Montreal’s Just For Laughs has tapped industry veteran Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, to open its inaugural conference on the business of funny, Just Comedy.

Organizers are expected to announce Thursday that Koonin will speak on the state of comedy, focusing on partnerships with advertisers and reaching the youth market at the event, which gets underway July 16. Just Comedy is co-organized by Just for Laughs and Achilles Media.

The former VP of marketing for The Coca-Cola Company, Koonin currently oversees programming, marketing, scheduling and strategy for Turner channels including TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Peachtree TV, which launched last year. TBS airs sitcoms including Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and The Bill Engvall Show.

‘This is a great time to be in the comedy business. TBS is excited to be involved with Just For Laughs, and I’m honored to join this new conference,’ commented Koonin in a statement.

‘We are thrilled to have Steve Koonin offer the opening keynote…it will no doubt set the tone for the conference,’ added Just Comedy exec producer Deborah Day.

The Just Comedy conference is an extension of the Just For Laughs festival, now in its 26th year. Other programming highlights include a father-and-son interview session between Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, and a presentation of Comedy Person of the Year to filmmaker Judd Apatow, cheering his recent blockbusters such as Superbad and The 40-Year-Old Virgin and, further back, his TV work on Undeclared and The Ben Stiller Show.

Just Comedy runs through July 18.