Meet Our Staff

Senior Management

The NBN Book Force—Our People Make the Difference

Rich Freese, President, NBN Rich Freese, President, NBN
rfreese@nbnbooks.com
"I am thrilled to be at NBN as President and to have the opportunity to work with such a fabulous team of experienced professionals and an amazing group of independent publishers. As an independent distributor, NBN has a history of being a leader and innovator in developing customized relationships to help clients reach their full potential in the marketplace. I am honored to have this opportunity during what is a period of dynamic growth for the company and its publisher partners."
Chip Franzak, JR. CPA George "Chip" Franzak, Jr., CPA
gfranzak@nbnbooks.com
A savvy financial professional whose background includes experience in a variety of industries, Chief Financial Officer, George "Chip" Franzak, Jr., CPA, oversees NBN's complex financial and accounting functions. Chip and his staff have established strong, respected ties with our accounts and vendors, thereby assuring our publisher clients peace of mind because they know that an aggressive and accurate financial system is in place on their behalf.
Mike Cornell Mike Cornell,
VP of Operations MCornell@nbnbooks.com
Mike Cornell, Vice President of Operations since joining the company from Dorling Kindersley in 2005, has day-to-day responsibility for running the Blue Ridge Summit distribution center. The company has invested millions of dollars in state-of-the-art order fulfillment and computer technology designed to make our distribution center one of the most effective in the industry. In addition to EDI capabilities, we offer Automatic Shipping Notice (ASN) to our customers who demand a high level of service in an era of just-in-time inventory management.
Gail Kump, VicePresident, Business Development
New York City Office
gkump@nbnbooks.com

Sales

The NBN Sales Force—Putting Your Products on the Shelf

Selling is a special skill, and selling books requires a unique understanding of a distinct -- and constantly changing -- market. The NBN Sales Force has years of experience and has honed this hands-on background to gain access to the major retailers, wholesalers, on-line retailers and independent stores . . . and to secure prime shelf space for our clients' books. Noted for their conscientious attention to detail, our reps have earned the professional respect of the accounts they call on and the publishers they represent. The NBN sales organization has virtually unmatched credentials in the book business and a reputation for generating solid sales.
Michael Sullivan Michael Sullivan
msullivan@nbnbooks.com

Heading up the Sales Force is Michael Sullivan, Vice President of Sales, renowned throughout the industry as a leading sales executive whose background of more than 30 years includes positions at Charles Scribners Sons and Macmillan where he was National Accounts Manager for the adult trade division.

Michael and his sales team have developed long-standing relationships with our clients and our accounts, and work daily to maximize the sales potential of each and every title they sell.
Mark Cozy Mark Cozy
mcozy@nbnbooks.com
Providing a continuous flow of information about new title advances and orders to the NBN Sales Force and our publishers is the key responsibility of Mark Cozy, NBN's Senior Director of Sales Administration. Mark has extensive industry experience, including serving as General Manager for Sidney Kramer Books in Washington, DC. NBN's special sales department reports to Mark.
Spencer Gale Spencer Gale
sgale@nbnbooks.com
From his background as a Doubleday BookShops executive and as a Senior Buyer for Brentano's, Waldenbooks, and Barnes & Noble, Spencer brings over 35 years of retail book experience to NBN. Spencer was a National Accounts Manager for NBN and successfully sold to Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, BN.com, Waldenbooks, Baker & Taylor, Bookazine, and Brodart. His extraordinary ability in selling backlist, in particular, has allowed NBN to make backlist an important initiative.
Ray Wittrup Ray Wittrup
rwittrup@nbnbooks.com
National Accounts Manager Ray Wittrup, a former top sales representative for Macmillan, Prima and Simon & Schuster, has been selling to Borders since it was but a two-store chain. In addition to Borders, Ray manages Waldenbooks, NACSCORP, and other key NBN accounts in the midwest.
Jason Brockwell Jason Brockwell
jbrockwell@nbnbooks.com
Jason, a graduate of the NBN Bookselling School, is currently National Accounts Manager for Amazon. Starting at NBN as a Sales Analyst over five years ago, Jason's broad experience includes being a Field Rep, working with Borders and Waldenbooks and completing projects for SVP Sales. He also works with Spencer Gale at Barnes & Noble.
Chris Cassel Chris Cassel
ccassel@nbnbooks.com
Chris Cassel, calls on Baker & Taylor, Brodart and Koen Distributors. Chris, who started his career as a field rep for Golden Books, has held senior sales positions at Pocket and at Macmillan, where he oversaw sales of the children's Books Group into Barnes & Noble. Most recently, until lured back into trade publishing, he managed corporate and telephone sales for an electronic publisher.
Ed Lyons Ed Lyons
elyons@nbnbooks.com
National Accounts Manager for Mass Markets: Ed Lyons, a former sales representative for Penguin and Proe & Proe Associates, calls on mass market retailers & wholesalers including Levy Home Entertainment, Hudson News & Target. Ed has over 14 years experience in this market and enjoys working with NBN's publishers in managing their approach to this challenging market.
Dina Fullerton
dfullerton@nbnbooks.com
Dina Fullerton, who has been with NBN for eight years, began working in a book store in high school. A former book store manager and telephone sales rep for Simon & Schuster, she began our Special Sales department in 2002 and was its first Rep.
Sylvia Williams Sylvia Williams
swilliams@nbnbooks.com
Sylvia Williams, NBN's Director of Sales Administration, assists Mark Cozy by providing extensive sales support and analysis, and carrying out a variety of special sales projects. Sylvia has 11 years of experience with NBN and was formerly the director of customer service.
Les Petriw Les Petriw
lpetriw@nbnbooks.com
The Managing Director of NBN's Canadian Division and NBN's International Sales Director, Les Petriw has extensive knowledge of the Canadian book market and gives NBN publishers a competitive edge in this increasingly important marketplace. His over 30 years in the publishing industry include senior sales positions for Copp Clark and McGraw-Hill/Canada.

Commission Reps
In addition to NBN's in-house sales staff, we have six of the ablest commission rep groups in the industry responsible for sales to selected independent stores. (The Empire Group in the Mid-Atlantic, Southern Territory Associates in the Southeast, Sal MacLemore and Associates in the Southwest, Hand Associates in the West, Wybel Marketing Group in the Midwest and Consolino & Watson in New England.)

Sales Administration
Barbara Pierce
bpierce@nbnbooks.com
Barbara Pierce, Sales Coordinator, assists Spencer Gale with administrative duties, reports and special projects. Barbara's background includes 17 years of sales and sales support positions with Motorola, Inc. She also owned and operated an independent bookstore in Annapolis, MD for three years.