Crave News Reg CF

KENT EMMONS, Treasurer and Chairman of the Board

Kent Emmons was born with an entrepreneurial spirit on steroids, from managing an internationally known hit music artist (before he could legally enter many of the venues where his client performed), to building multiple radio networks from the ground up. While successful in a range of diverse areas (oil exploration, finance, real estate), it has been in entertainment and media where Kent has launched some of his most successful ventures. In addition to owning numerous radio stations, Emmons also pioneered three of the first all comedy / all the time radio networks (Comedy World, All Comedy Radio and National Lampoon Comedy Radio). Kent has also been extremely successful in the direct marketing industry, with his Kent Direct, Inc. and its affiliates, generating more than $2B in sales over the past two decades.

NEIL LEVINE, Chief Operating Officer

Neil has a diverse background in operations, business development, mergers & acquisitions in both large multi-site companies and small entrepreneurial organizations. Neil started his career in the financial services industry working for JP Morgan in sales/operations roles. He transitioned into the healthcare industry joining DaVita Healthcare Partners as a Business Development Specialist before progressing into a strategic leadership position. In addition, Neil served as Vice President of Operations for United Allergy Services and Vice President of Operations with CRH Healthcare where he oversaw a highly successful recapitalization of the company. Neil holds a degree in economics from Florida State University.

GEOFFREY DESTEFANO, President and Chief Marketing Officer

Founder and CEO: Brand Programming Studios: Award winning Ad Agency and Branded content Studio

• President and CEO: Revenue.com, an award winning native Ad-Tech platform and sold to large Canadian Publishing Co.
• President of Dumbdumb: Jason Bateman and Will Arnett’s awarding winning digital entertainment company
• President and CEO: Red Bull’s Creative, Media and Content agency and studio
• EVP Technicolor: Responsible for over $2 Billion in global sales , marketing and digital transformation
• Senior Creative Executive; Sony Pictures TV and Warner Bros. TV
• Senior Global Executive: The Leo Burnett Advertising Agency

Geoffrey has long been focused on finding ways to take advantage of the dynamic changes in content creation and distribution for both brands and entertainment companies.

Geoffrey is an award-winning C-level executive and creative entrepreneur whose broad industry exposure keeps him at the forefront of the rapidly changing entertainment and media landscape. He’s built and led a variety of major branding initiatives and businesses through strong executive leadership, creative insight, deep Hollywood relationships, and a global perspective.

As a Creative Executive he worked for Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, and Technicolor as well as with top Hollywood talent and on numerous films, television shows and pilots, including Mad About You, Party of Five, Action, and Friends. As President of Jason Bateman and Will Arnett’s award-winning digital entertainment company, DumbDumb, Geoffrey built one of Creativity and Ad Age’s Top 50 creative companies in 2011, and developed groundbreaking branded content for the likes of Wrigley, GM, Denny’s, Blackberry, Virgin, and Old Navy.

As a Global Advertising Executive, Geoffrey spent years building global brands, such as P&G, McDonalds, Red Bull, Porsche, GM, Wrigley, Ferrero, and Kraft. He later served as President and CEO of Red Bull’s creative and media agency overseeing all creative and media strategies as well as leading Red Bull’s decidedly alternative and innovative content, sponsorship and event programming.

DOUG CROWE, Secretary

Doug is an accomplished writer, having contributed to Entrepreneur Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, MSN Money, Yahoo Finance, the Seattle Times and has authored several #1 best selling books.

Doug now leverages his storytelling skills from radio, TV & journalism to write and publish for others. He is a personal brand specialist, media insider, and publisher. His company has launched over 500 books to #1 bestseller status by leveraging a business owners experience into a page-turning legacy book. His clients include C-suite professionals from Apple, NASA, P&G, Touchstone Pictures, Louis Vuitton, Stamps.com, the NFL, Bank of America, the U.S. Coast Guard, US Navy, and US Marines.

HOWARD LEVINE, Advisor

Howard Levine is an entrepreneurial lawyer with over 25 years of legal and business experience providing General Counsel services to early stage, late stage and mature operating companies. Howard’s legal experience includes corporate law, finance, business litigation, intellectual property rights, contract negotiations, corporate restructuring, and governmental relations. Howard founded and served as General Counsel to multiple companies including Persu Mobility, an alternative vehicle transportation company; Comedy World, a digital content radio syndication company, co-founded with Kent Emmons; and Reliq Capital Partners, a $100M privately held real estate sale leaseback investment management firm focused on the healthcare sector.

GARY RABINE, Advisor

After graduating high school, Gary Rabine discovered his passion for paving driveways. The start of a family pushed him to grow his business to 10 companies with combined 9 figure annual revenue, which serve major facilities in the real estate industry including commercial paving, roofing, doors/ docks and snow removal. Three of Rabine’s companies are technology businesses serving the natural gas industry, the real estate industry and municipal governments, while Rabine Paving and Rabine Paving America are known to pave more concrete and asphalt parking lots than any other company in America. Gary’s passion for mentorship and inspiring others led him to start a podcast called “Ditch-Digger CEO”, where he interviews many of America’s business titans, allowing them to share their rags to riches, only in America, success stories.

ZEB EVANS, Advisor

Zeb Evans is a highly respected serial entrepreneur and libertarian who has started several software companies with over $100 million in revenue. Currently, he’s the founder and CEO of ClickUp, a productivity platform where people plan their work.

JIM JIMIRRO, Advisor

James P. Jimirro was the creator and founding President of The Disney Channel and Walt Disney Home Video. As founding President of the The Disney Channel, Jim was responsible for the conception, development, and launching of the fastest-growing pay service in history. Under Jim’s guidance, The Disney Channel introduced many innovations, such as interactive programming and The Disney Channel Magazine. During his tenure as President of Walt Disney Home video, Jim was a pioneer in the industry. He introduced a number of innovations in the marketing of home video, among them the world’s first home video direct marking campaigns. Jim is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars), and serves on the Board of Visitors for the College of Communications at Penn State. He is a Director Emeritus of the Westwood Village Business Improvement District, and Theatre LA. He is listed in Who’s Who in America.

ROBERT HARTMANN, Advisor

With over 30 years of experience in live comedy and talent management, Robert Hartmann remains the largest buyer of comedy worldwide with ownership interests in more than 25 comedy clubs throughout the United States, generating over $80M annually. Beginning in 2009, Robert orchestrated a series of mergers between live venues, talent management, production and digital companies to form Levity Live, a vertically integrated company that identifies, creates and distributes original intellectual property to consumers and brands across multiple platforms. Robert began his career with the Improv (the historic comedy club chain with over 26 locations nationwide) as a bar-back/runner, before moving through the ranks quickly to Director of Operations. Soon he was overseeing all operations and responsible for booking comedians across the chain including Eddie Murphy, Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Chris Rock, Dane Cook, Ellen DeGeneres, Jamie Foxx, Adam Sandler, and Jeff Dunham. Around this time, he started taking ownership interests in clubs across the United States, building the largest network of premium comedy venues in the world. Additionally, Robert has been responsible for some of the largest live comedy tours and festivals in history, including the South Africa Comedy Festival and the record-breaking Jeff Dunham consecutive global tours.

EDUARDO FRANCISCO, Advisor

Eduardo is the founder and CEO of Wideout Inc., a service provider specializing in providing agile and cost-effective resources to technology companies and start-ups. Eduardo is a leader in the online revenue world, where he an early member of the executive team at Google and Doubleclick prior to founding Wideout. Throughout his career, Eduardo has consistently helped nascent organizations with their operations through inception and growth, culminating in acquisitions by leading Fortune 500 companies.

DONALD A. KURZ, Advisor

Mr. Kurz has over 30 years’ experience in strategy, finance, marketing and public company leadership. Don is currently the principal shareholder and Executive Board Chair of leading creative company Omelet LLC, having served as Omelet’s Board Chair and CEO between late 2011 and mid- 2019.

Mr. Kurz had been a Managing Director at leading West Coast middle market investment banking company Diamond Capital Advisors, where he provided strategic advisory services to the media, entertainment, marketing and financial services industries. Don was previously Managing Member and CEO of Artemis Capital Partners, LLC, an innovative hedge fund organization he co-founded in 2006.

From 1990-2005 Mr. Kurz led and was the largest common shareholder of EMAK Worldwide, Inc. (Equity Marketing), a global NASDAQ national market traded company that provided Fortune 1000 clients with a variety of measurable, integrated marketing solutions that positively affect consumer behavior. Don was Chairman and CEO between 1999 and 2005; from 1990-1999 he had been President and Co-CEO. Prior to EMAK, Mr. Kurz spent 10 years as a management consultant with Coopers and Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) and Cresap McCormick and Paget/Towers Perrin (now Willis Towers Watson), where he was elected a senior partner and managed the New York office. His consulting specialties included strategy, organization planning and operations improvement for industries including financial services, consumer products, media, telecommunications, among others.

Mr. Kurz is currently an Emeritus Trustee of The Johns Hopkins University, having previously served 12 years as a Trustee. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of Johns Hopkins affiliate Jhpiego, a leading global health organization. He has been a board member of A Better LA, an organization dedicated to reducing gang violence. Don has served as an adjunct professor or guest lecturer on various topics at Johns Hopkins, Columbia University Graduate School of Business, the Andersen School of Management at UCLA and the Young Presidents Organization.

He has been active as a donor, fundraiser and guest teacher with Teach for America and has been active as a donor and advisor to Project Angel Food in Los Angeles.

Don received an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University, where he was a key member of the NCAA Division 1 national championship lacrosse team.

SCOTT ST. JOHN, Advisor

In 2021, Scott St. John made a significant career change, leaving his position as a TV producer to join the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) as the President of Streaming Services and Chief Content Officer. At TMTG, he was responsible for launching a subscription video on demand streaming service focused on free speech and providing a general entertainment alternative to established Hollywood offerings. St. John managed the creative, financial, and operational aspects of the multi-platform streaming service, with a budget of over $1 billion.

Before joining TMTG, Scott St. John had a successful TV producing career, known for creating and producing top-rated and award-winning shows like Deal or No Deal, America’s Got Talent, and Street Smarts. He showed versatility in producing various genres, from game shows to reality and talent competitions. St. John worked with numerous on-camera talents, many of whom received Emmy nominations and wins for their hosting roles under his direction.