Kathleen Keefe, Hearst Television Vice President, Sales, is retiring at the end of the year, concluding a distinguished career in local television management with Hearst Television.
“Kathleen has provided great leadership and mentorship not only to our sales efforts, but our company,” said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb. “Among her many accomplishments, our industry-leading centralized traffic operation is a direct result of Kathleen’s leadership. Her systems and good judgment in inventory and pricing disciplines and unmatched knowledge of political advertising, have made all of our sales managers better and have helped cultivate the company’s next generation of Hearst Television’s management.”
“We are grateful to Kathleen for her valued contributions to Hearst Television over the past 13 years,” said David Barrett, a Director of Hearst Corporation. “Kathleen has been a key member of our outstanding senior management team, and her unwavering passion for the local television business, her effective focus on local market revenue development, and her mentorship of so many of our top sales performers, are an impressive legacy of her career at Hearst.”
“This has been a great run!” Keefe said. “I am very grateful for the guidance and leadership I have received from David Barrett and Jordan Wertlieb over these many years. I couldn’t be prouder or more appreciative of the tremendous sales management and account executive teams at our stations. I know they will continue to provide industry-leading results.”
Keefe joined Hearst in 2001, leading the sales efforts of the publicly traded Hearst-Argyle Television where she helped the company achieve record advertising revenues during her tenure. Before that, she was Vice president, Sales and Marketing, for Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc. During a 14-year career at Post-Newsweek, she served as General Sales Manager of WFSB-TV in her hometown DMA of Hartford/New Haven and as General Sales Manager of KPRC-TV, Houston, before becoming General Manager of WKMG-TV, Orlando.
Keefe is a graduate of Trinity College in Washington, D.C. She has served as a director or advisor for numerous civic, charitable and industry organizations including Give Kids the World, Florida Hospital, American Red Cross, United Way, Galleria (Houston) Chamber of Commerce, Houston Advertising Federation, and the New England Broadcasters Association. She currently serves as the Vice Chairman for the IRTS Foundation Board as well as a member of the Board of Directors for The Partnership at Drugfree.org, Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), the International Radio & Television Society (IRTS) and the Media Rating Council.
