Executive Management
Dean Nelson Chairman
Dean Nelson is chairman of PRIMEDIA Inc. He is also chief executive officer and founder of Capstone Consulting LLC.
Prior to founding Capstone Consulting in 2000, Nelson was a senior vice president with The Boston Consulting Group where he ran the Chicago office and was a member of BCG's Management Committee. Nelson served clients in a number of industries, including consumer products and retail, industrial and high-tech. From 1981 to 1983 he was a process control engineer at Shell Oil Company.
Nelson has worked with a number of portfolio companies, most significantly PRIMEDIA Inc., Rockwood and Borden Chemical. He also participates in KKR's Investment and Portfolio Committee meetings.
Kim Payne Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Kim Payne is senior vice president and chief financial officer of PRIMEDIA Inc., responsible for oversight of the accounting and finance functions, corporate real estate and procurement.
Payne continues to serve as chief financial officer of PRIMEDIA's Consumer Source Inc business. She joined Consumer Source as an accountant in 1991 and during her more than 15-year tenure with the company, has served in various finance management roles, including financial analyst, director of analysis and planning, and vice president of finance. Payne's responsibilities have included budgeting, forecasting, acquisitions and divestitures, financial analysis and capital expenditure management.
Payne holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Florida State University and a Masters of Business Administration from Kennesaw State University.
Michaelanne Discepolo Executive Vice President, Human Resources
Michaelanne Discepolo is executive vice president of Human Resources at PRIMEDIA Inc. She became senior vice president of Human Resources in January 2000 and had been vice president of PRIMEDIA since January 1993.
Discepolo joined the company in March 1991 as director of Human Resources. She held the position of director of Benefits with Macmillan, Inc. prior thereto.
Keith Belknap Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Keith Belknap is responsible for all legal matters for PRIMEDIA Inc. and its subsidiaries. In his role as senior vice president, he is responsible for oversight of the organization's corporate development functions.
Prior to joining PRIMEDIA, Belknap was assistant general counsel of PPG Industries, Inc., a Fortune 250 global manufacturer. Previous to PPG, he served as a Principal Counsel to Georgia-Pacific Corporation. Belknap came to Georgia-Pacific from the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he focused on domestic and international strategic and financial transactions and general corporate matters.
He graduated with honors from Harvard Law School, and is a member of the Bar in the states of California and Illinois. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from The University of Tulsa.
Robert Sforzo Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
Robert Sforzo was named chief accounting officer in May 2003. Prior, he was made senior vice president and controller of PRIMEDIA Inc. in January of 2000. He had been elected corporate vice president and controller of PRIMEDIA in October of 1998, and continues to hold the position of chief accounting officer.
Prior to joining PRIMEDIA in his current position, Sforzo served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Katharine Gibbs Schools, Inc., a leading career training school, which PRIMEDIA owned until 1997. Sforzo spent 18 years in various financial positions with Macmillan, Inc., culminating with the position of corporate controller. After Macmillan, he worked at the Olsten Corporation as corporate controller.
Sforzo holds a Bachelor degree in Accounting from Brooklyn College and is a certified public accountant.
Carl Salas Senior Vice President and Treasurer
Carl Salas is senior vice president and treasurer of PRIMEDIA Inc. Salas joined PRIMEDIA in 2003 as vice president and assistant treasurer. Most recently, he was responsible for senior note and preferred stock redemptions and reductions in bank debt that will lead to improvements in free cash flow.
Prior to joining PRIMEDIA, Salas was with Castle Crow & Company, LLC where he worked across multiple industry segments for equity financing of acquisitions. He also spent 9 years as a managing director in the Entertainment and Media Industries Group at Banc of America Securities. Before joining Banc of America, Salas was with The First National Bank of Boston.
