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The Alumni Speaker Series will kick off the spring semester with Marco Forte ’95, vice president of primetime sales for ABC Television Network, and Mitch Messinger ’92, G’93, publicity director for ABC Daytime and SOAPnet. Forte and Messinger will share their career stories, speaking about how they rose to successful positions with ABC, utilizing college majors that you might not expect.

The event is at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 27, in Newhouse 3’s Hergenhan Auditorium. It is free and open to the public. An hors d’oeuvres reception will follow.

Forte majored in consumer studies at SU, when it was a major in the college that is now the . Forte manages a sales team covering all network television dayparts, as well as digital and new media sales. In this role, he is also responsible for the sale of ABC Network primetime advertising. He handles a roster of more than 30 national advertisers, including Apple, McDonald’s, J.C. Penney, Visa and PepsiCo. Forte negotiates the price of all upfront and scatter primetime advertising, including primetime specials, digital and integrated marketing partnerships. He is responsible for presenting new sales opportunities, research and programming development to clients.

Forte joined ABC in 2000 as an account executive in ABC Daytime and SOAPnet sales. Prior to joining ABC, he worked for the Media Edge and TN Media, Inc.

Messinger received his undergraduate degree in American studies from . A year later, he received a master of science degree in television, radio and film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He now oversees national publicity campaigns for programs and special projects within the daytime division of the Disney-ABC Television Group – including the multi-Emmy Award-winning drama “General Hospital,” working with mainstream and soap press on a regular basis to garner media coverage.

While a student, Messinger was actively involved on campus, including University 100, Otto the Orange mascot, Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, Greek Council and the Student Government Association. A long-running board member and a past president of the Syracuse University Alumni Club of Southern California, he also sat on the national board of the SU Alumni Association from 2004-10. Messinger serves as an alumni representative for the undergraduate admissions office, where he attends college fairs and conducts off-campus interviews of prospective students. He was the winner of SU’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award in 2000.

The Alumni Speaker Series is a collaborative effort of within the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Alumni Relations, which brings SU alumni back to campus each semester to share their career stories.

For more information about the Alumni Speaker Series and upcoming speakers, contact Kim Brown  at kmbrow04@syr.edu, 443-3616.