Peter M Benassi
Executive Vice President, International Operations
Peter Benassi came to ICON after many years of entrepreneurship in corporate barterThe creation of value by exchanging a client's unwanted or undervalued asset for the promise to purchase over a period of time from the corporate-barter company a defined set of goods and/or services, called fulfillment. (Sometimes mistakenly referred to as Corporate Trade.) and 12 years in the Los Angeles hospitality industry. Peter founded Media Resources International ( MRI) in 1981, an outgrowth of his desire to own a business and shape the fulfillmentThe process through which ICON delivers the goods and services clients have purchased from ICON using trade credit or cash or both. Also referred to as the back end of a corporate barter transaction. of barter transactions. MRI grew into an international operation, with dual headquarters in New York and London with additional offices in eight countries across Europe and South America.
After leading MRI for just over 20 years, ICON bought MRI's assets in 2002 and Benassi joined ICON, bringing an impressive resume of barter and operations experience along with a long list of impressive clients such as Time Inc., Discovery Communications, Adidas, Volvo Cars North America, Lionsgate Films, Henkel Corporation and Clorox to name a few. During these years, he learned the art of developing and maintaining relationships. He also fine-tuned his ability to carefully listen to and evaluate the needs of each individual prospect and client - a critical skill in the corporate-barter business, where every need is unique and every barter solution is different from the last.
Today, Peter fosters ICON's efforts abroad. ICON accesses international media through its parent company, Omnicom and other independent media vendorsAny company that delivers goods or services to another company through a business transaction.. As clients' needs grow into more markets, ICON is growing with them. Peter is expanding ICON's footprint oversees through his many contacts among the international community. These relationships have sparked new partnerships allowing ICON to acquire a broader range of media on a trade basis in several new and exciting markets.
