H. Melvin "Mel" Ming (born as Hilton Austin Melvin Ming) is a Bermudian-American broadcast executive who was the president and CEO of Sesame Workshop from 2011 until his retirement in 2014. He was previously chief operating officer of Sesame Workshop, and has held executive positions at the Museum of Television and Radio, WQED and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Early life

Ming was born in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

and attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

(class of 1967) graduating with a

B.B.A. Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

Accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "langua ...

. He later served in the

U. S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

Career

Ming is a certified public accountant. He became the finance director of

in August 1983. In 1997, he became the vice president and

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

at the Museum of Television and Radio (now

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...

) in New York, after having served as Chief Operating Officer at WQED in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. He joined Sesame Workshop in 1999 as its Chief Financial Officer, and became Chief Operating Officer in 2002. He was named President and CEO in October 2011, replacing

Gary Knell Gary Evan Knell (born 27 February 1954) was the Chairman of National Geographic Partners. Formerly, he was president and CEO of the National Geographic Society. He joined National Geographic as chief executive in January 2014. He has been a membe ...

. He retired in 2014 and was succeeded by Jeffrey D. Dunn. Ming is an independent

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Dial Global Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ming, Mel 1944 births Living people Temple University alumni NPR Sesame Workshop people United States Army soldiers