Corporate Officers

Perry A. Sook

Chairman, President and CEO

Perry A. Sook has over 39 years of professional experience in the television and radio broadcasting industries, covering all facets of the business, including ownership and M&A, management, sales, on-air talent and news. He founded Nexstar in 1996 with one local television station in Scranton, PA, and began building the foundation of what became one of the world’s leading local marketing and content companies, leveraging localism to bring new services and value to consumers and advertisers across its traditional media, digital and mobile media platforms. Based in Irving, TX, Nexstar trades on NASDAQ under the symbol NXST.

Following the recently completed $7.1 billion accretive acquisition of Tribune Media and the $4.6 billion accretive acquisition of Media General, Nexstar Media Group is now the largest local broadcast television operator in the United States, with 197 stations reaching 115 markets, or approximately 63% of all television households, and annual revenue in excess of $4.5 billion. As one of the nation’s leading providers of local news, entertainment, sports, lifestyle and network programming, Nexstar produces and distributes over 254,000 hours of local content per year. In addition, Nexstar’s digital properties provide innovative digital marketing solutions and services to local and national media companies, advertisers, agencies and brands.

Prior to Nexstar, Mr. Sook was one of the principals of Superior Communication Group, Inc., which was sold in 1995 to Sinclair Broadcast Group. Before Superior, Mr. Sook was President/CEO of Seaway Communication, Inc., owner of network affiliated stations in Bangor, ME and Wausau, WI. Before being recruited to run Seaway, he worked in the television industry as a General Sales Manager, acting General Manager and National Sales Manager. Mr. Sook previously spent five years with Cox Broadcasting, first in local sales in Pittsburgh, then at Telerep, Inc., as a National Account Executive. Early in his career, Mr. Sook was involved in local TV sales and radio sales. Mr. Sook also worked briefly as a television news anchor at the CBS affiliate in Clarksburg, WV.

Mr. Sook is a member of the Board of Directors of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), the not-for-profit trade association of America’s local broadcast television industry.  He formerly served as Chairman of the organization.  He is also Chairman of the CBS Affiliate Board, and a Member of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Broadcasters Foundation of America Board.  He is Chairman of The Ohio University Foundation.

Mr. Sook was named the 2009 Broadcaster of the Year by Broadcasting and Cable (B&C) and was among the honorees inducted into the 2014 B&C Hall of Fame. He was inducted to The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation’s 2016 Giants of Broadcasting and Electronic Arts and received The Media Institute’s 2016 American Horizon Award, recognizing his leadership, promoting the vitality and independence of American media.

Mr. Sook did his undergraduate work at Ohio University in Athens, OH and was an adjunct professor at Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania.

He and his wife Sandra have three children; Laura, Victoria and Perry, Jr.  They reside in Flower Mound, TX.

Timothy Busch

President Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Timothy C. Busch has over 34 years of broadcasting experience and has been with Nexstar Broadcasting over 19 years.  Mr. Busch was appointed to President of Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. in January 2017.  Prior to that, he served as Nexstar’s Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer from May 2008 to January 2017, as Senior Vice President and Regional Manager from October 2002 to May 2008 and as our Vice President and General Manager at WROC (CBS) in Rochester, New York from 2000 to October 2002.  Prior to joining Nexstar, Mr. Busch served as General Sales Manager and held various other sales management positions at WGRZ (NBC) in Buffalo, New York from 1993 to 2000.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Busch worked in radio broadcasting holding various sales and management positions at WGR-AM and FM radio under ownerships of Taft Broadcasting and Rich Communications.  Mr. Busch has served on numerous organizational boards in the upstate New York area including the Upstate New York Advisory Board for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  He served on the CBS Affiliation Association Board with his latest role as Chairman.  Mr. Busch currently serves on the TVB Executive Board, NBC Affiliates Board and the Media Ratings Council Board.  Mr. Busch is a native of Ohio and a graduate of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.  He and his wife Margaret, have two sons.

Gregory Raifman

President Nexstar Digital, LLC

Gregory R. Raifman was named President of Nexstar Digital LLC in April 2017, and is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the digital business strategy, integrating existing and acquired digital products under the Nexstar Digital brand, managing overall operations and identifying additional value-building investment opportunities with the overall objective of maximizing performance and accelerating financial growth. In addition, he oversees a team of experts who work in conjunction with Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. personnel to optimize local digital and mobile offerings across the Company’s local media markets.

Prior to joining Nexstar, Mr. Raifman served as President and Board Member for The Rubicon Project, Inc. where he was responsible for overseeing operations of the global advertising leader, including revenue and business development, product, engineering, finance, legal, marketing, communications and strategy.

From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Raifman served as the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Mediaplex, a global advertising technology company he eventually took public that reached a post-IPO valuation in excess of $4 billion. Through his investment vehicles The Gekko Group, LLC & Gekko Holdings, LLC, Mr. Raifman has also been an active seed investor, board member and board advisor to numerous early stage technology companies.

He also previously served as Executive Chairman of LiveRail, Inc., founded and was Managing Member of PointBreak Ventures, LLC, and founded Dragon Media Online, Inc.

Today, Mr. Raifman served as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Mobile Marketing Association and the Trustworthy Accountability Group, and served as a Foundation Board Member for the Advertising Women of New York. Currently, Mr. Raifman serves a Member of the West Coast Board of Directors of the United Healthcare Children’s Foundation, the Board of Visitors for Georgetown University Law Center and CEO’s Against Cancer.

Tom Carter

Executive VP, Chief Financial Officer

Tom Carter joined Nexstar in the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in August of 2009. Mr. Carter has responsibility for all internal and external financial reporting, oversight of internal audit, compliance and controls, investor relations, treasury functions, and assisting in strategic planning, business development, mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Nexstar, Mr. Carter served as Managing Director, Media Telecom Corporate Investment Banking at Banc of America Securities, which he joined in 1985. In this position, he acted as the senior banker responsible for delivering bank products and services including M&A, private and public equity, high-yield debt, fixed income derivatives, syndicated financial products and treasury management for selected clients across the broadcasting, cable, publishing and media industries, including Nexstar Broadcasting. Mr. Carter began his banking career in 1980, serving for five years in various roles in Corporate and International Banking at a predecessor to JPMorgan Chase.

Mr. Carter earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University in 1980 and is an active member of his community.

Elizabeth Ryder

Executive VP, General Counsel & Secretary

Elizabeth Ryder joined Nexstar Broadcasting as Senior Vice President and General Counsel in May 2009. In this role, Ms. Ryder oversees all legal matters for the Company and its portfolio of stations. Ms. Ryder came to Nexstar after serving as Vice President – Legal Affairs for First Broadcasting Operating, Inc. Prior to that, Ms. Ryder was Counsel at the law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Washington, D.C., where she handled legal and regulatory matters for numerous broadcast clients, including Nexstar Broadcasting.

Ms. Ryder received her J.D. from the George Washington University School of Law.

Brett Jenkins

Executive VP, Chief Technology Officer

Brett Jenkins joined Nexstar from Media General where he was Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, overseeing the company’s IT and engineering functions for both broadcast and digital businesses. Prior to Media General, he was Vice President Chief Technology Officer of LIN Media from 2011 to 2014. He has held technology positions at ION Media Networks and executive positions for Thales Broadcast & Multimedia and Thomson.

Early in his engineering career at Thales, Mr. Jenkins managed modulator and exciter technology and development for what was then the new digital broadcast TV standard. He was the lead US engineer in a global team responsible for the development of Digital Adaptive Pre-correction technology. Thales received an Emmy award for pioneering this technology in 2003. Mr. Jenkins currently serves on the Board of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), an international, non-profit organization that develops standards for digital television.

Sean Compton

Executive VP, WGN America, WGN Radio & Director of Content Acquisition

Sean Compton was named Executive Vice President of WGN America, WGN Radio and Director of Content Acquisition in September of 2019.  He is responsible for operations of WGN America cable, WGN radio, Antenna TV and Nexstar programming acquisitions.  Before joining Nexstar, Mr. Compton was President of Strategic Programming and Acquisitions for Tribune Company where he oversaw programming for 42 Tribune television stations and nationally distributed digital network Antenna TV.

As Head of Tribune’s Programming department in 2011, Mr. Compton created Antenna TV.  Antenna TV has become one of the country’s fastest growing networks. In 2016, he brought Johnny Carson back to late night, which was the first time the show had been seen on air in a strip since Carson retired in 1992.

Mr. Compton spent 18 years in radio as VP of programming for Clear Channel Radio & Premiere Radio Networks before joining Tribune.  While at Premiere, he created and developed radio programs and features built around high-profile talent such as Donald Trump, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Costas, Casey Kasem and Ryan Seacrest. Mr. Compton was also responsible for the acquisition of Sean Hannity for Premiere Radio Networks, one of the most listened to programs in the US.

He and his wife Rita have been married 18 years and have 3 sons.

Dana Zimmer

EVP, Chief Distribution & Strategy Officer

Dana Zimmer serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Distribution and Strategy Officer for Nexstar Media Group.  She oversees all distribution for the company’s billion-dollar-plus broadcast and television content portfolio to the cable, satellite, telco and digital media industries.  She spearheads network content deals with partners, Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC and CW.  Zimmer is responsible for distribution of 197 local television stations, representing 39% of the United States and WGN America.  She leads strategy, execution and day-to-day management of Nexstar’s relationships with all of its distribution partners.  Prior to joining Nexstar, Zimmer was President of Distribution and Marketing for Tribune Media Company, where she served a similar role of overseeing revenue for the multiplatform broadcast and cable powerhouse consisting of 42 broadcast stations and WGN America.

Zimmer was formerly the Executive Vice President of TV Networks Distribution for NBCUniversal.  She led the national sales team in the distribution of NBCUniversal’s broadcast and television content to the cable, satellite and telco industries.  Zimmer oversaw key distribution deals for NBCU’s multi-billion-dollar content portfolio of broadcast owned and operated stations and cable networks, including Bravo, CNBC, E!, G4, Golf Channel, NBC SportsNet, NECN, MSNBC, Oxygen, Style, Syfy, and USA, as well as the Olympics, Chiller, CLOO and Universal HD.  Additionally, Zimmer managed distribution efforts of Comcast Sports Networks’ in the California Bay Area, Chicago, Houston, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Seattle-Northwest, Philadelphia, Southeast, Southwest, SportsNet New York and The Comcast Network.

Before Comcast acquired NBCUniversal, Zimmer served as Executive Vice President, Affiliate Sales and Marketing for Comcast Networks from 2005 through January 2011. She oversaw affiliate sales, marketing, business development and national account distribution for the entire content portfolio.

Prior to joining Comcast, Zimmer played an integral role on the launch teams that spearheaded successful distribution efforts of YES Network and SportsNet New York – the very first team-owned Regional Sports Networks lead by the Yankees and Mets, respectively, in the biggest sports market in the nation.  Dana also worked in affiliate sales for Fox Cable Networks and Discovery Communications.

Widely recognized in the cable industry as a top executive, Zimmer was named to the 2016 Cablefax 100 list and Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Cable by Cablefax each year since 2010.  In 2014, she was awarded Broadcasting & Cable’s Next Wave of Leaders.  Women in Cable & Technology awarded her their top honor as a “Wonder Woman” in 2012 and in the same year, Cablefax named her into the Cable Sales Hall of Fame.  Zimmer was inducted in 2010 for the “40 under 40” awards by both Multichannel News and the Sports Business Journal.  She served on the Women in Cable & Technology National Board of Directors for ten years.

Zimmer holds a Master of Arts degree in the School of Communication from The American University and a Bachelor of Science dual degree from SI Newhouse School of Public Communication and Whitman School of Management from Syracuse University.   In 2016 she became a member of the Newhouse Advisory Board.  She resides in Philadelphia with her husband, Clay and their two children, Ava and Chase.

Gary Weitman

Executive VP, Chief Communication Officer

Gary Weitman joined Nexstar as Executive Vice President and Chief Communication Officer in 2019, following the company’s acquisition of Tribune Media Company. He is responsible for Nexstar’s internal and external communications, employee communication, executive communication, media relations, and the company’s intranet and external website.

Mr. Weitman has more than 20 years of experience in the field of strategic communication and public relations. He joined Tribune in October 2000 as vice president/corporate communications and was named Senior Vice President/Corporate Relations in 2008, overseeing internal, external, and digital communications, media relations, investor relations, and Tribune’s intranet and website. Mr. Weitman was named Chicago’s “Public Relations Professional of the Year” in 2013 by the Public Relations Society of America.

Prior to his work with Tribune, Mr. Weitman was executive director/corporate communications at Allied Riser Communications Corp., a broadband data and Internet services provider. From 1997 through 1999, he served as senior vice president/media relations at Hill and Knowlton, Inc., in Chicago, where he was responsible for all aspects of communication strategies for Fortune 100 clients, including media training, crisis communications and employee and labor relations.
Mr. Weitman spent 15 years in broadcast journalism, holding positions of increasing responsibility at the CBS- and FOX-owned television stations in Chicago, IL from 1982 to 1997. He left journalism in 1997, following three years as Managing Editor at WBBM-TV, where he was responsible for the TV station’s editorial coverage and all of its news broadcasts.

Mr. Weitman holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He was a William Benton Fellow in broadcast journalism at the University of Chicago from 1989 to 1990.

Mr. Weitman was formerly a member of the Board of Directors for the Tribune Media Company Charitable Foundation and acted as its chief administrative officer. He served on the board of directors of the Juvenile Protective Association, a private non-profit agency dedicated to helping children and families affected by abuse or neglect from 2003 to 2016. Mr. Weitman was also involved with the Alzheimer’s Association from 1997 to 2005 and served on the board of directors for WBEZ-FM, Chicago’s public radio station, from 1998 to 2007.

Brian Jones

Executive VP, Chief Operating Officer Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Brian Jones became Executive Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer for Nexstar Broadcasting Group in January 2017. Prior to that he served as EVP & Co-Chief Operating Officer since May 2008. He Joined Nexstar Broadcasting in May 2003 as SVP & Regional Manager.

Mr. Jones came to Nexstar from CBS owned KTVT (CBS) and KTXA (IND) in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas where he was Vice-President & General Manager for seven years. Prior to that, he was Station Manager and held various Sales management positions at KTVT, Sales positions at MMT Sales Inc., KXAS (NBC) Dallas-Fort Worth and News positions at KLBK (CBS) Lubbock, Texas and KXAN (NBC) Austin, Texas. Altogether, he has 38 years of experience in the television industry.

Mr. Jones served as the Chairman of the FOX Affiliates Association Board of Governors and also served as Chairman of the Texas Association of Broadcasters Board of Directors. He is a member of the FOX Affiliates Association Board of Governors and the National Association of Broadcasters Small Market Advisory Committee as well as the Southern Methodist University School of Journalism Advisory Committee. Jones also served as a board member of the CBS Affiliates Association.

Mr. Jones is a graduate of the University of Texas. He has been married to Lauren for the past 31 years and has three sons, Austin, Trent, and Brock.

William Sally

Executive VP, Sales Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

William Sally serves as Nexstar Broadcasting’s Executive Vice President of Sales.  He joined the company in September 2013 as a Senior Vice President and Regional Manager.

Mr. Sally oversees the expansion of NBI’s sales and marketing initiatives on a regional and national basis across 197 owned or serviced television stations in 115 markets.  He is responsible for developing revenue-generating strategies aimed at maximizing the value of the stations’ on-air and digital platforms.  In addition, he and his team collaborate with other Nexstar-owned media properties, including the company’s digital, cable and radio businesses, to create leading, cross platform marketing opportunities for a wide range of advertising partners. Mr. Sally is also responsible for executing and monitoring action plans aimed at achieving corporate and regional business objectives and financial goals, he also oversees traffic operations, vendor relationships and key client partnerships.  Nexstar’s digital and mobile products enable national advertisers, as well as small and mid-sized businesses, to optimize the reach and effectiveness of their marketing campaigns across every available media channel.

Prior to joining Nexstar Broadcasting, Mr. Sally had been Vice President and General Manager for Newport Television in Albany at WXXA. He held the same position for Smith Broadcasting in Burlington, Vermont, at WFFF and WVNY. Mr. Sally has held various management level positions in sales while in California at KEYT in Santa Barbara. He began his television career in 1978 in Utica where he served as a Sports Director/Anchor at WKTV before transitioning into a local AE sales position.

Mr. Sally has been active with many professional organizations including sales advisory boards at ABC, FOX and currently at TVB.  He is well respected for his philanthropic work and good citizenship in the communities in which he has lived.

Blake Russell

Executive VP, Station Operations and Content Development Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Blake Russell was appointed the company’s Senior Vice President of Station Operations in November 2008 and promoted to Executive Vice President in 2018. Prior to that, he served as Vice-President of Marketing & Operations since October 2007. In 2004, he was Vice President & General Manager of Nexstar’s KNWA (NBC) and KFTA (FOX) television stations in the Ft. Smith/Fayetteville, AR market. Working with Nexstar’s General Managers and Senior Corporate Staff, he is responsible for the conception, execution and implementation of the company’s strategic and content initiatives, special projects and the capital budget. Mr. Russell’s Operational oversight includes the areas of Engineering, News, Construction Services, Master Control Hubbing, Graphic Design, Marketing/Promotion and Production.

During Mr. Russell’s twenty-two years with Nexstar, he has been instrumental in building, re-launching and re-positioning stations throughout the company . He plays a key leadership role in the continuing evolution of the company to a multi-platform, local content and service provider as well as Nexstar’s regional hub strategies. Altogether, Mr. Russell has 31 years of experience in the television industry.

Andy Alford

Senior VP, Regional Manager Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Andy Alford was promoted to Senior Vice President and Regional Manager in August of 2017. Mr. Alford has oversight responsibilities for the stations and digital properties in the Southeast Region encompassing Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. Prior to his promotion Mr. Alford was Vice President and General Manager of WFLA-TV and WTTA-TV, Tampa’s NBC and MyNet affiliates and held that position since 2014. Before moving to Tampa, Andy served as Vice President of Sales for Media General. While in that role he initiated and managed sales strategies, and developed sales training plans for the company. Additionally, he was responsible for managing the business relationship with the national rep firms and worked on the transition teams through corporate mergers. Concurrently he held the position of Vice President and General Manager of WTEN-TV, an ABC affiliate, in Albany, NY and operated WXXA-TV, a Fox affiliate, under a shared services and joint sales agreement with Shield Media.

Prior to Albany, Andy spent a total of seven years at WGCL-TV in Atlanta, most recently as Vice President and General Manager.  He has also served in broadcast management roles in the Orlando, FL, Syracuse, NY and Rochester, NY markets.

Andy grew up in Rochester, NY and began his television career in sales at WHEC. He has been involved in a number of industry and community organizations, including the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation, Heart Walk Cabinet for The American Heart Association Tampa Bay, Board of Directors of Make-A-Wish, Georgia Association of Broadcasters, The Southeast Chapter of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement for Northeastern New York.

Andy has been married to his wife Nancy for over 30 years and has a son and daughter; Max and Katy.

Doug Davis

Senior VP, Regional Manager Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Doug Davis joined Nexstar Broadcasting as Senior Vice President and Regional Manager in January of 2017. He has oversight of station operations in Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Prior to joining Nexstar, Mr. Davis served as President and General Manager of WAVY/WVBT, the NBC/FOX duopoly in Norfolk, Virginia from 2005-2016. He served as Station Manager of WVBT from 2000-2005 following his role as Local Sales Manager of WAVY from 1995-2000. A graduate of Duke University, Mr. Davis began his career at National Video Center in New York from 1984-1989 before holding Account Executive positions with Cox Cable and WVEC in Norfolk from 1989-1995. He is a Past President of The Virginia Association of Broadcasters and former board member of the FOX Affiliate Board of Governors. He is a long-serving member of the Development Advisory Board of Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters and remains active in many community organizations throughout southeastern Virginia.

Julie Pruett

Senior VP, Regional Manager Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Julie Pruett was appointed the company’s Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of West Region Markets in September 2013. From 1997 through August 2013 Ms. Pruett served as Vice President/General Manager of KFDX-TV serving the Wichita Falls, TX and Lawton, OK, market. Ms. Pruett was also responsible for managing Nexstar’s relationship with Mission Broadcasting’s KJTL and KJBO under a joint operating agreement. Ms. Pruett served in sales and various management positions at KFDX, having been with the station since 1989. Ms. Pruett also worked in the agency side of the business, developing and implementing marketing plans for multiple clients.

Altogether, Ms. Pruett has 24 years of experience in the television industry. Ms. Pruett currently serves on the Board of the Texas Association of Broadcasters and is a board member of Union Square Federal Credit Union. She is a past member of the Sheppard Air Force Base Military Affairs Committee, United Regional Health Care Foundation Board and Fund Development Chair, was appointed to the United States Air Force Air Education Training Commanders Group, a board member of United Way of Greater Wichita Falls, and Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce Board and Executive Committee Member.

Ron Romines

Senior VP, Regional Manager Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Ron Romines was appointed Senior Vice President and Regional Manager in June of 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as Vice President and General Manager of WTEN-TV in Albany, New York where he was also responsible for managing Nexstar’s relationship with Shield Media’s WXXA-TV. Mr. Romines first joined Nexstar in January 2017 when the Company acquired various assets of Media General. With nearly three decades of broadcasting and sales management experience, Mr. Romines transformed Nexstar’s Albany station operations into a position of market leadership while achieving record revenue and digital metrics.

Prior to WTEN-TV, between 1995 and 2005 Mr. Romines served in various General Sales Management roles on behalf of WJTV-TV (CBS) and WAPT-TV (ABC) in Jackson, MS; WCCO-TV (CBS) in Minneapolis, MN and KOCO-TV (ABC) in Oklahoma City, OK. He began his broadcasting career in 1991 as a Local Account Executive at WDBD-TV (FOX) in Jackson, MS. Mr. Romines earned a BSBA and MBA from Mississippi College. He is married to Joneen and they have a son and a daughter, Brad and Ashley.

Matthew Rosenfeld

Senior VP, Regional Manager Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Matthew Rosenfeld was appointed Senior Vice President and Regional Manager in July 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Nexstar’s duopoly television operation of KSEE (NBC) and KGPE (CBS) and associated digital operations in Fresno, California from 2013 to 2019, having been the GM for KSEE since 2009.

Prior to that, he served as President & General Manager for WTVH (CBS) in Syracuse, NY and WBNG (CBS, CW) in Binghamton, NY. Rosenfeld currently serves on the California Broadcasters Association and is very active in community involvement. He is past President of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, President of the Fresno Compact, and has served on several other community advisory boards in California and New York. Rosenfeld was the recipient of the CHAMPION Award presented by the Mayor of Fresno in 2016, Hometown Hero award presented by the Fresno Clovis Convention & Visitors bureau in 2010, and recipient of the “40 under “40 award presented by the Central New York Business Journal in 2007; under his leadership his television stations have received significant recognition including Regional Emmy awards, Associated Press awards, Regional Edward R. Murrow awards, RTDNA Excellence in Journalisms awards and most recently a National Edward R. Murrow Award in 2018.

Theresa Underwood

Senior VP, Regional Manager Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Theresa Underwood was appointed the company’s Senior Vice President and Regional Manager on April 1, 2015. From 2000 to 2015 Ms. Underwood served as Vice President & General Manager of WSYR-TV. Ms. Underwood served in sales and various management positions at WSYR, having been with the station since 1992. Ms. Underwood also worked in the agency side of the business, developing and implementing marketing plans for multiple clients. Underwood currently serves on the Board of the New York State Broadcasters Association, serves as Chair for the Communications Committee of the Salvation Army Advisory Board and serves on the on the Advisory Board for the Golisano Children’s Hospital. She is past Chairman of the Board for the New York State Broadcasters Association and worked in support of Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, Children’s Miracle Network, Make- A- Wish Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Red Cross. Underwood was the recipient of the “40 under “40 award presented by Leadership Greater Syracuse and honored at the sixth annual Women in Business Award in 2006.

Mike Vaughn

Senior VP, Regional Manager Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Mike Vaughn was appointed Senior Vice President and Regional Manager January of 2017. Prior to his appointment, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Nexstar’s local television operation KARK and associated digital operations in Little Rock, Arkansas from 2011 to 2016. Mr. Vaughn was also responsible for managing Nexstar’s relationship with Mission Broadcasting’s KLRT and KASN under a joint operating agreement. Prior to that, he was Vice President and General Manager of KNWA and KFTA and associated digital operations serving Fayetteville and Fort Smith, Arkansas from 2008-2011. From 2005-2008 Mike served as Director of Sales overseeing both sales departments in Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas. Mike started his career with Nexstar in sales and various management positions at Nexstar’s facilities in Springfield, Missouri.

He has been in the television industry for more than 23 years. Mr. Vaughn has been very active in local community involvement, including business groups and volunteering with youth sports organizations. Mr. Vaughn and his wife have two children and enjoy cheering on the Arkansas Razorbacks and following their children’s sporting activities.

Traci Wilkinson

Senior VP, Regional Manager Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Traci Wilkinson was promoted to Senior Vice President and Regional Manager July of 2019. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Wilkinson served as Vice President and General Manager of Nexstar’s local television operation KASW-TV (CW) and yourphx.com in Phoenix Arizona from 2016 to 2019, and brings over 25 years of broadcasting and sales management experience to the role. Throughout her career she consistently delivers excellence in client service and sales performance, achieving consistent revenue growth by increasing local community involvement, establishing strong local brands and elevating the level of service provided to viewers and advertisers.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Wilkinson served in several senior management roles including Director of Sales for Belo’s Phoenix based television operation KTVK-TV (IND), KASW-TV (CW) and azfamily.com, and Local Sales Manager at Fox O&O KSAZ in Phoenix from 2009-2016. Prior to that she was General Sales Manager of Entercom radio station 103.7 FM serving the Seattle, WA market (DMA #13) from 2004 to 2009, Director of Local Sales at regional Northwest Cable News (NWCN), and Local Sales Manager at KONG-TV (IND), Belo’s Seattle based television operations from 1998 to 2004.

Traci grew up in the Seattle area and began her television career in sales at Comcast. Ms. Wilkinson has been active in several volunteer organizations including equine therapy organization Horses Help, The Humane Society, and serves on the board of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.

Randy Bradford

Senior VP, Financial Operations

Randy Bradford was appointed Senior Vice President of Financial Operations in the fall of 2019.  Mr. Bradford has responsibility for financial planning and analysis, risk management, treasury management, employee services and assists with mergers and acquisitions. From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Bradford served Nexstar by managing the company’s station management relationship with Four Points Media and as the company’s Manager of Financial Operations. He was named Vice President of Financial Operations in 2014.

Prior to Nexstar, Mr. Bradford served in various senior management roles including Chief Financial Officer of Independence Media, Controller for Healthvision and Director of Finance for Chase Medical. Mr. Bradford earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Terri Bush

Senior VP, Human Resources & Associate Counsel

Terri Bush joined Nexstar Broadcasting on June 7, 2010 as Associate Counsel and Director of Human Resources, and was promoted to Vice President in June 2015, and Senior Vice President in January 2019. She leads all aspects of the company’s human resources functions including employment, employee relations and training. Ms. Bush came to Nexstar after serving in various human resources leadership roles in the hospitality industry, first with Harrah’s Entertainment and then Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. She received her B.A. from Louisiana State University and her J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University and is a member of both the Louisiana and California state bar associations.

Patrick Cusick

Senior VP, Controller

Mr. Cusick was named Senior Vice President and Controller in the fall of 2019 and is responsible for oversight of all accounting, tax and financial reporting activities including Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, and certifications and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and documentation.  He also manages the audit function and conducts internal and industry analysis to support the Company’s goals for organic and M&A growth.

Mr. Cusick brings 23 years of accounting experience to his position at Nexstar.  He joined Nexstar in August 2010 as the Company’s Assistant Controller. He was appointed as the Company’s Controller since January 1, 2013 and as the Vice President Controller in 2014. From 2006 to 2010, Mr. Cusick was an Assurance Senior Manager at a nationally recognized accounting firm, managing audit engagements for public and private mid-market companies and he previously held positions with two big four accounting firms. Mr. Cusick earned a Master of Accounting degree and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from University of Florida.

Keith P. Hopkins

Senior VP, Distribution

Keith P. Hopkins was appointed the company’s Senior Vice President of Distribution on September 1, 2017.  In this newly created position, Mr. Hopkins oversees strategic local content distribution initiatives and affiliate relations for Nexstar’s broadcast and digital operations in 100 markets across the United States.  Prior to joining Nexstar, Mr. Hopkins served as Vice President, Affiliate Sales and Marketing for Tribune Media where he negotiated complex carriage agreements with multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) and new emerging platforms for all of Tribune’s owned or operated television stations, as well as WGN America. Before that, he served as Senior Director, Affiliate Sales and Marketing for the Pac-12 Networks, where he was on the launch team that led the global distribution development efforts for the Pac-12 national, regional and digital networks and executed carriage agreements.  Earlier in his career, Mr. Hopkins was a National Account Sales Manager at NBC Universal / Comcast Corporation.  Mr. Hopkins is on the board for the NBC Sports Philadelphia Shining Stars Awards, an event he helped co-found to benefit the March of Dimes.  He resides in Dallas with his wife and daughter.

Susan Tully

Senior VP, Local Content Development

Susan Tully was named Senior Vice President of Local Content Development in August of 2019. Ms. Tully oversees the corporate content development team and is responsible for managing the development and execution of the Company’s strategic local content and viewer engagement initiatives across its broadcast and digital operations. She is also responsible for advancing the Company’s multi-platform approach for its local news programming and content, as well as initiatives focused on brand development, social media engagement, ratings leadership and excellence in viewer and client experience and service.

Prior to Nexstar, Ms. Tully was with the NBC Owned Television Stations for 28 years. Most recently she was President & General Manager of WVIT-TV (NBC) and WRDM-TV (Telemundo) in Hartford, CT. During her time in Hartford, the Investigative Team was honored to receive the prestigious duPont-Columbia Award for “Crumbling Foundations.” Prior to that, she served as VP & News Director at KXAS-TV in Dallas, TX where she led the team in an intense weather and breaking news market. She played a critical role in construction of the stations new broadcast facility, built a national award-winning Investigative Team, and developed innovative content strategies around hyper-local journalism to cover one of the nations largest geographic DMA’s.  Earlier in her career at NBC she was the Assistant News Director at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia and Managing Editor of KNSD-TV in San Diego. Prior to NBC she worked in newsrooms in Austin, Corpus Christi and Victoria, Texas.

Ms. Tully is a graduate of Sam Houston State University. She recently served on the Connecticut Broadcasters Association Board of Directors, as well as holding board positions with the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford, the United Way and the American Red Cross of Connecticut.  She and her husband Kevin have one son, Conor.

Dione J. Rigsby

VP, Technology

Dione J. Rigsby joined Nexstar Broadcasting as Vice President, Director of Technology in March 2013. Mr. Rigsby previously served as Vice President, Director of Engineering for Newport Television where he was responsible for engineering and information technology oversight for the broadcasting group. Prior to joining Newport, he served as Chief Information Officer, Assistant Director of Engineering for Clear Channel Television.

Richard Stolpe

VP, Engineering Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Richard Stolpe has served as our Vice President, Director of Engineering since January 2000. Prior to that time, Mr. Stolpe served as Director of Engineering from 1998 to 2000. Prior to joining Nexstar, Mr. Stolpe was employed by WYOU from 1993-1998 as both Assistant Chief Engineer and Chief Engineer.

Mark Turner

VP, Station Operations Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

Mark Turner joins Nexstar from Media General where he served as Vice-President of Station Engineering and Operations for Media General since November 2014. Prior to that, he served as Vice-President of Broadcast Technology for Media General beginning in April of 2011, Vice-President of Technology for Media General Digital beginning in September 2007, and Director of IT for Media General Broadcast beginning in January 1988.

Prior to his broadcast career, Mr. Turner worked as a design engineer in the aerospace industry.

During Mr. Turner’s twenty-nine years with Media General, led initiatives to automate or improve operations including news production, master control, traffic and graphics.

Charles W. Pautsch

VP, Labor and Employment Relations/Associate Counsel

Charles W. Pautsch joined Nexstar Media Group as Vice President of Labor and Employment Relations/ Associate Counsel in January 2019. He has practiced labor and employment law for over 41 years. Prior to joining the corporate staff, Mr. Pautsch served as an “in-house” counsel at a major health care corporation and a nationwide retail conglomerate, as well as a Partner in several prestigious nationwide law firms. Most recently he led his own law firm Pautsch, Spognardi & Baiocchi Legal Group LLP. In these past roles, he has represented Nexstar for over eight years as counsel and as a labor relations advisor.

In his labor relations role, he has negotiated collective bargaining agreements with all major US labor unions and in his capacity as a litigator, he has served as lead counsel in over 175 litigation matters in the Federal Courts alone, and thousands more before the NLRB, EEOC, DOL, OSHA and state courts/ agencies in 40 states.

He received his law degree, magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law.