Gretchen Colón – Sr. VP Of Ad Sales-Marketing & Promotional Licensing @ TBS Latin America.

Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) Latin America, Inc., has promoted Gretchen Colón to senior vice president of advertising sales, marketing and promotional licensing for TBS Latin America, Inc., responsible for on-air and interactive ad sales, and promotional licensing revenue for the company’s networks and Web sites. The announcement was made jointly by Juan Carlos Urdaneta, president, TBS Latin America, Inc., and Kevin Razvi, executive vice president for news networks, TBS International, Inc.

A nine-year Turner veteran, Colón has overseen deals with a number of international corporations including Bimbo, Grupo Santander, LG Electronics, Nestle and Purina. She is the architect of a completely integrated pan-regional Latin American sales force where each member is empowered to provide 360° client solutions across all Turner properties including television, web, promotional licensing and live events.

“Under Gretchen’s leadership last year, the Latin American sales team not only made double-digit percentage gains in the face of recession in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela; we also maintained sales volume in Argentina even as our competition posted major losses,” said Urdaneta. “The combined power of our brands and the unrivaled sales force that Gretchen has assembled make us uniquely positioned to take on the challenges and opportunities of 2003.”

“One of Gretchen’s greatest accomplishments over the last year was the implementation of a localized sales strategy for our CNN networks in Mexico, which led to a 136% growth in news revenues,” said Razvi. “We look to her to translate the success of this model as we start aggressively pursuing new markets and sales opportunities in emerging markets such as Chile, Central America and Colombia.”

Colón added: “We have an exceptional roster of clients who recognize that Turner properties represent an outstanding value on investment. Our team specializes in offering cross-platform solutions that deliver the target audience our clients are looking for, backed by one of the best research teams in the region to drive accountability.”

Based in Miami, Colón oversees a pan-regional sales team responsible for the advertising sales and promotional licensing of Turner’s networks throughout the region, including CNN International, CNN en Español, TNT Latin America, TNT Argentina, TNT Brazil, TNT Mexico, Boomerang Latin America, Cartoon Network Latin America, Cartoon Network Argentina, Cartoon Network Brazil and Cartoon Network Mexico. She is also charged with the networks’ corresponding Web sites.

Colón manages personnel in Miami, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and São Paulo. She most recently held the title of vice president of ad sales for marketing and promotional licensing for TBS Latin America, Inc.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Colón speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French fluently. She graduated from the American College in London and has an MBA from Richmond College.