
Effinger started her broadcasting career at WEAU in Eau Claire in 1984 as a writer/producer. In 1988, she moved to KOLN/KGIN in Lincoln, Neb., where she was responsible for Programming, Promotion, Creative Services and Administration. She returned to WEAU as general manager in 2000, and she became general manager of KKTV in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 2005. She was promoted to regional vice president in 2006, and during her tenure has overseen stations in Colorado, Texas, Nevada, Kansas and Nebraska. She also has served as president and general manager at WOWT in Omaha since 2007, and she served on the CBS Affiliate Board between 2008 and 2012. - Lisa Guill, who has coordinated local production resources, capital projects, technology implementation, and workflow improvements, will become vice president of Production. In this role, she will continue her support of production projects and also oversee the Gray Graphics hub. She will report to Jason Effinger.
Guill started her career in 1981 as a production assistant at KHGI in Kearney, Neb., then spent several years as a director/producer at KETV in Omaha. In 1988, she joined the staff at KOLN in Lincoln in production and operations management, eventually becoming general manager in 2003. Since late 2009, she has managed various corporate operations.
As a result of these changes, Gray eliminates the positions of chief operating officer and regional vice president.
