Speciale Appointed Director at National CineMedia

Respected former Turner ad sales presidentDonna Speciale has been appointed to the board of directors of National CineMedia, the largest movie theater advertising network in the U.S.

Speciale was one of a number of senior Turner and Time Warner executives who left the company after it was acquired by AT&T.

“I have had the privilege of working with Donna in my career at Warner Bros., and I welcome her as our new director. Donna has tremendous media and advertising industry experience, and she brings a valuable strategic perspective to our board as both a former ad agency executive and a premium video and digital sales executive,” said NCM CEO Tom Lesinski. “I look forward to working together with her and benefiting from the fresh perspectives on exhibition, media strategy, marketing and cinema advertising that she brings to the table.”

Related: Battin Leaving WarnerMedia for Post at Delta Air Lines

Before joining Turner in 2012, Speciale was a top media buyer with agencies including MediaVest and Mediacom, serving clients including Kraft, Walmart, P&G and Coca-Cola.

“I am honored to be a member of National CineMedia’s board. It’s an exciting time to be in this business, as every medium is going through its own major transformation and the cinema space is no exception,” said Speciale. “In a world where consumers truly control their content, only cinema provides a captive, highly-valuable and engaged audience in an environment that delivers the opportunity for beautiful, big-screen storytelling. I am thrilled to be able to work with the board and the management team to help shape NCM’s bright future.”

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.