roger clark
CFO and Founding Advisor
When I was in 5th grade, my Rust Belt family scraped together enough money to buy me a used trumpet. Several years and two upgraded horns later, music scholarships put me on a career path where “business meets the arts.” I have since dedicated my working life to shaping, growing and evangelizing modern companies in entertainment, media and digital technology. And Level Forward is blazing a trail like none other, with its empathically fierce pursuit of equity and economic transformation through creative excellence. Prior to LF, I was a Senior Vice President with publisher Time Inc. and previously spent several years as CFO with digital advertising concerns Unified Enterprises (backed by iHeart Media) and Interclick, Inc. (acquired by Yahoo). That followed 15 years in various roles with the entrepreneurial conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp, including a long stint running Investor Relations and supporting mogul Barry Diller during a period of profound transformation in content consumption and interactivity. As an Ernst & Young CPA I audited the likes of Warner Bros., Rhino Records and the Cleveland Orchestra. Meanwhile I’ve been a two-decade supporter of community-based Cornerstone Theater Company, a former board member of the Williamstown Film Festival, and once helped launch the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s young professional group. All of this has been possible thanks to extraordinary mentors, colleagues, lifelong friends, and a family who brings me daily joy.
How I Level Forward: By standing with feminist men, anti-racists, and those with an unfettered knack for speaking truth to power. I’m proud to be, in the words of my young daughter, “as strong as Supergirl.”