Board of Directors
Perry A. Sook
Chairman
Perry A. Sook has over 43 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 its $7.1 billion acquisition of Tribune Media in 2019 and the $4.6 billion acquisition of Media General in 2017, Nexstar Media Group, Inc., became the largest local broadcast television operator in the United States, with 200 stations reaching 116 markets, reaching more than 220 million people, with annual revenue of nearly $5 billion.
The company owns NewsNation, the fastest-growing national cable news network in prime time, a 75% controlling interest in The CW Network, and 31% of The Food Network. As one of the nation’s leading providers of local news, entertainment, sports, lifestyle, and network programming, Nexstar produces and distributes more than 310,000 hours of original video content each year. The company’s portfolio of digital assets, including its local TV station websites, The Hill and NewsNationNow.com, are collectively a Top 10 U.S. digital news and information property.
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.
In June 2023, Mr. Sook was elected Chairman of the Joint Board of Directors of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). He previously served as Television Board chair for the NAB beginning June 2021. He serves on the Board of Directors of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the Board of the Broadcasters Foundation of America. Mr. Sook was previously a member of the Board of Directors of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), where he also served as Chairman. He is past Chairman of the CBS Affiliate Board.
Mr. Sook was named the 2009 Broadcaster of the Year by Broadcasting and Cable (B&C) and was among the honorees inducted into the B&C Hall of Fame in 2014. 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.
Geoff Armstrong
Director
Geoff Armstrong was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Nexstar in November 2003, serves as the Chairman of the Audit Committee. He previously served as Chairman of the Compensation Committee and Chairman of the Audit Committee.
Mr. Armstrong serves as Chief Executive Officer of 310 Partners, a private investment firm. From March 1999 through September 2000, Mr. Armstrong was the Chief Financial Officer of AMFM, an NYSE publicly traded company. From June 1998 to February 1999, Mr. Armstrong was Chief Operating Officer and a director of Capstar Broadcasting Corporation, which merged with AMFM in July 1999. Prior to that, Mr. Armstrong was a founder of SFX Broadcasting, which went public in 1993, and subsequently served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer and a director until the company was sold in 1998 to AMFM.
Mr. Armstrong serves as the chairman of the audit committee of Urban One, Inc. (NASDAQ: UONE) and previously served as board member and chairman of the audit committee of Urban One, Inc. from June 2001 and May 2002, respectively, through November 2020.
Mr. Armstrong’s qualifications to serve on Nexstar’s Board of Directors include his extensive experience as the Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer in the broadcast and communications industry, as well as a board member of other publicly traded companies. His service on the boards of other public companies allows him to offer a broad perspective on corporate governance, risk management and operating issues facing corporations today.
Bernadette Aulestia
Director
Bernadette Aulestia was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Nexstar in January 2021 and serves on the Compensation Committee.
Ms. Aulestia served as Chief Revenue and Growth Officer and then as Advisor of Callisto Media (private), a technology and media company which leverages audience data to create high-quality content at scale in 2022. Between her time at HBO and Callisto Media, Ms. Aulestia focused on her role as Board Member of Denny’s which she joined in 2018 among other non-profit board memberships and personal endeavors. From 2018 to 2019 Ms. Aulestia was President, Global Distribution and from 2015 to 2018 was Executive Vice President, Global Distribution at HBO, the premium programming subsidiary of WarnerMedia. Prior to that, she was Executive Vice President, Domestic Network & Digital Distribution at HBO from 2013 – 2015 and Senior Vice President, Domestic Network & Digital Distribution at HBO from 2009 – 2013. Prior to HBO, Ms. Aulestia held positions at Univision Communications, Turner Broadcasting Systems and Kidder Peabody.
Ms. Aulestia serves on the board of directors and is chair of the Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee of Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ: DENN), a franchisor and operator of one of America’s largest full-service restaurant chains, and Candoo Tech (private), a monthly subscription-based technical customer support service for aging adults and planned communities.
Ms. Aulestia’s qualifications to serve on Nexstar’s Board of Directors include her extensive experience as an executive in content and digital businesses which enables her to provide valuable advice on strategic and business matters as it relates to the Company’s own content and digital operations and growth plans. Her service on the boards of other public and private companies allows her to offer a broad perspective on corporate governance, risk management and operating issues facing corporations today.
Dennis J. FitzSimons
Director
Mr. FitzSimons was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Nexstar in January 2017 and serves on the Audit Committee.
Mr. FitzSimons serves as Chairman of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation (non-profit), a charitable organization with extensive assets where he has held his position since 2004. Concurrent with and prior to that, Mr. FitzSimons spent 25 years with the Tribune Company, a predecessor company of Tribune Media Company which Nexstar acquired in 2019, serving as the Chief Executive Officer and board member of Tribune Company from 2003 to 2007 and as Chairman of the board of directors from 2004 to 2007.
From 2009 until January 2017, Mr. Fitzsimons served on the board of directors of Media General, Inc. (“Media General”) (formerly public), which Nexstar acquired in 2017, as Chairman of Media General’s compensation committee and a member of the audit committee. He also served on the board of directors of Time, Inc. (formerly public) from 2014 until its sale to Meredith Corporation in January 2018 and was a member of the audit committee and the compensation committee.
Mr. FitzSimons’ qualifications to serve on Nexstar’s Board of Directors include his extensive experience as the Chief Executive Officer of a publicly traded company in the broadcast industry and service as a member of the audit and compensation committees of several publicly traded companies. His service on the boards of public companies allows him to offer a broad perspective on corporate governance, risk management and operating issues facing corporations today.
Jay M. Grossman
Director
Jay M. Grossman was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Nexstar in 1997 and serves on the Compensation Committee. On September 30, 2022, Mr. Grossman was appointed as Chairperson of the Compensation Committee.
Mr. Grossman serves as Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer at ABRY Partners, LLC (“ABRY”), a private equity fund focused on media, communications, business and information services, which he joined in 1996. ABRY helped found Nexstar alongside Perry Sook in 1996 and fully exited its ownership position in the Company in 2013.
Mr. Grossman has served on the board of directors of a wide variety of private companies including Atlantic Broadband, Caprock Communications, Consolidated Theaters, Cyrus One Networks, Donuts, Executive Health Resources, Grande Communications, Hosted Solutions, Monitronics International, Q9 Networks, RCN Telecom Services, Sidera Networks and WideOpenWest Holdings.
Mr. Grossman’s qualifications to serve on Nexstar’s Board of Directors include his long-term experience with Nexstar and his extensive experience in investing in media and communications companies enabling him to provide meaningful insight and guidance to the Company and the Board as Nexstar executes on its growth plan.
Ellen Johnson
Director
Ellen Johnson joined Nexstar’s Board of Directors in October 2024 as an independent director.
Ms. Johnson currently serves as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), one of the world’s leading providers of marketing and advertising solutions. In this role, she has direct management responsibility for all areas of Global Finance, Information Technology and Investor Relations, and is the executive sponsor of ESG programs related to climate action, social programs and governance across IPG. She also oversees the mergers and acquisitions and financial planning functions.
Before becoming CFO in 2020, Ms. Johnson was IPG’s Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, with direct responsibility for Treasury, Corporate Development and Financial Planning and Analysis, managing the company’s liquidity, capital structure, and its relationships with banks and rating agencies.
Under her leadership, IPG has transformed its balance sheet and has increased the strength of its financial position. She helped initiate IPG’s return of capital programs in 2011. Since that time, the company has returned $7.2 billion to shareholders in dividends and share repurchases. Additionally, Ms. Johnson has significantly strengthened the company’s approach to mergers and acquisitions, including the integration and review process. In 2018, she played a key role in IPG’s strategic acquisition and successful financing of Acxiom for $2.3 billion, enabling the company to expand profitability during a period of significant investment, while maintaining its strong balance sheet and investment-grade credit ratings.
Ms. Johnson is a CPA who holds an Executive MBA in Finance from New York University Stern School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from the State University at Albany.
Thomas McMillen
Director
Mr. McMillen was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Nexstar in July 2014 and serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Mr. McMillen serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the LEAD1 Association (formerly the DIA Athletic Directors Association) which he joined in October 2015. He previously served as Timios National Corporation’s (formerly Homeland Security Capital Corporation) Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board from August 2005 and as its President from July 2011 to February 2014. From May 2013 to May 2016, Mr. McMillen served as an independent director of RCS Capital Corporation.
From 1987 through 1993, Mr. McMillen served three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 4th Congressional District of Maryland.
Mr. McMillen was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of Castellum, Inc. (NYSE: CTM), a technology company focused on leveraging the power of information technology in October 2022.
Mr. McMillen’s qualifications to serve on Nexstar’s Board of Directors include his over 28 years of political, business and sports experience and leadership. During his career, he has been an active investor, principal and board member in companies in the cellular, paging, healthcare, motorcycle, environmental technology, broadcasting, real estate and insurance industries.
Lisbeth McNabb
Director
Ms. McNabb was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Nexstar in May 2006, serves on the Audit Committee and is a former Audit Committee Chairperson.
Ms. McNabb is an Operating Partner of Springcoast Capital Partners, a growth equity firm focused on software and technology-enabled companies, which she joined in March 2023. Ms. McNabb previously served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Linux Foundation, an open-source technology consortium, from 2018 to 2020. In 2017, Ms. McNabb was interim Chief Financial Officer for Illuminate Education and from 2012 to 2015 was Founder of DigiWorksCorp, a digital and data analytics SaaS company for retail and enterprise companies. Prior to that, she held positions with w2wlink, Match, Sodexo, PepsiCo Frito-Lay, American Airlines, AT&T and JP Morgan Chase.
Ms. McNabb also serves an independent director and chair of the audit committee of Acronis (private), a global leader in cybersecurity and data protection. Previously, she served on the Board of Directors of Zoomcar (private), the largest car-sharing platform, headquartered in Banglore, India until April 2023; as an independent director, chair of audit, and member of the nominating and governance and compensation committees of NeoGames (NASDAQ: NGMS), a global provider of iLottery solutions for national and state-regulated lotteries, until April 2023; and as a director and chair of the audit committee and on the compensation committee of Tandy Brands (public). She also previously served on the advisory board of American Airlines.
Ms. McNab’s qualifications to serve on Nexstar’s Board of Directors include her leadership skills in entrepreneurial and executive roles in media, digital and technology companies. She is an expert at driving finance, strategy, operations, data analytics and revenue strategies at the high growth scaling inflection stage.
John R. Muse
Director
John R. Muse was appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Nexstar in January 2017 and serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Mr. Muse has over 25 years of experience in private equity and is currently the chairman of the board of directors of Lucchese, Inc. (private), a boot company, and Free Flow Wines (private), a leading packaging and logistics company serving the wine on tap segment. He also served on the boards of directors of CSM Bakery Solutions (private) and from 2014 until January 2017 and Media General (formerly public), which Nexstar acquired in 2017.
Mr. Muse’s qualifications to serve on Nexstar’s Board of Directors include his investing, financial and leadership skills in entrepreneurial and executive roles in a wide range of industries in which he has invested directly and indirectly.
Tony Wells
Director
Tony Wells was appointed to Nexstar’s Board of Directors in July 2023 and is a member of the Compensation Committee.
Most recently, Mr. Wells served as the Chief Media Officer for Verizon, one of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services. From 2017 to 2021, Mr. Wells was a senior marketing leader at USAA where he held positions of Chief Brand Officer, Senior Marketing Officer for USAA Bank, and Senior Marketing Officer for USAA Life Insurance Company. Prior to USAA, Mr. Wells served as the North American Chief Marketing Officer for Schneider Electric from 2014-2017. Mr. Wells also held Chief Marketing Officer roles at ADT Security and 24 Hour Fitness from 2007-2017.
Mr. Wells has extensive public, private equity, and non-profit board experience. He serves on the board of directors and the Compensation Committee of Yelp (NYSE: YELP), a business review and social networking site, and TripleLift (private), an advertising technology company. He has served on two private equity SaaS boards for Octiv and Pattern98. He has also served as a Member of the Board for the Association of National Advertisers, and Chairman for both USAA Foundation and the USAA Educational Foundation.
Mr. Wells’ qualifications to serve on Nexstar’s Board of Directors include his extensive experience as a marketing, sports, digital transformation and advertising executive, which enables him to provide strategic advice on key Company verticals and growth areas. His service on the boards of other public and private companies allows him to offer a broad perspective on corporate governance, risk management and operating issues facing corporations today.