# Bill Koenigsberg

> Bill Koenigsberg is the New York-based founder and CEO of Horizon Media, established in 1989. His career spans media buying, agency ownership, industry leadership and mentorship. He became the first media-agency executive to chair the 4As board, entered the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame in 2019, retained majority control when Horizon announced minority investors in 2021, and helped establish Horizon Global with Havas in 2025.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Horizon Media
- **Organizations:** Horizon Media, Horizon Media Holdings, Horizon Global, 4As, City Harvest, IRTS Foundation
- **From:** New York, United States
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree in marketing, University of Miami
- **Known for:** Founded Horizon Media in 1989., First media-agency executive elected chairman of the 4As board, in 2014., AAF Advertising Hall of Fame inductee, 2019.

## Career timeline

- **1978** — Began working at media-buying agency ELA, according to his 2013 career interview.
- **1984** — Joined Media General to open a New York office.
- **1989** — Founded Horizon Media after buying out a Media General operation with seller financing.
- **2014** — Elected chairman of the 4As board, its first chair from a media agency.
- **2019** — Inducted into the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame.
- **2021** — Announced minority investment from Temasek and LionTree while retaining majority ownership.
- **2023** — Received the Reisenbach lifetime achievement award; subsequently named MediaPost’s 2023 Executive of the Year.
- **2025** — Horizon appointed Bob Lord its first holdings-company president and announced the Horizon Global joint venture with Havas.
- **2026** — Received the 43rd annual Frank N. Stanton Award for Excellence in Communication on September 24.

## Achievements

- Founded Horizon Media in 1989.
- First media-agency executive elected chairman of the 4As board, in 2014.
- AAF Advertising Hall of Fame inductee, 2019.
- Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame inductee.
- Reisenbach lifetime achievement award recipient, 2023.
- MediaPost 2023 Executive of the Year, announced January 2024.
- 2026 Frank N. Stanton Award for Excellence in Communication recipient.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Received the Center for Communication’s Frank N. Stanton Award on September 24 in New York.
- **2026-08** — A federal court denied Horizon’s motion to compel arbitration in Smith-Wilson and Deberry’s discrimination and retaliation case and permitted an amended complaint. The ruling was procedural, not a determination of liability; Horizon has disputed the allegations.
- **2026-01** — MediaPost’s profile of Bob Lord described Horizon’s evolving HorizonOS model and Koenigsberg’s role in bringing Lord into the business.
- **2025-09** — Horizon Media Holdings and Havas announced Horizon Global, targeting US-centric global client opportunities.
- **2025-04** — Discussed Blu and AI-assisted media planning in a Beet.TV video interview at POSSIBLE.

## Links

- Website: https://www.horizonmedia.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-koenigsberg-b62213292

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/bill-koenigsberg
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-15