Leap Media Partners is comprised of former senior executives at major media companies and related firms with expertise in database and digital marketing, sales management, business operations, design and content development and change management.
Tom Ratkovich, Managing Partner
Tom is a proven thought-leader and collaborator in leveraging database and digital marketing technology to drive business transformation. He is the founder and former CEO of ASTECH InterMedia (acquired by smartFOCUS Group PLC in May 2008). Under Tom’s leadership, ASTECH integrated marketing technology with the unique data and brand assets of traditional print media companies to facilitate their transformation to diverse, multi-platform newsmedia enterprises. ASTECH supported the strategic business initiatives of more than 200 newsmedia companies worldwide. Its prestigious client list included The New York Times Company, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The New Zealand Herald.
Tom is a past president of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association’s North America Board of Directors, having served on that Board for seven years. He currently serves on INMA’s International Board.
Tom has been a featured speaker at newspaper conferences on four continents and his articles have appeared in several marketing and media publications including those of the Newspaper Association of America, INMA and the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association.
Tom is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and Master of Arts degree in education. Prior to founding ASTECH in 1992 he held management positions with DRI/McGraw-Hill, Claritas and National Demographics & Lifestyles.
James Gold, Managing Partner
James has served in senior management positions with US media companies for over twenty years. His professional experience includes leadership roles in strategic planning, market research, print and digital brand development, marketing communications, customer relationship management and strategic transformational change.
In his position as SVP/CMO of The New York Times Regional Media Group, James led strategy formulation, brand portfolio development and organizational transformation. His professional experience includes both corporate and entrepreneurial leadership, and his corporate management experience includes newspapers, business publications and digital media.
James has led the development of new print and digital brands, the reorganization of circulation and advertising departments, the start-up of a digital media unit, the group-wide implementation of CRM technology, the creation of shared resource centers for multiple media properties and the formation of strategic partnerships to provide outsourced solutions for key marketing functions.
His entrepreneurial spirit was realized in founding his own award-winning magazine and a strategic consulting firm focused on CRM and brand development.
James has completed executive management programs at the American Press Institute and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
He is a past president of the International Newsmedia Marketing Association’s North American Board of Directors. He has been an active speaker on strategic transformation, consumer marketing and CRM at media conferences throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and South East Asia.
Melanie Coker, Circulation Marketing/CRM and Operations Management
Melanie is a creative problem solver with 23 years of newspaper marketing experience with The New York Times Company spanning circulation customer service, business operations and consumer and corporate marketing.
She specializes in applying a holistic view of business systems, telephony, marketing, call center operations, business processes, training, financial management and leadership skills necessary to implement a variety of projects successfully.
Whether the project is domestic or offshore, in-sourced or outsourced, for one newspaper or fifteen, Melanie has done it all. Through careful use of shared resource management vendors, site liaisons and corporate directors can work in harmony. Hundreds of projects large and small successfully implemented include two outsourced call centers, an in-sourced advertising CRM call center and a centralized corporate circulation marketing team.
Reed Baker, Brand Development and Design
Reed has over 20 years of creative and marketing management experience, most recently with the New York Times Regional Media Group where he developed and maintained multimedia brand identity and messaging for corporate communications and 15 regional media companies.
Key initiatives include the development of new consumer and business products, implementation of shared resource strategies for content and creative services and the development and implementation of multimedia engagement strategies. Reed is skilled at developing media solutions that deliver enhanced value and engagement for businesses and consumers.
His specialties include branding, content and product development, direct marketing, marketing communications and creative direction.
