News Corp Australia’s News Sport Network managing director Michael Wilkins has announced senior appointments for the division to position the business for its next phase of growth.
• Current general manager partnerships Sachin Kumar has been appointed general manager, product and partnerships
• General manager product Charles Shelton-Agar has been appointed general manager audience growth, News Perform
• Genevieve McCulloch has been appointed head of commercial product
• Head of product Paul Zines has been appointed head of fantasy sports.
Wilkins said he was pleased to announce these new appointments for the News Sport Network to further build on audience and commercial growth.
“The News Sport Network leadership team provides coordinated direction for sport and wagering across our business,” Wilkins said.
“Success is built on executing nationally with content, commercial and marketing which is why these new appointments are key to delivering the ultimate experience for both our consumers and clients.”
Kumar will now be responsible for News Sport Network’s partnerships with sporting codes and driving commercial revenue across the network. Since joining the business in 2019, Kumar has been instrumental in building the company’s sport strategy, creating the partnership framework with codes, and scaling its live community sport streaming across Australia under KommunityTV.
Shelton-Agar’s move to manage audience growth of the company’s News Perform business will see him build out its business-to-business offering through innovation. News Perform, which includes Punters, Racenet, Codebet, Greyhound Recorder and odds.com, is transitioning part of its business to be a technology and data provider to the racing and sports industry. After a decade in sales and commercial-related roles at News Corp Australia, Shelton-Agar will be central to the success of this new business.
McCulloch has been appointed head of commercial product. She will be responsible for spearheading the News Sport Network’s commercial product strategy and will work closely with the company’s sales team to meet client needs in this category. McCulloch returns to the business after two years at Optus as Go-to-Market Manager, Content. Having held roles in sport and sales during her previous six years at News Corp Australia, she brings a wealth of experience to the role. Reporting to Kumar, she will join the business on August 01.
Zines’ new role in the News Sport Network has been created to grow the popularity, revenues and audience engagement of its market-leading fantasy sports brands including SuperCoach. Zines’ appointment recognises both his affinity with the fantasy genre, his innovation skills and his commercial acumen. He previously negotiated and oversaw the build for tips.com.au, while also stewarding the current design behind Australia’s biggest NRL, AFL and BBL fantasy sports game, SuperCoach. Under his new remit Zines’ will grow the company’s existing games, and build new ones, while delivering audiences a world-class experience.
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Top image: Sachin Kumar, Charles Shelton-Agar, Genevieve McCulloch and Paul Zines