Madhive names Nicki Harkrider-Probey as CRO and Mindy Buckalew as SVP of Operations to scale outcome-based local advertising.
Madhive has appointed two industry veterans to its executive team as local media companies accelerate their shift toward data-driven, outcome-based advertising. Nicki Harkrider-Probey joins as Chief Revenue Officer, while Mindy Buckalew has been named Senior Vice President of Operations.
The hires come as local advertisers demand greater precision, accountability, and measurable return—pressures that are reshaping how local media organizations sell, operate, and execute advertising at scale.
Strengthening Revenue Leadership
Harkrider-Probey brings more than 30 years of experience leading sales and revenue organizations across local and national media, including senior leadership roles at TEGNA and News-Press & Gazette. In her new role, she will oversee Madhive’s revenue strategy, with a focus on partner growth, scalable monetization, and aligning the company’s local-first platform with evolving advertiser expectations.
“Nicki and Mindy bring deep experience at a critical moment for local media,” said Jim Wilson, chief executive of Madhive. “They have spent their careers modernizing how media organizations sell and operate, and they will play a key role in helping our partners deliver measurable outcomes for advertisers.”
Harkrider-Probey has been recognized by the Alliance for Women in Media with a Silver Award of Excellence for leadership. She said her decision to join Madhive followed years of working alongside the company as a partner.
“Madhive delivers local precision with national-scale execution,” Harkrider-Probey said. “By integrating AI-driven planning and activation tools into everyday workflows, we can give local buyers and sellers the insights they need to drive real results.”
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Driving Operational Scale
Buckalew joins Madhive after nearly two decades in digital media operations, most recently as Vice President of Digital Business Operations at Cox Media Group. There, she led digital planning, execution, and workflow optimization across large, distributed teams.
At Madhive, Buckalew will oversee digital business operations, focusing on execution efficiency, platform scalability, partner integrations, and operational rigor as the company expands its footprint.
“Having worked on the customer side, I’ve seen how consolidating fragmented systems into a single workflow can transform local execution,” Buckalew said. “My focus will be on ensuring clients maximize those efficiencies while reducing overhead and complexity.”
Positioning for a Competitive Market
Wilson said the appointments reflect Madhive’s broader ambition to help local media companies compete more effectively in a fragmented advertising market estimated at $170 billion annually.
“To capture meaningful share, the industry needs unified scale—not disconnected tools,” he said. “These appointments strengthen our leadership at a moment when execution and outcomes matter more than ever.”
Madhive employs more than 400 people and works with media organizations including Fox, Hearst, and News-Press & Gazette. The company provides planning, analytics, and performance solutions through both managed and self-service offerings, positioning itself as a central operating system for local media advertising.
