Millstone Moves From NGT to NGV To Take On Expanded Business Development
Responsibilities
Washington, D.C., April 21, 1998
Sam Millstone has been appointed Vice President of Business Development for National
Geographic Ventures (NGV), the for-profit subsidiary of the National Geographic
Society, it was announced today by Rick Allen, President and Chief Executive Officer,
NGV.
Millstone’s move from Vice President of Business Development and Planning for
National Geographic Television (NGT), which includes television, home video, children’s,
primetime drama, large format and feature film programming, signals an expansion into
other key areas of responsibility. In his new position for NGV, Millstone will retain his
current business development responsibilities for television, and will also expand his
duties to include NGV’s other for-profit businesses including Maps, Interactive, New
Media, Location-Based Experiences and Retail.
In October 1996, Millstone was promoted to the position of Vice President of Business
Development and Planning for NGT. During the past 18 months, he has managed the
growth of new business initiatives for NGT including NGT’s investment in Destination
Cinema, Inc. (DCI), the world’s largest exhibitor of large-format films. Millstone has
developed plans to broaden NGT’s dramatic programming operations into the feature film
business. He has also been responsible for exploring and developing other new business
opportunities for NGT.
“Sam’s contributions to NGT during the past six years have been invaluable, and with his
expanded role at NGV he will offer his expertise to our other key business as well” said
Allen. “Sam is a consummate business professional with an exceptional performance
record, and we plan to take full advantage of the professional skills that have made him so
successful.”
Millstone joined the Washington, D.C.-based NGT in 1992 as Associate Director,
Strategic Planning. He created several business plans for NGT’s new operations and
ongoing businesses, including planning the launch of NGT’s children’s programming
business and mapping a new direction for its educational videos department, as well as
creating several strategic plans for the company. He also negotiated license agreements
for television syndication and home video distribution.
Before joining NGT, Millstone was Director of Management Reporting and Analysis at
Sony Music Entertainment, Inc. where he prepared Sony Music’s first-ever five-year
worldwide operating and financial strategy. Prior to this, Millstone was Vice President of
Acquisitions for Burson-Marsteller from 1989 to 1991 where he negotiated acquisitions,
joint ventures, and start-up operations for this worldwide communications and consulting
firm. He also worked in the finance department at Columbia Pictures Entertainment (now
Sony Pictures Entertainment) from 1986 to 1989. Prior to that, he was a Senior Financial
Analyst at CBS, Inc. Millstone earned an MBA from the University of Chicago
Graduate School of Business and is a magna cum laude graduate of Duke University.
National Geographic Ventures, formed in 1995, has launched aggressive campaigns to
compete in today’s commercial media marketplace. Encompassing the business endeavors
of National Geographic Television, National Geographic Interactive, National Geographic
Maps, and National Geographic Retail, NGV continues to further the Society’s mission of
increasing and diffusing geographic knowledge while at the same time broadening its
public reach.
Contact:
Kathie Teter, NGT
+1 202 857-7671
Kristy Bremer, Pryor Assoc.
+1 818 382-2233
