Marty Graham Elected EMA Chairman

25 Jul, 2014 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Marty Graham, president of home entertainment for Rentrak, has been elected chairman of the Entertainment Merchants Association, replacing Bob Geistman, EVP of sales and marketing for Ingram Entertainment, who held the position for 10 years.

Geistman, who was elected chairman when the trade organization was called the Video Software Dealers Association, remains on the board as treasurer. Other officers elected at the July 23 meeting in Los Angeles included vice chairman Mike Gimlett, SVP of merchandise and logistics for Gamefly, and secretary Jonathan Zepp, entertainment content partnerships for Google.

All took their new positions immediately.

“When I assumed the chairmanship of [the VSDA], many stores still sold VHS tapes, rental kiosks were a novelty, digital delivery was ‘the technology of tomorrow,’ and many of today’s EMA members did not even exist,” Geistman said in a statement. “The EMA helped manage the transition to the diverse association we are today … representing all sectors of the home video and video game industries, regardless of business model or delivery platform.”

Other EMA board members include: Joe Ambeault, CEO of Redbox Instant by Verizon; David Asch, SVP of content for Redbox; Richard Barry, EVP and chief merchandising officer for Toys "R" Us; Tina C. Flowers, VP of specialty merchandizing and in-store banking for Giant Eagle; Mark Higgins, SVP of merchandising for Trans World Entertainment; Daniel J. Kaufman, SVP and general counsel for GameStop; Chris Koller, VP of gaming for Best Buy; Jim Loperfido, owner of Emerald City Video; Dana Luthy, category leader of movies and TV for Amazon; Mike Thielman, senior buyer of video games for Target; and Mark Vrieling, president of Rain City Video.

 

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