Sara Levinson

Sara Levinson (born August 23, 1950) is a former executive and American entrepreneur in the fields of entertainment, media, sports and technology. She was responsible for MTV's global expansion and orchestrated the NFL's outreach to women and kids. She is co-founder of the tech startup Katapult and serves on the board of Harley Davidson and Macy's.

Early life Levinson was raised in Portsmouth, Virginia, where she graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. She is the fourth of five children, born to Seymour "Sy" Levinson, a chemist, and Esther Levinson, a high-school history teacher.

In 1972, Levinson earned a Bachelor of Science from the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University.

Viacom (1978-1994) Levinson worked for 16 years at Viacom across multiple divisions including Showtime, Viacom Cable, Viacom Corporate, and MTV Networks.

Showtime Entertainment (1978-1980, 1984-1986) Levinson initially joined Viacom in 1978 under its subsidiary, Showtime, a then two-year-old premium television network. She first served as Showtime's Advertising and Promotion Manager before becoming Director of Marketing.

Levinson transitioned to Viacom Cable in 1980 and returned to Showtime four years later for a second stint as EVP of Business and Strategic Planning.

Viacom Cable (1980-1982) In 1980, Levinson was recruited internally away from Showtime to become Director Marketing Corporate for Viacom Cable. In 1982, she briefly left Viacom to serve as VP of Marketing at GW Satellite Communications, a newly-formed cable network group, responsible for the marketing and distribution of various cable networks.

Viacom Corporate (1983-1984) In 1983, Levinson was hired back to Viacom the following year as Director of Corporate Development where she pursued Viacom's expansion through acquisition of several television, radio, and cable properties, including MTV Networks.

MTV Networks (1986-1994) In 1986, Levinson was hired as EVP of New Business Development for MTV Networks, where she orchestrated the strategy to further expand MTV Networks. She launched MTV in Asia, Japan, Brazil, Latin America, and Australia. She is credited with hastening the network's global development by pursuing agreements for a host of products and ancillary businesses, such as an MTV record club, a Nickelodeon production studio, and MTV's Spanish language program, MTV Internacional. Under her management, MTV reached 239 million households in 63 countries, including 59 million in the United States. To this end, she is credited with expanding the league's marketing message, targeting women and children for the first time in League history.

Levinson built the NFL's first marketing research departments and introduced development programs to expand the league's viewership among casual fans. Under Levinson's direction, the NFL started a network of flag-football leagues called Play Football and a girls-only division of Punt, Pass and Kick. As a result of her promotional efforts to women and kids, Advertising Age named the NFL the Promotional Marketer of the year.

During Levinson's tenure at the NFL, she led NFL properties to sign Nike to a five-year licensing deal valued at an estimated $200 million and secured other name-brand sponsors such as Visa and Motorola, and The Sporting News' 100 Most Powerful People in Sports from 1996-98.

Club Mom (Cafe Media) (2000-2002) After 7 years, Levinson left the NFL to become CEO and Chairman of ClubMom (later named Café Media), a dot-com era e-commerce/marketing company for moms.

Rodale (2002-2005) As President of the Women's Publishing Group at Rodale, Levinson oversaw some of the world's largest publishing brands in the health and wellness field, including Prevention Magazine, Organic Gardening, and South Beach Diet.

Board memberships 1996–Present - Harley-Davidson (first female board member) 1997–Present - Macy's 2013–Present - Katapult, Co-Founder 2000-2018 - Cafe Media (previously Club Mom)