Northstar Travel Group (“Northstar”), owners of this title and sister brands M&IT and The Meetings Show, has announced changes to its executive team as Jason Young joins the team as CEO.
Young
succeeds Thomas Kemp, who has been Chairman & CEO since 2009. Kemp will
transition to the role of Chairman.
Young has
been an innovative leader in the digital transformation of the media industry,
as well as a visionary in advertising technology. He spent 20 years with
Ziff-Davis Media, the leading IT information and media business, eventually
ascending to the CEO position.
Young was the founder of Smart Device Media, a
mobile advertising network, later acquired by Crisp Mobile, where Young became
CEO of the combined company. After the acquisition of Crisp by Quotient
Technology, a data-driven advertising technology company serving the packaged
goods industry, Young became Chief Media & Marketing Officer. Over his 30+
year career, Young has driven product innovation around new advertising
platforms and data led media. He most recently served as President of Chicory, a contextual
commerce media company serving the consumer-packaged
goods industry.
“We are thrilled to have Jason join
Northstar as our new CEO to lead the company in our next strategic
transformation as a content, marketing services, event, and data company. I have known Jason for over 20 years as a
visionary leader integrating data and technology into solutions for media
companies and their clients,” said Kemp.
“I am honored to join the team at
Northstar. At a time of significant evolution in the media and digital
ecosystem, Northstar’s market leading brands and unparalleled content/data
footprint provide essential benefits to the audience and for its travel marketing
partners. I look forward to working
with this amazing team and driving the next stage of strategic growth,” said
Jason Young.
Along with this leadership change, Bob
Sullivan, the long-time travel industry icon, and President of Northstar’s Travel
Group, is being promoted to Chief Commercial Officer of the Company. “I am
thrilled to have the benefit and opportunity to work and partner with a leader
like Bob, whose industry knowledge and expertise will be critical as Northstar
looks to expand on its leadership position,” said Young.
Sullivan added: “I am excited about the passion, experience and skills Jason
brings into the business and am eager to work with him to unlock even more
value for our customers and partners. I
could not be more excited about the opportunity ahead for Northstar.”
Anup Bagaria, Co-Managing Partner and
Michael Struble, Senior Partner at EagleTree Capital, Northstar’s primary
investor, added: “We would like to
thank Tom for his leadership of Northstar over the last fourteen years, and we
are excited to bring in a visionary talent in Jason Young to lead the next
transformation of Northstar Travel Group serving our communities, our partners
and our clients.”
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
