Sonie Guseh Osagie
Sonie (Guseh) Osagie is Senior Director of Strategy & Operations at NBCUniversal News Group. There, she works under the CNBC brand, focused on the live events an subscription memberships experienes for senior executive audiences. Her focus as a strategy and operations professional comes with more than 12 years of experience in the media industry, cutting across television, digital video and audio, journalism, marketing and communications, viewer data analytics, digital sales and distribution, and content strategy.
Sonie Osagie is Vice President ofStrategy & Operations at Focus Features, the specialty film division of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. In her role, Sonie manages a team that defines and sets strategy and conducts analysis to drive strategic growth initiatives, including partnerships, competitive analysis, business model development, and more.
Prior to joining Focus, Sonie was Senior Directorof Strategy & Operations at CNBC, focused on Audience & Membership. During her nearly 7 years at the business news network, she managed teams focused on revenue strategy, audience growth and engagement, strategic planning, and operations for CNBC Events & CNBC Councils. During her time there, she was part of thefounding team that planned and launched the Councils for C-suiteexecutive and investor audiences. Before that, Sonie oversaw a portfolio of growth initiatives, including audio. As part of that effort, she worked with an editorial and production team to launch CNBC’s flagship podcast, Squawk Pod, which won a Gracie Award in2020. Sonie first joined NBCUniveral as part of the Comcast NBCUniversal Rotational Leadership Program after business school. As part of the program, she worked on a number of new and emerging businesses: Audience Insights at Comcast, go-to market strategy for Xfinity Mobile, and business planning for the launch of an NBC News Digital streaming service.
While attending Columbia Business School forher MBA, Sonie worked in digital strategy roles at HBO (during the launch of HBO Now) and at Condé Nast. She also served on the boards of the Media Management Association and the Black Business Students Association, and led the Hermes Society of admissions ambassador as President. Upon graduating, she was honored with the prestigious Heffernan Award for Service by the school and was recognized by Poets&Quants as oneof the 100 “Best & Brightest MBAs.” She currently serves as a Columbia Career Coach for MBA students interested in media, entertainment, and technology careers.
Sonie started her career in local news at theABC affiliate WTVD-TV in her hometown of Durham, North Carolina. She also wrote for printpublications, and covered the Philadelphia college reaction to the historic 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama. She worked in digital ad sales at Google and communications for startups at an agency; two of her clients were later acquired, one by Match.com andanother NBCUniversal. She is an honors graduateof the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in English with a minor in Hispanic Studies.
In her spare time, Sonie serves on the board ofThe Garden School for early childhood education in Liberia, West Africa, the country from which her family hails. She enjoys reading, podcasts, and FaceTiming with her nieces and nephew. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and son.
Featured
Selected recognitions, speaking engagements, and published work
The IP Playbook: Greenlighting, Marketing & Distributing Award-Winning Content in Film and TV
Panelist during March 2025 conference
Liberian Studies Association
The Future is Bright: Laying a Foundation for the Future of Liberia
Panelist as part of the 2021 Liberian Studies Association conference.
Columbia Business School Admissions
Admitted Students Q&A
A conversation for admitted students planning to attend or considering attending Columbia Business School. February 2021
Columbia Business School Media Management Association
Media Program Lunch
Fireside chat for students of Columbia Business School's Media Program. Interviewed by Professor Jonathan Knee. March 2021
Penn Innovators in Business
Student organization at the University of Pennsylvania
Profiled in publication
What Elite Companies Seek in an MBA Hire
Poets & Quants
Featured panelist
Poets & Quants: Best and Brightest MBAs
Class of 2016 recognition
Recognized as a top MBA graduate from the class of 2016
8 Reasons Why You Should Consider Business School Right Now
Levo League
Quoted in September 2015 article
The Top 3 Things You Should Be Doing Right Now if You Want to Work in PR
New York Women in Communications Blog
Authored January 2015 article
Gov. John Hickenlooper Recognizes "Colorado Craftsy Day"
Craftsy press release
Authored and led May 2014 media campaign
Promote Yourself
by Dan Schawbel
Quoted in 2013 professional development book
Medical Internet Marketing Symposium
Featured speaker
2011 featured Google speaker to conference of medical marketing professionals
Google: Top Places to Work
Boston Globe
Featured in 2011 profile
Experience
Vice President, Strategy & Operations
2024-Present
Manage a team that defines and sets strategyand conducts analysis to drive strategic growth initiatives, including partnerships, competitive analysis, business model development, and more.
Strategy, Growth, & Operations
2018-Present
Currently Senior Director, CNBC Events & Councils
Audience & membership strategy and business operations for CNBC Events & Councils. Lead team focused on member acquisition, audience development, marketing, engagement and experience, strategy, and business operations.
Key focus areas include:
- AUDIENCE STRATEGY: Developing partnerships and marketing programs to support audience development
- LEAD DEVELOPMENT: Managing lead development programs to prioritize and retain existing customers, and build relationships with new ones
- P&L MANAGEMENT & REVENUE STRATEGY: Develop data-driven approaches to membership fees and event tickets to drive incremental revenue, manage budget and operational costs, and oversee annual budget planning process for team
- TEAM MANAGEMENT: Oversight of team of 8 across the function, supporting people development, growth, coaching, team prioritization, and morePreviously Director, Strategic Content & News Partnerships
Strategy and operations professional with more than a decade of experience in the media industry, including television, digital video and audio, journalism, marketing and communications, viewer data analytics, digital sales and distribution, and content strategy.
Current focus on emerging businesses and platforms with a portfolio consistent of two main areas: 1) content strategy, production, and monetization for audio (including the launch and production of new series); and 2) Business operations and strategy for CNBC Councils, executive membership programs for C-level executives.
Also manage strategy and business operations for the Strategic Content team, which focuses on building, developing, launching, and operationalizing new and emerging businesses and platforms, including live events, executive membership programs, podcasts, and more. Oversee dedicated team and manage cross-functional projects and relationships that cut across editorial, production, marketing, business development, product, and more.
Go-to-Market Strategy, Data Analysis, & Business Development
2016-2018
NBC News Digital: Business planning and strategy, audience development, and distribution across NBCNews.com, TODAY.com, and MSNBC.com.
XFINITY Mobile: Go-to-market strategy and promotions planning for the launch of XFINITY Mobile
Programming Insights: Data analysis and business development; partnered with data scientists to develop viewing insights dashboards and research reports
Digital Strategy
2016
- Analyzed data -- follower and fan growth, engagement numbers -- across brands and social media channels to support strategic decision-making and to assess performance.
- Created and maintained analytical dashboard and frameworks for tracking and evaluating social media performance metrics.
- Assessed competitive landscape and developed recommendations on social media best practices
Digital Distribution & Partner Marketing
2015
- Strategic marketing plan using industry and competitive analyses for capturing new audiences of cordcutters; focused primarily on the video streaming and over-the-top landscape.
- Managed a team of undergraduate interns in project on multicultural marketing ways to target and capture a cord-cutting audience
Senior Communications Associate
2010-12
Worked as a strategic communications consultant advising clients across industries.
Focus areas: media relations, press releases, event promotion, investor communications, brand strategy
Clients included: solar panel manufacturer, healthcare startup, hedge funds, law firms, and two startup clients were later aquired by Fortune 500 companies
Advertising Sales
2010-12
Advertising sales across search, display, YouTube, and TV ads; developed integrated marketing campaigns on behalf of health and beauty clients. Google AdWords Certified. Two-time Imact Award winner for quarterly revenue growth
News Writer / Production
2006-2009
Summer and part-time news producer
Additional Projects
What else I'm working on...
Board Member, The Garden School
The Garden School is a community-based school in Liberia based on developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood education. Located in Gbarnga, Bong County, the School focuses on young children (ages 3-5) through an innovative model unique in the West African nation.
Thoughts and musings on personal development, the media industry, careers, and more.
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