I lead Best Regards Media, a talent management and production company that proudly represents some of the most talented narrative storytellers in the social media space. With experience at WME, Fullscreen, and eko, I've been deeply involved in the creator economy for over a dozen years. My passion lies in helping creators bring their stories to life and thrive in a dynamic digital landscape.

Gil Kruger

Warner Bros. Discovery

Director, Merchandising, Discovery+

I lead the US content merchandising strategy team across HBO Max; ideating and managing editorial stunts and cross-platform campaigns while balancing current events and an evolving landscape. I partner with Product & Tooling teams to develop new strategies and workflows based on new product features, personalization, and automation capabilities. I test, develop, and analyze new strategies to increase content consumption and drive engagement on platform. I lead and manage a team of content strategists and curators who build and maintain a multitude of pages and campaigns throughout the HBO Max in-app experience.

Director, Merchandising, HBO Max

WarnerMedia

Promoted to lead the in-app merchandising strategy for the newly launched AVOD service. While retaining my responsibilities with HBO platforms & partnerships, I also oversaw the strategy of the Limited Free Experience encouraging acquisition and conversion for new users. In this new "multi-sku" role I hired 2 team members to help create a differentiated AVOD experience. We worked closely with Retention Strategy and used data-informed decision making to give our new user cohort a best-in-class experience. Catering to their specific demo and user behavior, we used strategic analysis to drive engagement, viewership, and growth KPIs. I also managed partnerships and established workflows with Ad Sales and Ad Product teams in order to support brand sponsorships in-app and revenue KPIs.

Director, Editorial Strategy at HBO Max

Part of the founding editorial team of HBO Max where I initially managed the editorial strategy across legacy HBO services (GO & Now), helping to transition the HBO brand seamlessly onto the HBO Max service at launch. I oversaw strategy and maintained the editorial calendar and daily content curation of the HBO Brand Hub on HBO Max, overseeing key originals launches such as Succession S3 and The Undoing. I also oversaw the curation and in-app merchandising strategy for The Emmy Awards which resulted in the launch of an evergreen Awards & Acclaim page. I established a short-form content workflow in order to merchandise trailers, promos, extras, and podcasts in-app. I hired, trained, and managed team members while pioneering efficient, scalable workstreams as our team grew.

Senior Manager, Editorial Strategy at HBO Max

Tastemade

I launched, grew and managed Tastemade's Travel business across Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, growing Facebook to 1.5M+ and Instagram to 300k+ followers in 2 years with over 100M monthly cross-platform views. I oversaw the editorial content strategy, operational workflows and program planning from short-form social video content to long-form series, i.e. Facebook Watch, YouTube TV. I managed editorial calendars across 6+ platforms. I identified and curated content to optimize programming priorities, maximizing growth opportunities and drive engagement. I analyzed metrics, audience insights, trends and best practices in order to inform creative and distribution strategies. I managed the content budget and oversaw KPI forecasting. 

I sourced and managed relationships with 50+ filmmakers, producers and on-camera talent. I negotiated and drafted deal memos for licensed and commissioned content to meet strategic programming needs. I collaborated with Brand Strategy and Ad Sales to ideate and approve sponsored custom content packages that aligned with the Tastemade Travel brand bringing in over $4 million of revenue annually with brands such as REI, Toyota, and Capital One. 

I hired, trained, and led a team of 4 social content experts across programming and production who handled daily publishing and content creation.

Director, Content & Programming, Tastemade Travel

Programming Strategist, Tastemade Travel

Fullscreen, Inc

In this role I sourced, identified and licensed 200+ hours of video content for the launch of Fullscreen’s SVOD service. From the pre-launch stage, I established and managed key relationships with industry partners, with a focus on the digital studio acquisition business, i.e. Conde Nast Entertainment, Discovery Digital Networks, Studio 71, Maker Studios. I drafted and negotiated deal memos for licensed content, focusing on creative solutions to rights management. I worked cross-functionally with Business Affairs, Operations, Product and Marketing to establish operational workflows from greenlight to air; tracking deliverables, contract execution, payment and promotion.

Manager, Content Licensing & Acquisitions

YouTube | Google Play

• Worked with studios, networks, and post-production houses throughout North America to facilitate content ingestion, processing, and publishing to the Google Play and YouTube transactional film and TV services. 
• Managed the end-to-end operational workflow for major television content partnerships, including Warner Brothers, Starz Media, AMC, Showtime, Smithsonian, Hasbro, Tricon Film & Television
• Introduced partners to industry-wide initiatives in order to streamline avails, asset delivery and new territory launches 
• Oversaw project management, avail management, xml/ingestion support, asset delivery, troubleshooting and relationship building across all partners.
• Liaised and organized launch of partner TV channels in multiple territories.
• Maintained strategic initiatives and promotions across Business Development, Product, and Merchandising teams.
• Maintained strict deadlines while handling a high-volume of library content in a fast-paced environment.

*Contracted via Vaco

TV Partner Operations Manager

National Geographic Channel

• Served as the primary editorial contact for and maintained relationships with over 70 key producer and distributor accounts in order to source content to meet strategic programming needs.
• Sourced acquisitions and negotiated commercial deal terms for all territories worldwide and across all Nat Geo networks (Core, Wild, Mundo, People).
• Provided creative critique of finished films and ensured projects presented conformed to programming priorities.
• Represented the National Geographic Channel at international television distribution markets worldwide (MIPDOC, MIPCOM, MIPTV, Realscreen).
• Managed the program renewals process for all channels worldwide.

Senior Coordinator, Global Acquisitions

• Acted as the point of contact and initial screener for all unsolicited acquisition submissions
• Supported the department in the sourcing and buying of acquisitions across entire NG global portfolio
• Handled all database entry and database management on behalf of the department

Coordinator, Global Acquisitions

ARPC

• Conducted comprehensive financial and operational audits of asbestos and product liability trusts through large-scale document review, which assists clients in identifying product exposure for companies seeking insurance recoveries

Consultant

Semester At Sea / ISE

• Performed a variety of administrative tasks for the Admissions and Financial Aid department of the Semester at Sea program, such as processing student applications, answering phones and researching marketing techniques to attract future participants
• Used personal and academic travel experiences to provide valuable insight and customer service to incoming students

Student Advisor

An empathetic leader with 13+ years of experience in content strategy, partner management, editorial strategy, content merchandising, social media, partner marketing, content marketing, brand strategy, content acquisition, programming & curation, content creation, content operations, deal negotiation and team management. Highly organized multi-tasker and skilled communicator. A proven problem solver in a fast-paced, results-driven environment.

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The Battle

Gil Kruger

Melanie Kahn

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