Group Black Continues to Expand Leadership Team with the Focus on Building a Strong Relationship with Brands and Marketers

Digital Media Veteran Kerel Cooper Joins Group Black as President of Advertising; Sales Executive Laura Summers Joins as Chief Sales Officer

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Group Black

Mar 01, 2022, 13:00 ET

NEW YORK, March 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Group Black, the home for Black-owned media properties, announced today the expansion of its leadership team with the addition of Kerel Cooper as President of Advertising and Laura Summers as Chief Sales Officer. Both Cooper's and Summers' hiring signals Group Black's commitment to building strong and everlasting relationships with the media industry. Their addition to the Group Black team will ensure pledges made by brand marketers will reach Black-owned media and diverse creators.

Cooper is an award-winning executive with more than 20 years of digital media experience building advertising operations, account management, and marketing teams. Before joining Group Black, Cooper was the Chief Marketing Officer for adtech company LiveIntent. He is the co-founder and co-host of the Minority Report podcast which highlights people of color, women & LGBTQ+ leaders within business, media, and technology. Cooper has also held positions at Advance Digital as the Senior Director Ad Platform Strategies and at JupiterMedia as Director of Advertising Operations.

In his role at Group Black, Cooper will lead Group Black's advertising revenue & operations team including sales, ad operations and customer success. He will work closely with the executive team to deliver seamless experiences for both clients and customers.

Laura Summers brings over two decades of leadership experience. Prior to Group Black she held the position of Vice President of Global Advertising Sales at CBS Interactive. Her work has run the gamut, from retail to gaming, with deep insight into print, television, audio and digital advertising. She brings strong relationships within the advertising industry where Group Black is looking to build, create and manage strong relationships. Working for companies such as Hearst, Condé Nast, Ziff-Davis, TechTV, and CNET, Summers is an expert on branded content and advertising which will play a crucial role in showing Group Black's value as an advertising medium.

In her role at Group Black, Summers will be responsible for developing a world-class revenue generation team that optimizes the sales functions to drive revenue and growth. She will implement, assess, and report on sales strategies that are designed to bring in more clients, enabling Group Black to grow and scale.

"We are thrilled to welcome Kerel Cooper and Laura Summers to the Group Black team," said Mark Larkin, president & COO of Group Black. "Both bring a wealth of experience that is unmatched. Their passion for promoting inclusion and equity in the media industry will provide tremendous support for our mission to dramatically transform the face of media ownership and investment."

About Group Black:

Group Black is where culture calls home. Group Black's objective is to build the largest collective of Black-owned media and diverse creators by actively deepening the pipeline of media dollars allocated to Black-owned media businesses and by investing in the next generation of innovative and equitable media. It is composed of two divisions, Group Black Media and Group Black Ventures, with the simple mission to dramatically transform the face of media investment and ownership. Group Black seeks to connect a diverse generation looking for content and experiences that reflect who they are. For more information, please visit groupblack.co.

SOURCE Group Black