MTV, VH1 Appoint New Strategy, Operations EVP

Richard Gay Wednesday was namd executive vice president of strategy and operations for MTV and VH1 where he’ll lead the internal business and strategy departments for both networks.

This newly created role will include oversight and development for the two brands’ finance, legal, ad sales, content distribution, information technology and human resources departments.

"Richard has been an integral member of my team at VH1 and I'm looking forward to continuing working with him to drive our core business forward and to extend the VH1 brand in bold new ways," Tom Calderone, president of VH1, said in a statement. "He not only coordinates several of our internal functions with extreme finesse, but has been instrumental in identifying and executing several partnerships and deals that have truly benefitted VH1's strategic goals."

As part of his strategic responsibilities, he will help spearhead budget and long range planning at the brand level. He will also work closely with the MTV Networks Program Enterprises Group, as well as the digital groups, in extending MTV and VH1 into new businesses. He will also work to identify potential external partnerships, alignments and acquisitions, working in tandem with Viacom and MTVN on broader opportunities, network officials said.