Roku Metropolis is now just a little emptier, with Paramount naming Jay Askinasi, Roku’s advert gross sales chief, as CRO.
In the present day, Paramount, a Skydance Company, introduced that Askinasi will tackle the newly-created chief income officer function, main the corporate’s monetization technique and strengthening its place as a “next-generation media firm.” He’s the newest member of CEO David Ellison’s exec management staff and begins Nov. 3.
Askinasi will lead the corporate’s promoting gross sales staff, partnering with product groups, leveraging data-driven insights, cultivating ecosystem partnerships, and driving a unified promoting platform, in line with Paramount.
Regardless of Askinasi main the corporate’s advert gross sales staff, ADWEEK has discovered that John Halley, president of Paramount Promoting, will keep in his function, reporting to Askinasi.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Jay to Paramount as our new CRO. He brings a novel and extremely related mixture of expertise throughout advert tech, platforms, knowledge, businesses, and startups—all grounded in a deep understanding of the media and converged video panorama,” Jeff Shell, president of Paramount, stated in a press release.
The manager spearheaded advert gross sales whereas at Roku, becoming a member of the corporate in 2024. He beforehand served as CEO of Publicis Media Trade U.S., overseeing media funding technique.
“This can be a pivotal second of transformation for the trade, and Paramount is clearly positioning itself on the forefront of that change,” Askinasi stated. “I’m excited to assist form a next-generation digital monetization engine—one that may stand alongside the largest tech platforms—whereas preserving the artistic excellence and cultural affect that outline Paramount’s iconic content material.”
In late July, Paramount introduced that it was nearing the top of its present upfront cycle, with total quantity in line with that of final yr. The quantity was pushed by sports activities and streaming.
“The fact is that for those who had a sports activities portfolio, for those who had an enormous tentpole portfolio, [advertisers] had been diving in on that,” Halley informed ADWEEK in September. “And really, stage one of many upfront moved earlier and far sooner than we thought due to these coveted properties.”
