Donna Speciale

Donna Speciale is President of Advertising Sales and Marketing at Univision Communications Inc., the leading Spanish-language content and media company in the United States, where she leads the expansion and advancement of Univision’s offering for advertisers. A leading innovator in the modern advertising industry, Speciale is tasked with showcasing Univision’s unique value proposition for advertisers and helping those partners realize the growth potential of engaging Hispanic consumers. She also ensures Univision continues to serve as a trusted partner to the advertising and marketing community by implementing advanced ad sales innovations and providing advertisers new and compelling ways of reaching consumers.

In her role, Speciale oversees Univision’s go–to–market ad sales strategy for the Company’s multiplatform portfolio, which includes Univision’s top-rated Spanish-language broadcast and cable networks, plus the company’s leading streaming and digital business featuring PrendeTV, the first free, ad supported, premium streaming service designed exclusively for U.S. Hispanics, and its robust digital footprint with Univision.com and the Univision Creator Network. A trailblazer known for transforming advertising and a pioneering leader in the early days of advanced television advertising, Speciale has emphasized the need for marketers to shift investment into audience-based ad capabilities, harness a company’s suite of brand studios for content development and improve the overall ad experience on TV for consumers.

Speciale has served as an industry leader in the evolution of television advertising with an extensive knowledge of sales optimization for over two decades, a critical asset as Univision seeks to expand its portfolio of advertising products with innovative offerings to connect viewers and advertisers. Prior to joining Univision, she served as President of Advertising Sales at WarnerMedia where she helped establish the groundbreaking launch of OpenAP, the first open platform for TV advertisers to reach audiences across publishers. Prior to joining WarnerMedia, she was president of investment, activation and agency operations at MediaVest Worldwide, overseeing the agency’s integrated digital, broadcast, print and out-of-home practice. Earlier in her career she held senior roles at WPP’s Mediacom.

Highly admired in the industry, Speciale has been lauded with numerous accolades throughout her distinguished career. She was named one of Adweek’s Top 50 Most Indispensable Executives for several consecutive years and inducted into Broadcasting & Cable’s Hall of Fame in 2015. Speciale has been named to Variety’s New York Impact Report and is recognized regularly by leading publications including AdAge, Multichannel News and Adweek. Speciale has also been honored by Advertising Women of New York as an “Advertising Woman of the Year” and received both its “Impact Award” and “Working Woman Award.” She received the “Reisenbach Award for Distinguished Citizenship” by the John A. Reisenbach Foundation in 2014.

Speciale currently serves on the Board of Directors for National CineMedia and is a member of PTTOW! and the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB). She also is a corporate supporter and active member of She Runs It, as well as an advisor for Home From College and The Forem.

A graduate of Bryant University, Speciale is now an empty nester residing in NY with her husband Gary. Her son Jonathan, a Syracuse Graduate, is now an architect and her daughter Devon, a USC Graduate, works at Snapchat.