Cision's Management Team

These industry leaders are pushing the boundaries of what's possible when it comes to getting your story out.

• Peter Granat - Chief Executive Officer

  

  In his role as Group CEO of Cision AB, Peter Granat oversees Cision's executive management team across operations in North America and Europe. Most recently, he was CEO of its North American operations. Previously, he was the President of Cision’s European division based in London, and led the successful turn-around of the European division. Prior to Cision, Peter was Senior Vice President of Sales & Business Development at MediaMap which was acquired by Cision in late 2003.
  
  Since 1992, Peter has been instrumental in the development of cutting-edge products and services to enable effective communication between the PR, Marketing and media communities. He has worked closely with clients to deliver solutions that address a wide range of agency and corporate communications needs. Before joining MediaMap, Peter worked for Springer-Miller Systems in Stowe, Vermont, a leading provider of electronic property management solutions. He holds a BA from the University of Vermont and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

• Jim Franke - Chief Financial Officer

  

  As Chief Financial Officer for Cision North America, Jim Franke is responsible for establishing and delivering upon Cision’s financial targets and objectives.
  
  Jim joins Cision from IRI where he was responsible for all financial planning and analysis activities for a key division within Symphony-IRI. Prior to that, Jim was the CFO for Spectra Marketing, a division of The Nielsen Company, where he was instrumental in improving both revenue and expense performance by establishing strong linkages between financial drivers and business processes. After leaving Nielsen, Jim was a high school math teacher and tennis coach for several years before joining IRI.
  
  He holds a BS from Bradley University, and a Masters of Management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

• Dawn Conway - EVP Customer Experience & Global Licensing

  

  As Executive VP Customer Experience & Global Licensing, Dawn is responsible for acquiring and retaining all content in support of Cision's global businesses, including news monitoring and media database services.
  
  Prior to joining Cision, Dawn was Senior Vice President, Corporate Responsibility (CR) for LexisNexis. As head of Corporate Responsibility, she developed and implemented the LexisNexis CR strategy as a key component of the overall company business strategy and brand platform. Other roles at LexisNexis included Vice President, Global Licensing & Content Acquisition, responsible for acquiring, retaining and overseeing all licensed news, business and legal content for the LexisNexis Group globally.
  
  Dawn is an attorney and member of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the American Bar Association and the National Association of Women Lawyers. She is also a past board member of the Content Division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), which provides a forum for companies that publish and distribute online content or facilitate the licensing, presentation, and distribution of digital information products.

• K.C. Brown - General Manager, Cision Global Analysts

  

  As senior vice president and head of Cision's analysis services, K.C. Brown leads all aspects of Cision's analysis business. He is responsible for growing the business by directing product and service enhancements through the development of new metrics and methodologies. Previously, he led Cision's client development, managing the company's U.S. client portfolio across all lines of business. He came to the company via the acquisition of Delahaye, where he managed the research and advisory services group. While there, he led many of the firm's methodological and technological innovations and founded the Delahaye Index (now known as the Cision Index).
  
  Prior to joining the firm in 1998, K.C. worked in government and agency public relations. K.C. holds a BA from Brigham Young University in public relations and a master's in mass communications research from the University of North Carolina, as well as an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

• Vanessa Bugasch - Senior VP, Global & Product Marketing

  

  Vanessa Bugasch joined Cision in May of 2005. Vanessa has overall responsibility for Marketing and Product Marketing for Cision worldwide.
  
  Prior to joining Cision, Vanessa was the regional director of business development for PeopleSoft's education group. She has held various management positions in client services, training and business development areas at several companies, including Oracle and ADP. She holds a BS in management from DePaul University.

• Maureen Calabrese - Senior VP, Human Resources NA

  

  As Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Cision, Maureen has global responsibility for leading our people initiatives for the US and Canada including talent management, employee engagement, compensation and benefits, and organizational development.
  
  Prior to Cision, Maureen worked in marketing for General Mills before joining Nielsen as part of the Client Service team focused on selling and supporting the Spectra software and service offerings. After being asked to take a leadership role in developing a Client Service training and development certification program, Maureen joined and later led the Spectra HR team with a focus on organizational development. Following her time at Nielsen, Maureen joined Ipsos as VP, Human Resources where she a led a 10-person HR team providing strategic human capital support for three Ipsos divisions consisting of 1500+ hourly and salaried employees located in the US, Canada, and Romania.
  
  She holds a BSBA from the University of Denver and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

• Michael Renderman - Senior VP, North American Sales

  

  Michael Renderman joined Cision in September 2000. He has overall responsibility for all US Sales including client retention, new client acquisition and Client Services.
  
  During his tenure at Cision, Michael has been involved with various sales management roles, including the launch of Cision's first on-line product, MediaSource. Michael has also been directly responsible for staff training and development. Prior to joining Cision, Michael worked for Iron Mountain, a records management company, managing its regional sales efforts. Michael has also held various positions with Nowdocs.com and OEI Business Forms.
  
  Michael has a bachelor's degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and a MBA from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Greg Stam - Senior VP, Development

  

  Greg Stam joined Cision in August 2008. As Senior Vice President of Development, Greg has overall responsibility for software development at Cision, the leading provider of software, services and tools for the media and public relations industry.
  
  Greg joined Cision from Platine Consutling Group, a consulting firm that he founded and successfully managed for over four years. Prior to Platine, Greg served as Director of the Business Transformation Office for United Airlines. In this capacity he was responsible for the program management and benefit realization of the Bankruptcy Recovery Plan and Best Practice Implementation. Prior to this role, Greg held the position of Director of Airport Solutions. In this capacity, he was responsible for all airport information systems worldwide. Prior to United, Greg served in Senior Director Positions at Ameritech and US Cellular focused on IT Strategy and Architecture. Greg has a BS in Computer Science and an MBA from Chicago's Roosevelt University.

• Heidi Sullivan - Senior VP, Digital Content

  

  Named one of PRWeek’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in 2012, Heidi Sullivan is currently Senior Vice President of Digital Content and a self-proclaimed social media metrics nerd. She leads the company’s digital and broadcast content teams, the global research team for Cision’s media database, Cision’s social media community team and the company’s content marketing strategy. Prior to this role she was Vice President of Global Media Research and managed the enhancement and maintenance of Cision’s media database of over a million media outlets, journalists and influencers. She joined Cision in 2004.
  
  Heidi is a host of the popular Cision Social Media Webinar Series, a founding blogger for Cision Blog and frequently speaks at industry conferences and events on best practices in social media, communications and the changing media landscape.
  
  She was formerly an editorial manager and creative director for a firm that produced regional business magazines, an account executive at a PR agency and an editor and media researcher for a major newswire service.

• Dan Wons - Senior VP, Global Infrastructure, IT

  

  Dan Wons joined Cision in January 2005. As Senior Vice President of Global Infrastructure, Dan has overall responsibility for Information Technology at Cision worldwide.
  
  Prior to joining Cision, Dan was the IT Services Manager at NIU-BIS where he had overall responsibility for an Information Technology training and consulting practice. Prior to this role, Dan worked as a Network Consultant helping companies design, implement, and support computer, network, and application solutions. Dan has a BA in History and an MBA from Northern Illinois University.