Nexstar Appoints Former Verizon Exec Tony Wells To Board

Tony Wells

Nexstar Media Group on Wednesday added Tony Wells, 59, to its board of directors. He fills the open position that was created when Dennis Miller stepped down last October to become president of The CW Network, a 75%-owned subsidiary of Nexstar.

As a result of the recent declassification of the board, Wells, and all directors, will stand for election at the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders. Wells is an independent director and will serve on the board’s compensation committee.

“We are delighted to welcome Tony to the Board,” said Perry Sook, Nexstar Media Group’s founder, chairman and CEO. “His deep knowledge of the national and local advertising landscape developed over a career in which he deployed billions of marketing dollars for some of the country’s most high- profile brands, will benefit Nexstar as we grow our national assets of The CW, NewsNation and The Hill, and further leverage the largest local broadcasting footprint in the industry.

“Nexstar now generates more than $5 billion of annual revenue and Tony’s experience and insights working within large enterprises will be extremely valuable as we continue to grow. We look forward to leveraging Tony’s unique perspectives and considerable success to support our goals for the continued enhancement of shareholder value.”

Wells has more than 30 years of experience working with innovative, high-growth brands, and deep expertise leading marketing, business development and strategic partnerships. Most recently, he was the chief media officer for Verizon. During his tenure, Wells managed and allocated an annual enterprise media budget of more than $2 billion across all business units, platforms and channels. He also managed sponsorships, experiential and digital marketing, including developing and managing a portfolio of strategic partnerships and content across sports, music, gaming, and media.

Prior to Verizon, Wells was chief brand officer for USAA, the 13-million-member Fortune 100 financial services company. customer satisfaction leading to an enhanced customer reputation.

Earlier in his career, Wells was a chief marketing officer across multiple industries.

Wells served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps and holds a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy and a management certificate from Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business.