Connie Frances Avila

Executive Leader: Entertainment, Media and Sports

Connie is an entertainment executive with over two decades of experience in building brands and driving fandom for iconic global brands including Madison Square Garden, American Express, Coca-Cola, Samsung, TED, AEG Live and TED. Leveraging both brand-direct and agency experience, she leads the brand and marketing vision with an informed and fresh approach, aligning brand passion and purpose with action and data.

Under the umbrella of entertainment, Connie’s worked across a variety of industries and sectors, including live entertainment, broadcasting, media, music, sports, retail and culinary. As a champion of both the analytical and creative process, she harmonizes their collaboration to drive brand equity, engagement and revenue. Whether leading one discipline or a portfolio of offerings, she is adept at creating successful outcomes from complex situations.

With a belief that people are an organization’s most important asset, Connie takes a hands-on approach to transforming teams through cross-collaboration, development, training, and organizational-enriching initiatives. As an experienced leader who’s been in the trenches at all levels of an organization, she’s led through management upheavals, mergers, company buy-outs, radio station format flips, re-orgs and 9/11, and understand the value of empathy, transparency and emotional intelligence to get through the tough times.

Connie holds a B.A. in Organizational Behavior and Communications and Certificate in Coaching, both from New York University, where she is also a Career Development Mentor. As a life-long learner, she is proud to be a founding member and co-organizer of TEDxEast, a division of TED whose global mission is “Ideas Worth Spreading.”