CBS Ups Raftery To Communications EVP

Kelli Raftery on Monday was promoted to executive vice president, communications, CBS Corp. She will report to Dana McClintock, chief communications officer.

In her new role, Raftery will work with McClintock and Chris Ender, EVP, CBS Corp., guiding the company’s overall media relations and communications strategy.

A veteran of CBS, Raftery has most recently been serving as SVP, communications, helping to manage media relations for the CBS Corporate Communications Department, covering a wide range of company initiatives and activities in sales, research, affiliate relations, carriage agreements, governmental affairs, and program practices, among others.

Raftery will continue to work closely with all CBS Corp. businesses, to help steer the messaging of the company for its many external and internal constituencies. She will still be based in New York.

Previously, she was based in Los Angeles, where she was VP, CBS Entertainment, overseeing the CBS Daytime publicity group, while also serving as lead publicist responsible for launching and overseeing all aspects of publicity on The Talk.

Prior to that, Raftery was VP, communications at CBS News. She rejoined the network in March 2010 as a freelancer, providing publicity coverage for CBS Corporate and CBS News’ communications departments.

Previously, she was director, communications at Sports Illustrated Group, overseeing weekly editorial content publicity for Sports Illustrated magazine and SI.com.

Before that, Raftery held various communications and publicity positions within CBS Corp., including director, CBS Entertainment Communications, where she was responsible for publicity on primetime entertainment series, movies and specials, including How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. Prior to that, Raftery was manager, NCAA Properties, acting as liaison between CBS Sports and the NCAA, overseeing all aspects of the contract between the two parties.

Previously, Raftery was CBS’s senior broadcast communications representative, serving as lead publicist for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, as well as a contributing publicist for the NFL On CBS and the network’s pre-game show, The NFL Today.

Before that, she was press coordinator for CBS Sports coverage of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Raftery began her career in production at CBS Sports as a sports researcher and then as a broadcast associate, where she was responsible for on-air graphics at events, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, NCAA Football, auto racing, boxing and pro beach volleyball.

Raftery has a B.A. in English from Georgetown University.