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Acast continues to lead charge in the US with updates to commercial team
Acast continues to lead charge in the US with updates to commercial team
Christiana Brenton is named Director of Sales and Brand Partnerships and Elli Dimitroulakos transitions to Global Head of Ad Innovation to meet evolving sales demands
2022.08.01
August 1, 2022 – Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, today announces Christiana Brenton’s appointment as Director of Sales and Brand Partnerships in the US. Brenton, who relocated to the US this spring from the UK, will now lead the US sales team and will be responsible for driving revenue for Acast in the region.
In her previous role as Group Business Director in the UK and US, Brenton brought over 50 new global advertisers in less than three years to the Acast Marketplace in the UK alone. Brenton managed the OMG, Dentsu, Publicis and Havas portfolio and was responsible for leading the team to more than 30% annual sales growth. In her tenure, she has developed a specialty in delivering award-winning, high-impact, integrated branded content partnerships, alongside Acast Creative, the company’s in-house podcast creative agency. Since joining the US team Brenton has been leading Acast’s podcast market positioning, consistently delivering advertisers best in class campaign strategy, insights and results.
To further strengthen its position in the US, Acast has also elevated Elli Dimitroulakos to Global Head of Ad Innovation.
Dimitroulakos, who was previously Head of Automation for the Americas, delivered exponential growth in programmatic results for Acast and will continue to lead programmatic advertising strategy in the region. Acast was recently named to AdExchanger’s 2022 Top 50 Programmatic Power Players list.
As part of her expanded role, she’ll take on global responsibilities for how Acast works alongside agency and ad tech partners to deliver strong results for all stakeholders, keeping Acast at the forefront of podcast ad innovation around the world.
Jeremy Weiner, who joined Acast in November as Group Business Director for the East Coast region from Megaphone, also becomes US Agency Partnerships Director. He'll lead Acast's direct ads deals and partnerships with agencies and clients, to meet evolving and increased sales demand.
Oskar Serrander, Acast’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “Since joining Acast three years ago, Christiana has been a top tier performer and one of the hardest workers on the market teams. She first moved from Australia to help grow our UK market, and this spring she was brought into the bigger opportunity in the US. We look forward to seeing her help drive the team to the next level over here.
“I'm a big fan of championing talent and expertise from within whenever it makes sense, and design our organization for the objectives we want to accomplish, which is why we also chose to move Elli and Jeremy to more focused roles. As well as being integral members of our sales team, all three have also contributed to the creative and collaborative culture we’re building globally.”
Brenton added: “I’m proud of what we’ve achieved during my time at Acast so far — especially considering the challenges we’ve all faced in the past few years — but the most rewarding thing has been the people I’ve met. The team here is so special and has become such an important part of my life, not only for the incredible work we do with our podcasters and advertisers, but for the culture and teamwork they embody.
“Stepping into this leadership role is undoubtedly a highlight of my career and I’m grateful for the opportunity to make an impact on the US sales team, and contribute to the growth of this evolving market.”
Dimitroulakos said: “Acast has been pioneering programmatic advertising in podcasting for half a decade — and, as the leaders in the space, our success in the US has created impact for the entire industry. We now have the opportunity to continue to scale the technology and to deliver successful and cohesive strategic roadmaps for ourselves and our partners, on a global level.”
As Acast continues to grow its share in the US, the region remains a top priority for the company and its stakeholders. These new positions within the sales team are reflective of Acast’s ongoing commitment to that growth and to meeting the evolving demands of the market for advertisers and podcasters alike.