Sarnor named Head for Multicultural Category at AOL Advertising.

AOL Advertising announced that Lateef Sarnor has been named Industry Practice Head for the Multicultural category. Sarnor will be responsible for partnering with sales leadership to execute a national audience-specific strategy working with the team from Blackvoices.com, the number 2 web site in the African American category, and AOL Latino, a top five web site in the Latino category1, to help develop breakthrough ideas and creative solutions for marketers. He will also represent AOL at industry events providing insights and trends in the two industries. He is based in the New York office.

“The Industry Development team is the next evolution of our strategy to be the most customer centric sales team in the marketplace”

Six Industry Practice Heads, including CPG/Health, Travel, Automotive, Finance, Entertainment and Technology were announced recently as part of the newly formed Industry Development team led by John Burke who joined AOL earlier this year.

“The Industry Development team is the next evolution of our strategy to be the most customer centric sales team in the marketplace,” said John Burke, Senior Vice President, AOL Global Sales Strategy. “The Industry Practice Head brings domain expertise, strategic vision and significant client experience in their respective categories.”

Burke continued, “Lateef Sarnor has incredible experience and a deep understanding of the marketplace’s needs, as well as the ability to translate those needs into saleable solutions. He will be a great addition to the team focusing on the ever growing multicultural market.”

Sarnor has more than fifteen years of experience at high profile media and entertainment companies, including BET, Black Enterprise, PowerOne Media and Def Jam Records. He spent nearly four years at BET Networks, most recently serving as Director for the Brand Solutions Group where he oversaw operations of the business unit focused on revenue generating product integrations, branded entertainment programs and high impact advertisement programs across all BET platforms. He was primarily responsible for identifying digital strategies and integration opportunities for BET’s large roster of advertising clients.

Prior to BET, Sarnor worked at Black Enterprise where he coordinated the daily operations of the interactive group, and was a key driver behind the content and user strategy for the website. He also supported the Ad Sales efforts by developing integrated programs for clients in the personal finance, small business and lifestyle verticals.

“I am excited to take on this position at AOL,” said Sarnor. “I believe my strong relationships with key agencies and advertisers combined with my vast experience will help me to lead the multicultural team in a positive direction. I’m eager to find new ways to drive revenue in this expanding space.”