Our Team

Doug Fierro, President & Chief Executive Officer, Petry Holding, Inc.

Doug Fierro, Chief Executive Officer of Petry Holding, Inc. brings his extensive record of achievement as a leader and creative developer of cross-platform media organizations to the company as it expands upon its highly successful core business model of advertising sales representation.

In his role as President and CEO of Petry Holding,Inc.,  Mr. Fierro oversees Petry Television, which is the company's flagship division, and directs Petry Media's expanding business across digital, mobile, and cable platforms to meet the challenge of increasing revenues for current and future clients in today’s intensely competitive media marketplace.

Mr. Fierro has a proven track record of success across a spectrum of large organizations, entrepreneurial, and private equity environments where the combination of his strategic planning, sales and operational skills have repositioned brands while substantially exceeding projected growth.

Prior to joining Petry Media, Mr. Fierro served as the President and CEO of WMI, a multi-faceted sales and marketing services company which acts as a marketing strategist and ad network across multiple media categories including: digital, magazines, out-of-home, TV and newspapers.

He has also served in senior management positions at KKR-owned Primedia, where he was President, and American Express Publishing and the Hearst Corporation, where he was responsible for launching a number of magazines. In addition, during his tenure as publisher of Food and Wine magazine, he developed and expanded targeted consumer events, including one of the largest wine and food events in the world.

Mr. Fierro is a 1978 graduate of the University of North Carolina.

Val Napolitano, President & CEO, Petry Television

Val Napolitano is President & CEO of the Petry Television division of Petry Media.

Mr. Napolitano began his career at Petry Television in 1978 as an Account Executive. He held several sales management positions in the Petry Atlanta office prior to becoming Senior Vice President, South Region in 1994. In 1997, he was appointed Senior Vice President, Manager East Region.  In 1998, Mr. Napolitano was promoted to Senior Vice President, Director of Regional Operations. He was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Petry Television in 2001.

Before joining Petry, Mr. Napolitano worked at Arbitron starting as a research analyst in 1974 prior to becoming an advertising/agency sales manager in 1976.

Mr. Napolitano earned both B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Long Island University.

Widely recognized as one of the most experienced sales professionals in the station representation industry, he is a TVB Board member, former Chairman of NSAC Committee and former President of SRA.

Steve Berlin, Chief Financial Officer, Petry Media

Steve Berlin has served as the Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of Petry Media since 2006.

Mr. Berlin joined Petry Media in 1995 as Director of Accounting and was promoted to Controller of Blair Television that same year, where he was responsible for accounts payable, accounts receivable, accounting and financial reporting.

Prior to joining Petry, Mr. Berlin performed various financial roles at CBS Inc. in the Television and Radio Divisions as well as Internal Audit. He began his career at David Berdon and Company, a regional accounting firm. 

A certified public accountant, Mr. Berlin received his bachelors of business administration degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1984.

Steve Capozzoli, Senior Vice President, Managing Director, Petry Television

Mr. Capozzoli joined Petry Media in 1995 as Account Executive. He was promoted to New York Sales Manager in 1998 and made a Director of Sales in 1999.  After being elevated to Vice President in 2001, Mr. Capozzoli was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2003 and made a General Manager in 2006. He assumed responsibility for day-to-day operations of the New York and regional offices along with managing key broadcast group relationships as Senior Vice President and Managing Director in 2008.

Prior to joining Petry, Mr. Capozzoli was with Katz Continental as a sales assistant in 1991, becoming an Account Executive in 1994.

Mr. Capozzoli is a 1991 graduate of Adelphi University and resides in Long Island, NY with his wife and three children.

Kevin Nugent, Senior Vice President, Director of Sales

Mr. Nugent joined Petry Media in 1979 and worked as an Account Executive in both New York and Chicago. He was promoted to Chicago Group Sales Manager in 1982 and subsequently named Vice President, New York Group Sales Manager in 1985.  Mr. Nugent was promoted to Director of Sales in 1990 and appointed a Senior Vice President in 1994.

Howard Strudler, Senior Vice President, Director of Sales

Mr. Strudler was appointed Senior Vice President, Director of Sales in 2009.  Mr. Strudler joined Petry in 1997 as Group Sales Manager, was promoted to Vice President in 1998 and Director of Sales in 2006.

Mr. Strudler began his broadcast career in 1985 at WRLH-TV in Richmond, VA as an Account Executive.  He joined Blair Television in 1986 as an Account Executive. In 1991, Mr. Strudler joined WLVI-TV in Boston where he spent seven years in National and Local Sales Management positions.

Mr. Strudler holds a B.A in Communications and Business from the State University of New York at Albany and resides in Jericho, NY with his wife and three children.

Debbie Carter, Vice President, General Manager

Ms. Carter was named General Manager of the Los Angeles office of Petry Television in June 2010.  With more than10 years’ sales-management experience, Ms. Carter Is focused on maximizing resources to ensure excellent service for Petry client stations in the region.

Ms. Carter oversees national sales efforts as Petry Television’s West Coast Director of Sales.  Prior to this role, she served in various positions within the Los Angeles office of Petry Media.  She began her 25-year career in television advertising as a sales assistant with Katz Communications. 

She studied communications at UCLA and business administration at Los Angeles Pierce College and Santa Monica College.

Alan Picozzi, Vice President, Director of Research

Mr. Picozzi started his broadcast career with Blair Television in 1974 as Research Analyst for the ABC division. In 1975 he was appointed Research Supervisor in Blair’s Marketing Division and a year later promoted to Research Manager. In 1979 he was named Associate Research Director and in 1981 was promoted to Research Director.

He was elevated to Vice President in 1986 and was appointed Director of Research in 1994.

A native New Englander, Mr. Picozzi resides in Wilton, CT with his wife and two children.

Maureen Tillman, Vice President, Information Services

Ms. Tillman has served as Vice President of Petry Media's Information Services Department since 2001. Prior to her current role, she was Director, Systems Administration for the Information Services Department for six years. She originally joined Petry Television in 1986 as Data Processing Manager. Through the years, she has also held management positions at Blair Television, and FOX Television Sales.

She consults regularly with Media IT executives and Vendors from a variety of fields to help create realistic solutions to industry-impacting problems.

A graduate of Marymount Manhattan College, Ms. Tillman began her career in 1982 at Storer TV Sales as a Research Analyst.

She resides in Scarsdale, NY with her husband and daughter. Maureen is active in her community as a member of her Neighborhood Board and School's PTA.

Erica Grundfast, Corporate Human Resources Advisor

Ms.Grundfast is the Corporate Human Resources Advisor for Petry Holding Inc. She provides strategic oversight and management of the human resourcesfunction forall areas of the Petry Holding divisions.

Ms. Grundfast joined Petry Media in 1996 as a graduate intern in the Human Resources Department. She was hired as Corporate Human Resources Assistant in 1997 and promoted to Human Resources Coordinator.

From 1998 to 2000, Ms. Grundfast worked for Primedia Inc. overseeing the Channel One Network companies. 

Returning to Petry in 2000,she was appointed Manager, Human Resources for the Petry Television division and was named Vice President, Director of Human Resources for Petry Media in 2001.

Ms. Grundfast received her B.A. degree from Binghamton University and her M.A. degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Hofstra University with high honors.  

She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and frequently participates in media industry panels discussing various areas of Human Resources administration.

Ms. Grundfast resides in the scenic Hudson Valley with her husband and two children.