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Lee Abrams
SVP/Chief Innovation Officer
Tribune Company
Lee Abrams joined Tribune as SVP/chief innovation officer on April 1, 2008. He spearheads the company’s innovation efforts across its publishing, broadcasting and interactive divisions. He is the first person to hold the position in the company’s 160-year history.
Prior to joining Tribune, Abrams served as senior vice president and chief programming officer for XM Satellite Radio. At XM, Abrams developed scores of revolutionary new 24-hour radio channels as well as signing and overseeing the creation of radio programs with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis.
As a founding partner of Burkhart/Abrams, the Atlanta-based consulting giant, Abrams invented and built Album Rock, the first successful FM format. He also designed numerous other highly successful radio formats including the first Classic Rock format at San Francisco's KFOG; the first FM Urban/Dance format at New York's WKTU, the first New Age/Jazz format. In addition, he created the original blueprint for the NBC Source Network. His corporate clients have included every major broadcast group.
In 1989, Abrams joined ABC Radio Networks as an internal consultant and oversaw the revolutionary Z-Rock format, which was the first satellite delivered Superstation, as well as being the first Active Rock format, and was instrumental in the launch of Radio Disney. Abrams was also key in launching the careers of many top personalities including Howard Stern.
Abrams other media projects have included the redesign of Rolling Stone magazine, the launch of TNT Cable Network, MTV, American marketing consultant to Swatch and advisor to dozens of entertainment companies. In addition, Abrams has been the subject of feature articles in hundreds of consumer publications including Playboy, Esquire, New York Times, People, and The Wall Street Journal, and appeared as a guest on "The Apprentice" series with Donald Trump.
Abrams, a native of the Chicago area, resides in Washington, D.C., with his wife and two children, and is a Commercial and Instrument rated pilot.
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