ABC Entertainment Senior Vice Presidents to Co-Head Alternative Series, Specials and Late-Night

Vicki Dummer and John Saade Given Oversight of Department

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 -- Senior vice presidents Vicki Dummer and John Saade will co-head Alternative Series, Specials and Late-Night, ABC Entertainment, it was announced today by Stephen McPherson, president, ABC Entertainment, to whom they will report.

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"John and Vicki have impressive track records, incredible creative instincts and really complement each other in their skill sets," said McPherson. "They make a great team, and continually discover, develop and execute original alternative programming. Their expanded responsibilities will continue to help ABC excel in the genre."

In their new capacity, Mr. Saade and Ms. Dummer will jointly oversee development, current and production for ABC's alternative series, with Mr. Saade focusing more on development and Ms. Dummer more on current and specials. They will manage the Alternative Series staff and spearhead the creative efforts for upcoming projects.

In their former positions, Ms. Dummer and Mr. Saade were instrumental in the success of numerous programs, including "Dancing with the Stars," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "Supernanny" and "American Inventor." Prior to joining the Alternative Series and Specials department, Mr. Saade and Ms. Dummer honed their skills in the arts and entertainment industry.

Ms. Dummer began her career at ABC in October 1996 in the Comedy Series Programming department. She worked on several of ABC's most popular series, including "8 Simple Rules," "According to Jim," "Dharma & Greg," "The Drew Carey Show," "Less than Perfect" and "Whose Line is it Anyway?." Prior to joining ABC, she was a senior program specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC. She has also held posts as executive director of a statewide service organization for dancers and performance artists, and manager of a modern dance company.

Mr. Saade was an independent producer and served as executive producer on the American edition of "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here." Before his turn as an independent producer, he was at ABC and played an integral role in the development of several alternative series and specials, including "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette," the award-winning series "Houston Medical" and the critically-acclaimed reality show, "The Mole." Mr. Saade also served as a producer and director at Dakota North Entertainment, where he managed development and current production.

Ms. Dummer and Mr. Saade are graduates of The Ohio State University and Northwestern University, respectively. Ms. Dummer received a Bachelor of Arts in arts administration, while Mr. Saade received a Bachelor of Arts in radio, television and film.

Source: ABC