Entertainment Marketing Breakfast 2014

Kent Rees EVP of Marketing, Scheduling & Operations Pivot

Kent Rees is Executive Vice President of Marketing, Scheduling and Operations for Pivot, Participant Media’s new cable network targeting Millennials, which launched August 1, 2013. An experienced brand-builder and operations expert based in Los Angeles, Kent is in charge of creating the marketing strategies for the network.

Kent brings to Participant more than 15 years of creative and marketing experience in television and digital platforms. Most recently, he was Executive Vice President, Marketing at Bedrocket Media Ventures, working on three "Made For Web" channel launches for YouTube. Prior to that he was Executive Vice President, Marketing for Current TV, where he spearheaded the strategy and creative approach behind the launch of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, which premiered in June 2011 to record ratings. In addition to overseeing Current's on-air promotion and brand personality, Kent supervised the ad sales marketing team and helped manage Current's on-going transition from Los Angeles to New York.

Before Current, Kent worked at IFC TV, where he started in 2004 as Creative Director Senior and worked his way up to the position of Vice President, Marketing. There he oversaw the IFC brand across all platforms, and was the chief architect behind IFC's "Always On. Slightly Off." rebranding in 2010. Kent also drove successful launch campaigns for such IFC shows as The Onion News Network, Portlandia, The Whitest Kids U'Know, The Henry Rollins Show and The Independent Spirit Awards, working with strategic partners that included Foursquare, SXSW, Urban Outfitters, Jones Soda, Delta Airlines and Zipcar.

Before joining IFC, Kent was involved with creating and producing on-air promotional launches for ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette as well as VH1 Behind the Music, Pop Up Video, VH1 Divas, and VH1 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, among others.

Kent, who earned his BFA from New York University's Tisch School for the Arts' film and television production department, sits on the Board of Directors for Promax BDA and guest teaches at Temple University, NYU and Columbia.