2026 Women in Media Honorees

LEXINGTON, Ky., Sept. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Viamedia.ai, a next-generation advertising technology company building a local-first omnichannel operating system, today announced that six of its executives have been recognized for their leadership by top advertising and media publications. In total, Viamedia’s leaders were honored nine times across the AdExchanger Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Awards, Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards and CFX Most Powerful Women Awards.

The recognitions celebrate women across Viamedia.ai who are helping modernize media operations, forge strategic partnerships, advance advertising technology and create new opportunities for the company, its clients and the next generation of industry leaders.

“These honors reflect the extraordinary depth of talent across Viamedia.ai,” said David Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of Viamedia.ai. “Each of these women has made a distinct contribution to our growth, and they share the same willingness to challenge convention, solve complex problems, and bring others along with them. Their leadership is helping us build a smarter, more connected advertising business, and we are incredibly proud to see their impact recognized across the industry.”

The Viamedia.ai honorees include:

  • Becky Jones, Chief Marketing Officer, was honored as a Cynopsis Marketing Trailblazer and named to the CFX Most Powerful Women. Jones has led the evolution of Viamedia.ai’s brand, marketing, and people strategy, connecting communications and sales enablement more closely to business growth. She also founded the company’s internship program and has mentored more than 200 emerging professionals throughout her career.
  • Kristen McDonnell, Chief Operating Officer, was recognized as a Cynopsis Operations Front Runner and named to the CFX Most Powerful Women. McDonnell oversees Client Strategy, Client Services, Activation and Trading, and Linear Operations. Her leadership was central to the integration of Viamedia.ai and LocalFactor, during which the company successfully launched approximately 500 advertising campaigns in less than one month while maintaining uninterrupted client service.
  • Chesney Payne, Vice President of Linear Operations, was recognized as an AI Media Innovator by the AdExchanger Top Women in Media & Ad Tech Awards and an Ad Tech Innovator by the Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards. During her nearly two decades at Viamedia.ai, Payne has championed automation, artificial intelligence and cross-functional technology development to improve workflows, scale operations and prepare the company for the continued convergence of linear television, streaming and programmatic advertising.
  • Madeline Kissel, Vice President of Business Development, was honored as one of Cynopsis’ Deal-Making Directors. Kissel identifies, negotiates and executes sales representation agreements with linear, digital and managed-services partners. Kissel spearheaded Viamedia.ai’s partnership with Cable One, its largest in more than 15 years, coordinating teams across the company to bring the agreement to market. She has also renegotiated major partner agreements to create new opportunities in addressable and connected TV advertising.
  • Jordana Montague, Director of Sales, East Coast, was named an Ad Sales Superstar. Montague helped establish the commercial foundation for a business that has grown into a core component of Viamedia.ai’s omnichannel offering. Her consultative approach has expanded major client relationships, including an energy-sector partnership that grew from approximately $1 million to $4 million.
  • Ileana Miscia, Senior Manager, Brand & Content Marketing, was named a Cynopsis Rising Star for her growing impact across marketing, sales enablement and content strategy. Miscia has developed targeted resources addressing priority market opportunities, helped align paid LinkedIn campaigns with high-value prospective clients, and expanded Viamedia.ai’s thought-leadership platform through her production work on The Ad Break podcast.

The awards arrive during a period of significant momentum for Viamedia.ai. Following its acquisition and integration of LocalFactor, the company has continued expanding its national footprint, investing in artificial intelligence and advancing an omnichannel technology portfolio that includes Geo-Graph™, Attention+ and the award-winning Parrot ADS platform.

Viamedia.ai recently surpassed 100 video service provider partnerships and now works with more than 7,000 brand partners across over 100 designated market areas. The company is also creating new opportunities for advertisers through innovations in privacy-forward audience intelligence, cross-platform campaign execution, and household-level addressability for local broadcast television.

Together, the nine honors reflect how Viamedia.ai’s people are driving the company’s evolution from a traditional media services company into a technology-enabled advertising platform, one that delivers measurable value for advertisers, agencies and media partners.

About Viamedia.ai:
Viamedia.ai is the ad tech company behind the industry’s first local-first omnichannel operating system. The company’s three core platforms, ViaOS, ViaSSP, and ViaIQ, are powered by proprietary technology, scalable data, and local-first precision, helping deliver unified omnichannel campaigns. Viamedia serves brands, advertisers, agencies, broadcasters, streaming providers, FAST channels, MVPDs, and other media and advertising technology companies, helping connect advertisers with inventory in engaging environments.

For more information, visit www.Viamedia.ai.

Contact:
Rich Cherecwich
Broadsheet Communications for Viamedia.ai
rich@broadsheetcomms.com 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8c9f54b5-228f-4e9e-b417-97849e638fe4


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