At CFO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based CFO’ operating in the News space. If you think a CFO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Tony Grimminck
CFO of Scribd
Tony Grimminck is a Chief Financial Officer of Scribd and Co-Founder of International Connector. Tony has more than two decades of financial, operational, entrepreneurial, and strategy experience at large and small organizations in the private and public sectors. Prior to joining Womply, Tony was CFO at HotelTonight, served in various executive roles at StubHub, and was a Vice President at both Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. He also co-founded International Connector, an international innovation network and has advised multiple startups. Prior to moving to the U.S., Tony was an officer in the Australian Army, where he led teams engaged in operations on three continents. Tony is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy. He has a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia and an MBA from Columbia University, New York.
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About Scribd: Scribd is an unlimited reading subscription that offers access to books, audiobooks, magazine articles, documents and more.

Deborah A. Cowan
CFO & Treasurer of NPR
Deborah A. Cowan is Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at NPR. She is responsible for overseeing the organization’s financial operations, including ensuring the integrity of accounting processes, internal controls, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, planning and analysis. In addition to providing effective leadership of the finance and accounting staff, she is responsible for ensuring financial awareness and understanding throughout the organization. Cowan brings more than 20 years of financial leadership experience in media and business to her role at NPR. Just before joining NPR in 2010, Cowan served as the senior vice president of finance at Radio One, Inc. managing the financial and accounting operations. She was part of the senior leadership team that evolved the financial and operational structure and systems that helped grow the organization (through acquisitions as well as organically) and handled many complex strategic and financial issues. During her time at Radio One, Cowan’s accomplishments included formalizing the company’s planning process; leading the company’s initial and subsequent Sarbanes Oxley compliance; re-engineering several accounting processes; managing the integration of several radio stations, a radio syndication company and an online social networking company; overseeing company divestitures; installing several financial systems; and restructuring the company’s finance and accounting organizations into a centralized unit. Prior to joining Radio One in 2001, Cowan was a financial manager at IBM for 17 years where she held several increasingly responsible CFO positions for significant divisions.Before IBM, Cowan worked for Coopers & Lybrand, performing audits for large and medium-sized nonprofit and for-profit companies.A certified public accountant, Cowan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Howard University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and International Business from Columbia Business School. She is currently a director on the nonprofit boards of Consumer Reports and the National Education Association Foundation, where she chairs the audit committee and serves on the investment committee, and is a former director of the Media Financial Management organization.
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About NPR: NPR is a multimedia news organization and radio program producer that delivers national and international news broadcasts.

David Granville-Smith
Executive Vice President And Chief Financial Officer of A+E Networks
David “Digger” Granville-Smith is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of A+E Networks. Granville-Smith joined A+E Networks as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in July 2014. In December 2016, he was named to his current position. Granville-Smith leads all key financial functions across A+E Networks, including A&E®, History®, Lifetime®, LMN®, FYI™, H2®, Crime & Investigation Network®, History en Español™, Military HISTORY®, LRW®, A+E Studios™, A&E Indie Films®, A+E Networks International®, A+E Networks Digital® and A+E Networks Consumer Products™. In addition, Granville-Smith oversees the Production, Operations, Engineering and Information Technology departments and is responsible for the Corporate Development, Strategy, Investments and Ventures Group. He provides strategic and operational leadership across all of the divisions of the company, including the Brand Portfolio Group, Ad Sales, Distribution, Digital and International, in order to drive the company’s overall growth and value creation. Granville-Smith serves on the boards of A+E Networks Latin America and VICELAND. Prior to joining A+E Networks, Granville-Smith worked at J.P. Morgan and Bear Stearns, which was acquired by J.P. Morgan, for 23 years. Prior to that, he worked at Smith Barney in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group. At J.P. Morgan, he was a Managing Director and Head of the Media Group in the Investment Banking Division. Throughout his career in banking, Granville-Smith worked on a number of significant strategic and financing transactions for diversified media, cable network, cable distribution and telecommunications companies. Granville-Smith is a trustee of the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York. He also serves on the President’s Advisory Council for the College of Brown University. Granville-Smith received an A.B. degree from Brown University. He resides in Manhattan with his wife and two children.
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About A+E Networks: A+E Networks is truly a global media company with joint ventures and channels all over the world.

Renee Budig
EVP & CFO of CBS Interactive
Renee Budig joined our board of directors in November 2015 as Chair of the Audit Committee. Budig brings extensive financial operations experience as CBS Interactive’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to her time at CBS, Budig served as Chief Financial Officer of Hightail (formerly branded YouSendIt) and was previously the Vice President of Finance at Netflix. In 2011, Budig was recognized by the San Jose Business Journal as CFO of the Year for Venture-Backed Companies and was also named to the esteemed list of Silicon Valley Women of Influence. Budig graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.
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About CBS Interactive: CBS Interactive is an online content network for information and entertainment.
Tom Shilen
Sr. VP, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer of CBS Corporation
Tom Shilen is Sr. VP, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer @ CBS Corporation.
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About CBS Corporation: CBS Corporation is a mass media company that creates and distributes content across a variety of platforms to audiences around the world.

Darren Singer
Chief Financial Officer of The Guardian US
Darren joined GNM’s parent company GMG in April 2011 as Chief Financial Officer.He moved to GMG from the WPP-owned global agency network GroupM, where he was Chief Financial Officer, EMEA. Before GroupM Darren held a number of senior roles at BSkyB. He has also worked as an analyst at the BBC.Darren read Economics at Manchester University and qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse.
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About Global, The Guardian US: The Guardian US is a British national daily newspaper that covers news, sports, business, opinion, analysis, reviews, and much more.
Baha Tuncer
Chief Financial Officer of Batelco
Baha Tuncer joined Batelco Bahrain as CFO in September 2017 bringing extensive financial management experience in telecommunications, corporate finance, auditing, mergers and acquisitions, and business transformation, gained over 25 years, with particular focus on customer oriented strategies for value generation and operational excellence. Previously, Baha held a variety of senior finance roles within leading global organizations, including CFO at Vodafone Portugal, Head of Finance at Vodafone Group in the UK, Head of Finance at Vodafone Turkey, CFO at Lifecell Ukraine, and Director of Corporate Finance Financial Audit for Siemens North America. Baha holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from Bosphorus University, Turkey, and also completed Financial Executives Programme by Marshall School of Business at University of Southern California. He is a Certified Public Accountant (California, USA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.
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About Batelco: Batelco (Bahrain Telecommunications Company) the leading digital solutions provider.
James DiPrima
CFO of GG Media Network
Mr. James C. DiPrima, also known as Jim, has 40 years of financial accounting experience in both the public and private sectors. He held various positions with start-up companies. He has approximately 22 years working in various positions with public traded companies. He served as Chief Financial Officer for Coastal Technologies, Inc. He served as Chief Executive Officer of MBD Midwest. He served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Netcoast Communications, Inc. He served as a Director of Cyclone Power Technologies, Inc. Mr. DiPrima has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska.
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About GG Media Network: GG Media Network is a rising eSports media production company.
Stuart Rosenstein
EVP & CFO of Townsquare Media
Mr. Rosenstein co-founded Townsquare in May 2010 and is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of FiveWire, an entity formed for the purpose of investing in the Company. Prior to co-founding FiveWire in January 2009, Mr. Rosenstein was previously the owner and managing principal from 2004 to January 2009 of AMG Financial, a private lending firm that extended financing and provided collateralized loans and other services principally to the real estate industry. Prior to founding AMG Financial in 2005, he co-founded LiveWire Ventures in 1998 with Mr. Price and served as the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PriCellular Corporation. Mr. Rosenstein started his career at Ernst & Young and was a senior manager at the firm until leaving to join PriCellular in 1990. Mr. Rosenstein earned his B.S. magna cum laude in Business Administration (Accounting) from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants.
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About Townsquare Media: Townsquare Media, an entertainment and digital marketing services company, operates digital, radio and live event properties in the U.S.
Niral V. Merchant
Chief Financial Officer of Anthem Sports & Entertainment
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About Anthem Sports & Entertainment: Anthem Sports & Entertainment is a global leader in operating targeted specialty video channels on linear, digital and mobile platforms.

Doug Jeffries
CFO of Red Herring
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About Red Herring: Red Herring is a media company that covers innovation, technology, financing and entrepreneurial activity.
Al Freeman
CFO of Athlettes Productions
Al Freeman has over 20 years of Banking, investment and real estate experience in all facets of finance from start up to strategic alliances and insurance bonding. His vast network of creative financing and debt/equity experiences brings a fresh perspective to our portfolio of projects making it a profitable investment for the investor and the company equally. HIs ability to structure a winning deal for Wall Street as well as main street make his services sought after by many top companies from all over the world.
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About Athlettes Productions: Athlettes Productions/Media LLC (Athlettes Media) is a Scottsdale, Arizona based Entertainment/Game and Multimedia Company seeking.
Melinda Janik
Chief Financial Officer of GateHouse Media Inc.
Melinda Janik became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in February 2009. She formerly served as an officer and Vice President and Controller of Paychex, Inc., a provider of payroll and human resource services, from March 2005 to January 2009. Prior to joining Paychex, Inc., she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Glimcher Realty Trust, a mall Real Estate Investment Trust based in Columbus, Ohio, from July 2002 to March 2004. From February 1999 to July 2002 Ms. Janik was Vice President and Treasurer of NCR Corporation, a technology company based in Dayton, Ohio. She holds an MBA in finance and accounting and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
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About : GateHouse Media’s business model is to be the preeminent provider of local content and advertising in the small and midsize markets.
Abdulkadir Teymur
Co-Founder, CFO of Newsmeter
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About Newsmeter: Newsmeter is an online global news tracker service utilizes an indexing technology.
Julio Alorro
CFO of Marino Daily
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About Incubix Technologies, Marino Daily: MarinoDaily is a news aggregator for seafarers plying the shipping routes to get current events from localized news.
Julio Alorro
CFO of Marino Daily
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About Incubix Technologies, Marino Daily: MarinoDaily is a news aggregator for seafarers plying the shipping routes to get current events from localized news.
Kathryn Henkens
CFO of Alltop
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About Alltop, Nononina, Truemors: Alltop categorizes all the top headlines from popular topics around the web.
Mahesh Sashital
Co-Founder & CFO of Smartereum
Co-Founder @Smartereum | Entrepreneur | #Ethereum #Blockchain #Bitcoin | Developer | @JPMorgan, @UTexasMcCombs Alum
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About EDGE196, MassChallenge, Smartereum: A Social Platform for Cryptocurrency Investors & Traders & Analysts.
Eric Yuan
CFO of Bitcorati
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About Bitcorati: Bitcoin Directory Reviews & Ratings

Klaus Schneegans
Founder and CFO of Buzz360
Klaus has a wealth of business experience in both the U.S. and Europe. His primary focus has been on the management of small, high-growth companies. Klaus created and sold several successful companies in the IT field, serving small business as well as Fortune 500 companies. He was a cofounder of Praxis Software Solutions, which was acquired by SAP AG. Klaus holds an MBA from Aachen University in Germany.
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About Buzz360: Entrepreneurs don’t start a business because they love marketing; they start a business because of a passion.

Richard O’Connor
CFO of Beachfront Media
Richard O’Connor is the Chief Financial Officer of RhythmOne. Having joined the company in early 2017, he brings over 20 years of finance experience in traditional and digital media companies. Immediately prior to joining RhythmOne, Rich was the CFO of PageScience, the venture-funded, health-oriented programmatic network, where he managed the day-to-day operations and finances of the enterprise, including raising capital, driving the company to profitability and facilitating its sale to Accent Health Media. In 2007, Richard was part of the Private Equity-led buyout team of Prime Visibility Media Group (PVMG) and took over as the CFO of the company, restructuring the operations and balance sheet, and driving revenue growth until its sale in 2011 to RhythmOne plc. His financial career in media includes Warner Bros. Domestic Television, MCA TV, Universal TV, USAI and Vivendi Universal – eventually serving as VP of Finance and Operations at Universal Domestic Television, a $1bn Division of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE). Rich earned a BS (Accounting) from University of Bridgeport.
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About Beachfront Media: Beachfront Media is a leading video technology company enabling distribution and monetization of video across all screens.
James Ogle
CFO & COO of Sky & Telescope
James Ogle is a CFO & COO at Sky & Telescope.
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About Sky & Telescope: Sky & Telescope is an online source that features latest night-sky events, astronomy news, astrophotography, and observing tips.
James Ogle
CFO & COO of Sky & Telescope
James Ogle is a CFO & COO at Sky & Telescope.
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About Sky & Telescope: Sky & Telescope is an online source that features latest night-sky events, astronomy news, astrophotography, and observing tips.
Charlie Butler
Chief Financial Officer of Empact Interactive Media
Charlie Butler is Chief Financial Officer at Empact Interactive Media.
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About Empact Interactive Media: Empact is a advertising service that maps products or services to content displayed in media.

Gustavo Lauria
CFO of Wekho
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About Wekho: Wekho, a geolocation-based social app, enables users to find and keep up with interesting events and places around their current locations.
Flora Point
VP & CFO of Sun Herald
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About Sun Herald: The Sun Herald is South Mississippi’s newspaper