ARN has unveiled a major restructure of its commercial team, appointing five senior leaders to new state-based director of sales – Total Audio roles, as it looks to accelerate growth across its audio portfolio.
The new appointments in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are effective immediately and reflect ARN’s push to simplify access to its expansive offering, from broadcast and streaming to podcasting and digital, through a single point of contact in each state.
Each director of sales – Total Audio will oversee metro, regional and digital revenues in their respective markets, working closely with the newly formed Integrate by ARN division and the global iHeart team to deliver creative, data-driven campaigns.
The five new sales directors are all internal promotions, signalling the bench strength within ARN’s commercial ranks.
• Ashlea Reece steps into the Sydney role after 15 years with ARN, most recently as Sydney Sales Director – Agency. She is known for her deep market knowledge and innovative client solutions.
• Nick Flood takes on the Melbourne role, bringing over 20 years of experience across Australia and New Zealand. He previously served as national sales director – Independent Agencies and Direct Advertisers.
• Emily Buckby becomes Brisbane director of sales – Total Audio, after nine years at ARN and past roles with Nova, TEN and oOh!media.
• Sonia Russo, a 16-year ARN veteran, will lead the Adelaide team. She previously held senior positions at Clemenger BBDO and Starcom MediaVest.
• Aaron Bryant will head up Perth, leveraging his experience at Nova, JCDecaux and Initiative, as well as six years at ARN.
The restructure follows the recent promotion of Richard Hunwick to director of sales – Total Audio, to whom all state-based leaders will report.
Michael Stephenson, chief operating officer of ARN, said the move was designed to make it easier for partners to tap into ARN’s scale, talent and data assets.
“The Total Audio commercial structure creates a single point of contact for every partner in every market to leverage the size, scale and power of ARN’s leading audio platform,” said Stephenson.
“The fact that we have been able to promote Ash, Nick, Emily, Sonia and Aaron is testament to the breadth and depth of talent we have within our business. We have the biggest stars, the best brands, the largest platforms and we now have a commercial structure that will allow us to unlock these assets for our advertising partners.”
The announcement continues ARN’s broader strategy to cement its position as Australia’s leading Total Audio network, powered by its live broadcast brands, streaming services, and partnerships with global podcasting giant iHeart.