Press release from CBS Corp., April 17, 2018:

Jo Ann Ross, President and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer, CBS Corporation, today announced CBS EYE MAX, a new cross-platform innovation and integrations group to be led by Linda René, Executive Vice President, Primetime Sales and Innovation.

In this expanded role, René will be responsible for overseeing CBS EYE MAX and its specialized executive team focused on branded entertainment partnerships and synergies across all dayparts.  She will also continue to lead all aspects of primetime sales for the Network.

René and her CBS EYE MAX team will identify and develop opportunities across the CBS Television Network and CBS Interactive’s digital properties by working closely with colleagues at CBS Interactive, programming executives at the network and Studios, showrunners and clients.

“We are constantly pushing to elevate the level of creativity for clients and audiences, and we are always looking to do more and more outside of the box,” said Ross. “CBS EYE MAX combines the creativity and expertise of our branded integration daypart leaders, under a proven innovator like Linda, and is designed to maximize the clients’ relationship with CBS and to maximize their reach, effectiveness and investment.”

CBS executives joining René as part of the CBS EYE MAX team are Antoinette Clarke, Vice President, Branded Entertainment and Media Innovation, CBS Daytime; Cristin DeVries, Vice President, Branded Entertainment and Media Innovation, CBS Primetime; and Despina Legakis, Director, Branded Entertainment and Media Innovation, CBS Late Night. In addition to working with René to create new cross-network and cross-platform synergies for branded entertainment partnerships, the three executives will also continue to manage existing integration responsibilities within their respective dayparts.

“I am excited to team up with this extremely talented, well-respected and creative group of executives,” said René. “There is a world of opportunity for branded and custom content across the CBS Television Network and our digital properties. I look forward to collaborating with Antoinette, Cristin and Despina, our clients and the creative community to bring many more new, fresh and innovative ideas to life in ways that will make people take notice, while also bringing incremental dollars to the table.”

Linda René was named Executive Vice President of Primetime Sales and Innovation, CBS Television Network, in December 2013. She is responsible for all aspects of Primetime Sales including planning, pricing, strategy, revenue, branded entertainment and client supplied programming. René has also been instrumental in CBS’ industry-leading position on working with clients on innovative ideas to promote their brands in a way that is both organic to our programming and additive to our client’s advertising campaigns. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Primetime Sales and Innovation since 2002, and she was Vice President of Primetime Sales before that since 1994. A CBS veteran, René has also held the network positions of Director of Primetime Sales, Account Executive as well as Manager of Planning. Prior to joining CBS, René was with Doyle Dane Bernbach West for four years, starting as a planning assistant and working her way up to Director of Media Planning on the Universal Pictures account and Account Executive on the CBS account.

Antoinette Clarke was named Vice President, Branded Entertainment and Media Innovation, CBS Television Network in January 2014. In this role, Clarke is responsible for ideation, pitching, selling, negotiating, developing and activating strategic branded content and advertiser partnerships, across multiple platforms for the CBS Daytime slate of shows and specials. Clarke previously served as Director of Branded Entertainment and Media Innovation, CBS Television Network since 2012. Prior to joining CBS, Clarke was the Director of Broadcast Sales Integrations with Martha Stewart Living, Omnimedia, Inc., where she was responsible for selling and integrating products into weekly shows. She also worked with marketing and production teams, executing creative concepts and managing the day-to-day integration sales activities of the account executives. Before working in branded entertainment and product integration, Clarke worked as a producer for 12 years, for CBS Paramount domestic television, Telepictures Production (Warner Bros.) and Sony Pictures Television and Harpo.  She holds a B.A. in English-literary studies from Skidmore College.

Cristin DeVries joined the CBS Network Sales Group in 2007 as Director, Branded Entertainment and Media Innovations, managing all scripted integrations, media partnerships, and custom content programs across the Prime and Daytime dayparts.  In 2014, she was promoted to Vice President, Primetime Branded Entertainment and Media Innovations, focusing on integration and custom innovation opportunities across both scripted and unscripted programming. From 2000 – 2007, she served as an Associate Director, then Director of CBS Promotion Marketing, heading all co-marketing efforts for the Network’s alternative programming brands and sponsorships, including the launch of the original seasons of SURVIVOR, THE AMAZING RACE, and BIG BROTHER. Prior to her tenure at CBS, DeVries managed a diverse portfolio of businesses (including CBS) at marketing agencies DVC Group, Einsen Freeman, and Integrated Communications. DeVries received a Bachelor of Arts in English and professional writing at Kutztown University.

Despina Legakis joined the CBS Network Sales group in 2015 as Director, Branded Entertainment and Media Innovations for News & Late Night. In this role, she has developed and executed integrations for THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT, THE LATE LATE SHOW with JAMES CORDEN, CBS THIS MORNING and CBS SUNDAY MORNING for major brands across all categories.  From 2006-2015, she served as Director of CBS Promotion Marketing, primarily developing and managing launch platforms and sponsorship opportunities for primetime programming. She also helped lead the development, management and execution of integrations in the alternative programming behemoth SURVIVOR, a role she continues to manage along with her News and Late Night responsibilities. Prior to CBS, Legakis spent six years as a marketing manager, then senior marketing manager at Entertainment Weekly magazine, working on marketing partnerships in categories including automotive, food and beverage, telecommunications and consumer product goods. Despina is a graduate of New York University with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in political science