OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Karen Page has also been senior executive and consultant with a diverse range of professional experience:

As an independent consultant, she conducted strategic analyses and business development plans for National Geographic Television and an Internet start-up.

As an independent consultant, she was contracted to serve as the Founding Executive Director of the New York New Media Association (NYNMA) during its start-up phase and initial months of operation, launching one of the foremost professional organizations of the dot.com era which attracted more than 8,000 members at its peak.

As Executive Vice President of Silver Eagle Publishers, she worked with the company's President in all aspects of the company's operations, including managing all marketing, strategy, and business development activities for Country Music magazine and The Journal. During the second year of her tenure, circulation increased 38% (to 700,000) and advertising revenues rose 65%, and Country Music was ranked the seventh fastest-growing magazine in the country (in terms of advertising revenue) by Advertising Age. Actively pursuing opportunities to extend the company's brands, she initiated a six-figure multiple-book publishing deal with Random House / Times Books and also oversaw an international syndication deal with The New York Times Syndicate. She prepared a study of country music record buyer brand preferences that was widely reported in Adweek, Billboard, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal and numerous other trade journals and local publications. She also initiated and wrote the Country Music Market Update, a bi-monthly newsletter for advertisers, prospects and agencies. She also managed direct mail promotions to advertising prospects, and developed successful media proposals.

As Executive Vice President and Managing Partner of Media Development Corporation, she identified and reviewed media acquisition, development and consulting opportunities. She also sold and managed a four-month consulting engagement with a leading New York investment bank to develop newsletters to serve and inform, as well as cross-sell services to, a division's clients. (The partner she brought in to collaborate on this project was later named a Managing Director at the client's firm.)

At an international strategy consulting firm acquired by a Big 6 accounting firm, she received an unprecedented early promotion after only one year (instead of the typical two years) to Senior Consultant. She developed solutions to business problems in a variety of industries and functional areas for Fortune 500 and other large organizations in the consumer products, food, publishing and service industries.. She idenfied issues, developed and tested hypotheses, structured and performed analyses, conducted client / competitor / field interviews, organized consumer focus groups, and presented recommendations to client senior management. She managed the firm's MBA recruiting effort at Harvard, participated in the orientation of new employees, and coached research assocates on their business school applications.
- Channel Strategy: Advised a national consumer newsmagazine on strategies for increasing its single copy circulation through a high-potential channel. Identified and managed independent contractors in 20 cities to perform on-site research of consumer purchasing behavior, the results of which were an unexpectedly valuable deliverable to the client.
- Competitive Benchmarking: Developed a competitive benchmarking strategy for a consumer products company's household products and prepared foods divisions. Analyzed competitors' product lines, cost structures and marketing strategies.
- Eastern Europe: Conducted a 10-day on-side operations audit of Poland's leading newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza as part of a pro bono study. Presented strategic and operational recommendations to the paper's board of directors.
- Mergers and Acquisitions: Conducted the strategic due diligence review for a U.K. professional services company making its first U.S. acquisition. Researched and assessed the continuing demand for the acquired company's services. Presented work independently to the company's board of directors and investment bankers in London; sold a follow-on consulting assignment to assess factors affecting the supply of such services.
- New Business Development: Advised a leading investment management firm on opportunities for signficantly increasing advisory assets under management. Interviewed investment officers of companies in various industries on their corporate investment strategies and opinions.
- Price / Volume Strategy: Developed a price / volume strategy for the flagship division of a major prepared foods manufacturer to achieve targeted profitability levels. Identified and analyzed opportunities for increasing volume through line extensions and new product usages, changing the client's mindset from increasing market share to growing the category.
- Scenario Planning: Advised a leading management consulting firm with a specialty in financial serfices on anticipating possible regulatory, technological and global changes in that industry, and proactively addressing the likely implications for the client's consulting practice.

"I cannot thank you enough for the incredible help you provided us...Karen Page and Jim Driscoll understood everything about our company better than I do. They gave us a clear picture of where we are and what we should do. They are wonderful people and we loved them."
—Helena Luczywo, editor, Gazeta Wyborcza, the first independent newspaper in Poland / Agora (1990)

As a Marketing Strategy Consultant to The Rockport Company, a division of Reebok International, she prepared Rockport's strategic plan as part of a team focused on enabling the company to manage and continue its strong growth. In addition to conducting competitive market analyses of the footwear and retail industries, she developed, wrote and presented recommendations to senior management.

As Group Business Manager for a major magazine publishing company focused on the fashion industry, she managed the finances of five trade magazines with revenues of $30 milion. She prepared monthly and annual budgets, and reviewed projections with senior management.

As Manager of a small, entrepreneurial book publishing company just after its inception, she worked closely with three former Ziff-Davis and CBS publishing executives to develop and publish the first domestic telephone directory of fax machines. She managed the compilation of an original database after completely revamping the firm's approach to building the database, and then designed and supervised a new telemarketing effort.

"This is a fine piece of work."
—Stanley Greenfield, President, FDP Associates

As a summer intern at Time Inc., she assisted in the development of Sports Illustrated's strategic plan. She evaluated magazine development and acquisition opportunities, and researched and analyzed consumer demographic / sports participation trends as well as advertising spending by category. At the conclusion of the summer, she developed, wrote and assisted in formally presenting recommendations to Time Inc.'s senior management.

"I am glad that your summer was productive and that you had an opportunity to work on such an exciting assignment. In some ways, the experience was a bit deceptive: Most of us get to work on an acquisition or development project only rarely in a whole career. Hopefully, you won't be disappointed if your next real job feels a bit 'run of the mill' after such a challenging project."
—Sandra D. Kresch, Director of Strategic Planning, Time Inc.

As a Corporate Analyst at Lehman Brothers, she performed financial analyses and advised corporations on a broad range of financing opportunities. She wrote the selling memorandum for a multinational corporation and identified potential acquirors, conducted due diligence reviews, and drafted a prospectus for a utility's initial public offering. She also made campus recruiting presentations on behalf of the firm.

"Karen, many thanks for the work on U.S. Steel. It was an outstanding job."
—W. Richard Bingham, Managing Director, Lehman Brothers