Erica Gruen Email & Phone Number

New York, Ny, Us

My board director/advisor roles have included:- Technical Advisor via the Technology Partner Network. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 2013-2016. Served Program Officers in the Education division at the Foundation, the largest of its kind worldwide. Led media and entertainment industry engagement for the Postsecondary Team's Exemplary Courseware Challenge. - Elevator News Network. 1999-2001. Private company. Digital out-of-home advertising network, delivered via high-resolution, flat-panel TV screens in the elevators of high-rise corporate towers. Acquired by Captivate Media in 2001.- Board Advisor. Vidcode. 2018-2021. Ground-breaking start-up, teaching coding to students 6th-12th grades. - Board Advisor. Nomiku. 2015-2019. Food-tech start-up, first-ever home sous vide immersion circulator.My current board director roles are:- Dimerond Technologies LLC. 2001--present. Private family company. Holds patents in utilizing graphene to develop a superior solar cell for the conversion of solar energy to electricity. 2001-present- University of Wisconsin School of Business, Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship. 2010-present.My current advisory and mentorship roles include tech start-ups in education, food, and media:- Board Advisor. SquareRoots. 2019-present. Founded by Kimbal Musk and Tobias Peggs, this innovative indoor hydroponic farming start-up is undergoing rapid U.S. expansion - Founding Advisor. YourTango.com. 2007-present. Leading digital publisher focused on love and relationships. - Mentor. Bolster Prime, FOOD-X, TechStars, Socratic Labs, START-Ed. Jan. 2013-present. Mentor to major tech accelerators nationwide.

New York, Ny, Us

I guide companies at the intersection of content, technology and services worldwide towards successful exits. Oaklins is the world's most experienced M&A advisory firm specializing in mid-market sell-side and buy-side transactions, corporate finance services, valuations and restructurings. OD+P has 20+ years of TMT market expertise in six key sectors: Media; Marketing; Technology, Data & Information; Education; Healthcare; and Private Equity.

New York, Ny, Us

Named to Forbes' list of "Best Management Consulting Firms" for the 5th consecutive year, Quantum Media creates big ideas for the world's top media & entertainment companies, non-profits, and start-ups. I consult on new products, partnerships and revenue, sometimes jumping in to lead internal teams.• Rodale Publishing. I created first-of-its-kind $20MM online paid-subscription diet business married to a hit TV show (TheBiggestLoserClub.com), zooming to #5-most trafficked diet site in Year 1. Ran the game-changing partnership between Rodale and NBC, making NBC's failing “The Biggest Loser” series into a primetime hit for 20+ years (now on Discovery+). I created Rodale's 2nd-biggest line of business, after "Prevention" magazine.• BBC Worldwide. I saved the BBC $50MM+ on its planned U.S. streaming subscription service launch by conducting new marketing-data analysis and writing new business plan.- TapInfluence. I dramatically increased growth velocity for this first-of-its-kind, influencer-marketing company, crafting business-building partnerships with top media companies in NYC (acquired by Izea).• Conde Nast. I created new methodology for positioning The New Yorker, GQ, Allure, and others for best licensing opportunities.• Reader’s Digest Association. For world’s largest culinary magazine, I created new online and magazine branding strategies, tripling the online audience.• Hearst Publishing and Hearst Digital. I was the Founding Consultant on content, marketing and advertising sales strategy for Delish.com, a JV between Hearst and MSN. Also developed digital video and online distribution strategy for relaunch of 17 Hearst magazine titles. For Good Housekeeping, assisted EIC and Publisher in recreating brand strategy that relaunched to significantly higher newsstand sales, circulation and ad pages. - NBC Sports. I re-created and relaunched the Outdoor Life Network brand, improving ratings by 100%.

Haarlem, Nl

Coach and mentor early-stage companies in music, food and other sectors

Alexandria, Va, Us

Business Mentor to team awarded the prestigious 7-week Lean LaunchPad curriculum grant, working on a music-tech, connected toy for musical creativity and STEM education, targeted to maker parents and educators. Trained as LeanLaunch Educator, April, 2016.

New York, Ny, Us

I made TV history achieving the impossible: following the data to create one of the cable industry's biggest and most enduring brands on advertising revenue alone. Even though we had one of the smallest programming budgets in the TV industry, and no consumer marketing budget, we put all our entrepreneurial muscle against a tiny start-up and made it a huge hit. I had 185 full-time and 100 contract employees in four U.S. offices and an annual operating budget of $70 million. I ran every aspect of this standalone channel, including TV programming, digital, sales (advertising and affiliate), administration, finance, operations, marketing, creative services (including in-house agency and design studio), ancillary businesses in the U.S. and abroad. In two years, as only the 2nd woman to be CEO of a TV network, I had tripled the value of Food and sold it to a major strategic, E.W. Scripps.- Launched foodnetwork.com, the #1 site for food, then and now, profitable in first year. - Within 6 months, Food Network became the 2nd fastest growing cable net in the U.S. - "Just two years ago the Food Network was a flop…Then, in June 1996, Erica Gruen took over as CEO...Whereas the Food Network used to bring in 62-year-old housewives in droves, it's now hot with urban hipsters… [T]he audience is a favorite with advertisers: high income, highly educated, ages 25 to 55. Last year the network signed on more than 80 new advertisers, including AT&T, American Express, and Toyota. Analysts say the Food Network's success has helped boost Scripps' stock price by 40% during the past 12 months." – Fortune- "Gruen, a respected cable veteran, is credited with turning the Food Network into a marquee name. Under Ms. Gruen, Food Network's subscriber base grew to more than 35 million from just 16 million, and turned formerly unknown chefs, such as Emeril Lagasse, into celebrities." - The Wall Street Journal

London, Greater London, Gb

I was the first digital strategist and the in-house media entrepreneur at Saatchi, building the 1st digital marketing division for the world’s #1 ad agency, and one of Madison Avenue's 1st-ever branded entertainment divisions. Clients were Fortune 100: P&G, Toyota, General Mills. My units were among the highest-margined businesses at Saatchi. Saatchi & Saatchi Interactive: my idea, my creation. We made corporate Web sites before anyone knew what those were (Tide.com for P&G, Toyota.com, YouRuleSchool.com for General Mills kid cereals), and we taught the other offices in the Saatchi empire how to do it. There were damn few women building Silicon Alley at that time and NY Magazine recognized that by naming me to their first "Cyber 60" list. When Saatchi and the press wanted a “go-to” source for All Things New, they turned to me. I researched and analyzed business plans, published buy/no-buy recommendations of all new cable networks and digital ad-supported innovations. When Jim Clark and Marc Andreessen were touring NYC in 1995 trying to get anyone to see a demo of their new "web browser," I was their first stop (ask me about that - a great story) I drove over $15MM in new billings by launching Saatchi’s branded entertainment/content marketing group, producing over 450 half-hours of Emmy Award-winning TV series for new moms that ran for over a decade on Lifetime.

London, Greater London, Gb

M.S., Educational Psychology, Educational Psychology

B.A, Psychology

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Steinhardt School Of Education & Stern College Of Business, 2014-Present