Mr. Banks is the Founder, President and Executive Producer of Ember Media Corporation. Ember Media (www.embermedia.com) is a full service multimedia production studio and interactive publishing company that provides clients with a wide range of services including website design, marketing strategy, interactive content development, customized promotions, kiosk development, video and digital broadcast production. Banks has produced multimedia and broadband content for HBO, Prudential, Pepsi, Bloomberg TV, Showtime Networks, New York Institute of Technology, Toyota, Gateway, the British Tourist Authority Monaco Tourism, and countless other companies and organizations around the world. Additionally, he has worked with former President of the United States Bill Clinton to publish a first-of-its-kind interactive college guide called "The Key", on CD-ROM, that targets underserved communities.
Banks spent over 10 years in the cable and entertainment industry, before launching Ember Media in 1998. Prior to Ember Media, he served as Vice President of Affiliate Relations for Comedy Central. While at Comedy Central, Banks opened New York and Chicago Affiliate Relations offices, recruited, hired, and managed a senior sales team and expanded the distribution of Comedy Central to over thirty percent in six months. Prior to Comedy Central, Banks served three years as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Sega Channel. In his capacity at Sega Channel, Banks negotiated affiliation agreements for distribution of the service with the top cable companies in the US. Some of his client list included: Comcast, Adelphia, Cablevision Systems, Time Warner, and Charter Communications. During his tenure at Sega Channel Banks acquired distribution in over 20 million homes in less than two years. Prior to Sega Channel, Banks served as Regional Director at Showtime Networks, where he was responsible for launching The Movie Channel in New York City and overall growth of Showtime Networks among assigned multiple system operators. Prior to Showtime, Banks was at the Xerox Corporation.
Banks served as the President of the National Association of Minorities in Communications (NAMIC) from 1996-1998. As President, Banks applied his expertise as an accomplished contract negotiator and proven leader and established a relationship with the Federal Communications Commission for the organization, created the Patrick Mellon Mentoring Program that identifies talented professionals and matches them with accomplished corporate leaders to discuss career growth, and began a leadership forum for member development. Banks currently holds an Emeritus seat on the NAMIC Board of Directors and serves as an advisor to New York and Philadelphia NAMIC chapters.
Banks is a member of Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), and a strong supporter of public education. Banks is a recurring participant in the Principal for a Day program in New York City, sponsored by the PENCIL organization.
Banks attended California State University at Fullerton, where he received degrees in Business and Speech Communications. Banks also completed an Executive Management program at Harvard Business School.
Ember Media has been at the forefront of CD-ROM, kiosk, and multimedia development since it was founded in 1998. The company was first to introduce the business card sized CD-ROM, the DigiCard™. Mr. Banks and Ember Media have received many awards for outstanding creative production and corporate citizenship including an award for New Media Content of the Year from the Cable Industry, the @d:tech Award for Excellence in Interactive Advertising and Marketing, and the NAMIC Excellence Award. Ember Media is a privately held corporation with offices in New York and Tokyo.