Howard Fischer Associates Places Chief People Officer for NCC Media

February 11, 2019 – Talent acquisition strategies at many large companies have become as complex as their balance sheets. At most companies, the chief human resource officer (CHRO) has come to play a vital role in overseeing an organization’s broad-based workforce.

The chief people officer, on the other hand, typically goes beyond overseeing an organization’s people policies. Instead, the focus is on building talent as a key competitive advantage, with greater emphasis on culture, which includes values, ethics and the company’s mission.

Philadelphia-headquartered executive search firm Howard Fischer Associates recently recruited Deborah Josephs as chief people officer of NCC Media, the national television and video advertising sales, marketing and technology company owned by Comcast Corp., Charter Communications and Cox Communications.

“Deb has a phenomenal track record building strong, people-focused business cultures for some of our industry’s most dynamic companies and we are pleased to welcome her to NCC,” said Nicolle Pangis, CEO of NCC Media. “She’ll play a key role in our growth efforts, helping us strengthen our positioning as a top company to work for and leading the charge in attracting, retaining and developing great talent.”

Ms. Josephs will be responsible for leading NCC’s employee development, culture and human resources operations.

Ms. Josephs has broad experience building employee organizations at firms including IAC Applications, eXelate and DoubleClick. She joins NCC from IAC Applications where she served as chief people officer, managing all facets of the company’s HR function. In this role she implemented multiple organization-wide training, mentorship and leadership programs, helping to shape a positive, agile and high-performing workplace environment.

Earlier, Ms. Josephs played a central role in the success of DoubleClick where as VP, human resources she implemented employee retention programs, built a global HR team and facilitated the integration plans in preparation for their acquisition by Google. She has also served as SVP, people operations at eXelate and EVP, human resources at Everyday Health. Her previous experience includes HR management positions at the McGraw-Hill Companies, Standard & Poor’s and Ogilvy.

NCC Media describes itself as the only media, data and technology company that represents television and video programming providers in every U.S. market. It helps national, regional and local marketers to reach consumers in premium television programming and in targeted online content on every screen.

“NCC Media has built an incredibly close-knit team of high performers working to build the next generation of TV advertising,” said Ms. Josephs. “I look forward to helping lead company growth in the next stage of our development.”

Seasoned Search Consultants

Howard Fischer Associates, named to the top 50 search firm ranking in the Americas by Hunt Scanlon Media, specializes in placing key executives in functional areas, including sales, marketing, engineering, research and development, operations, information technology, human resources, business development and finance. The firm has completed senior-level searches for clients that include: Acacia, Affirmed Networks, Airbnb, Aqua America, Blue Apron, BlueJeans Network, Bonobos, Casa Systems, Cloudera, Comcast, Discovery Communications, GitHub, Jefferson Health, Penn Mutual, Pepsi Cola & National Brand Beverages, RentPath, Rue La La, Triumph Group, Twitter, and UGI Utilities.

The firm, which also has offices in Silicon Valley, Chicago and Boston, is led by founder and president Howard Fischer. For 35 years, Mr. Fischer has consulted with CEOs, boards of directors and senior executives on the process of identifying, evaluating and attracting leaders.

Chief People Officers

In recent months, search firms have helped companies find new chief people officers across the nation. Here is a sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) in Washington, D.C., recently launched such a search for a new chief people officer and selected Vetted Solutions to lead the assignment. President and founder Jim Zaniello is spearheading the search. The incoming leader must have at least 10 years of senior-level and general management experience in human resources programs and initiatives.

Polachi Inc. recently placed Stephanie Baker Lucey as the new chief people officer of NASDAQ-traded Bottom Line Technologies in Portsmouth, NH. “We know Steph’s experience navigating organizational complexities will make her a great fit for our client Bottomline Technologies,” said search firm partner Charley Polachi, who spearheaded the assignment.

With the assistance of search firm Howard Fischer Associates, Jack Morton Worldwide, a global brand experience agency, has chosen Melissa Rose to be its new chief people officer. Previously, Ms. Rose held positions at Hill Holliday, ISM, Carat and iProspect. Most recently, she served as VP of HR at Anaqua, a global intellectual property software company.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media