A flurry of announcements have been released from the communications team at TEGNA Inc. over the last 24 hours, and among the biggest ones were announcements as to when the NYSE-traded TV station owner will report its Q1 2025 results and who will be taking two key leadership roles under recently named Chief Experience Officer Dhanusha Sivajee.
As of today, Melissa Zimyeski is now TEGNA’s VP of Product as Mat Yurow becomes VP of Growth at a company that by all accounts appears to be in expansion mode, salivating at the prospect of deregulatory policy action from the Brendan Carr-led FCC.
Investors may be thinking the same thing, as the company that had in the recent past planned to see Deb McDermott become CEO and Soo Kim’s Standard General become its key equity interest holder has been on a roll since the FCC under Jessica Rosenworcel thwarted that plan over the proposed structure of the post-merger ownership scheme. With Thursday’s Opening Bell on the NYSE, TEGNA shares were trading in the mid-$18 range — and up by more than 25% from one year ago.
For Zimyeski, arriving at TEGNA from the Mayo Clinic (where she was SVP and Chair of Product and Experience), she’ll be tasked with leading the product management and design of TEGNA’s consumer digital products, including the company’s streaming apps, mobile apps and websites. “She will be at the forefront of the company’s digital transformation focused on building a sustainable future for local news,” TEGNA said.
The Mayo Clinic? Credit Zimyeski’s functional resume, perhaps, as in her most recent role she “accelerated a strategy to transform Mayo into a leading digitally enabled healthcare experience.” That experience is what excites TEGNA. That said, before joining Mayo Clinic Zimyeski was the head of consumer experience at Polestar. There, she led the launch of a premium electric vehicle business and brand in North America.
Zimyeski has also held senior level roles at AKQA and Droga5, where she oversaw product development, analytics, and digital transformation for businesses across multiple categories. And, she has prior TV industry experience: Zimyeski began her career at NBC Universal, in the Local Media division, in January 2009.
Since February, Zimyeski has been working part-time as a senior marketing advisor for Blue Clay Health, a technology company. The Westover School graduate holds a B.A. in Art History from Columbia University.
AN AUDIENCE AND REVENUE GROWTH MOVE
For Mat Yurow, who has been based in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore corridor, leading audience and revenue growth across TEGNA’s digital products comes after serving as General Manager and Senior Director of Thrasio, the largest acquirer of Amazon brands, for four years. Before that, Yurow spent 16 months as Senior Director of D2C products at TripAdvisor.
Prior to that, Yurow held the role of Director and Head of Strategy at The New York Times’ Wirecutter and spent a total of five years in multiple positions at the news organization.
“With a wealth of experience building delightful, user-centric products, Melissa is uniquely positioned to elevate our digital product strategy,” said Dhanusha Sivajee. “In tandem, Mat is uniquely positioned to help us build and scale a growth marketing team. They will both play an integral role in delivering exceptional experiences to our local community members around the country.”
Yurow began his career at AOL, The Huffington Post, and Bloomberg News, specializing in audience development and engagement. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies from Emory University.
TAKING TEGNA’S Q1 PULSE: WHAT’S TO COME?
With TEGNA’s stock up 41% on a five-year chart and boasting a $21.20 1-year price target, what can investors expect to hear from CEO Mike Steib with respect to the company’s Q1 2025 performance?
Answers will arrive on Thursday, May 8, with an earnings call hosted by Steib and attended by other C-Suite executives including Chief Financial Officer Julie Heskett scheduled for 11am Eastern on that date.
At present, six analysts reported their estimates for TEGNA’s Q1 2025 results to Yahoo! Finance. EPS is projected to come in between $0.29 and $0.36, while the consensus revenue estimate is $677.24 million.
