Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end...

Today is a difficult, yet exciting, day for me. I've just announced that I will be retiring from National CineMedia (NCM) at the end of this month, and starting a new beginning with my own strategic media and marketing company, CMarksCo, LLC.

Before I share more about my new beginning, I want to thank all of my NCM teammates and industry partners for helping me to build the world’s preeminent Cinema media company — a modern media company that successfully competes for media dollars in the premium video marketplace every day. From our beginning in 2002, together over almost 20 years we’ve built a company that helped revolutionize the Cinema advertising business in the U.S. and worldwide. And thanks to so many great professionals who were a part of the NCM teams over the years; my comrades-in-arms in building a kick-ass company where we could have a lot of fun and laugh a lot all while doing great business — you made a difference! There were so many big wins and firsts along the way, starting with digitizing theaters and launching the first Cinema sight-sound-and-motion entertainment pre-show in the U.S. to revolutionize the pre-show experience. When we created “The 2wenty” in 2002 (which eventually became “FirstLook” and now “Noovie”), an entirely new way to delight and entertain movie audiences was born. And now with our NCM digital properties and our Digital-Out-of-Home business, I know that NCM will continue to grow and shine in the future. I feel great about where NCM is today, and the future of the leadership team with Scott Felenstein and Mike Rosen at the helm of sales. 

So, what’s next?

My retirement and departure from corporate America is the opportunity for me to rethink and reprioritize what’s important to me and what I’d like to do with the rest of my life. My love and passion for the media business has not waned, I love the strategic creation and execution of ideas that help brands sell products and I cherish my personal relationships with so many great friends and colleagues in the industry. I certainly am not ready to play Shuffleboard on Miami Beach, but I am ready to work a lot less, reduce my stress load, spend more time with my beautiful wife and kids (if they’ll tolerate me being around more), long bike rides, more skiing, spend more time with my friends, travel more, all while living bi-coastal (kind of) as I will reside in both New York and Beaver Creek, Colorado. Who knows, I may even learn to play guitar so I can follow my real dream and play in a Rock band?

So, today I announce the creation of CMarksCo, LLC, my consulting company that will focus on helping media companies or brands create killer integrated sales concepts which are executable partnerships that deliver on KPIs and meet program goals. Most importantly, I will focus on creating effective and profitable strategies which rely on strategic concepts, program creation, and the ability to use a lifetime of friendships and relationships to help connect great ideas and people to drive measurable results. And I’m thrilled that NCM has retained my consulting services as my first client in a multi-year contract which will enable me to stay involved in some key initiatives like larger integrated deals, corporate development, affiliate partnerships, and other key projects. 

To me, the act of retiring from your primary career is not merely an act of ending, but more opportunistically and relevant, an act of commencement and of the promise of a meaningful future. I see retirement as a time for personal growth and personal freedom to live life on my own terms.

I’m very grateful to everyone at National CineMedia and on our board for helping to make this transition precisely what I was hoping for — I love NCM and want to be a part of our rebuilding our future. NCM has some really positive days ahead and I am excited to remain a part of it in my new role.

I conclude with a great lyric from the Pop/Rock band Semisonic who famously noted in their 1998 hit “Closing Time”: 

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

Building NCM has been the thrill of a lifetime and a dream come true, but every beginning has an end, and I’m so excited for whatever the future may bring.