After 18 years on the firm, John Halley is leaving Paramount.
The news comes round two months after Paramount employed Jay Askinasi, Roku’s former advert gross sales chief, as its CRO, the place he’ll lead the corporate’s promoting gross sales staff. A Paramount spokesperson instructed ADWEEK that Halley would keep on by the top of March in a strategic advisory position, guaranteeing a clean transition for Askinasi.
Halley, who beforehand served as Paramount’s chief working officer of promoting income, assumed the position of president of promoting in September 2022, following Jo Ann Ross‘ shift to an advisory role after 30 years at the company.
In the position, he oversaw the company’s home multiplatform gross sales efforts throughout its portfolio of broadcast, cable, digital and streaming belongings spanning CBS, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount+ and Pluto TV, amongst others.
A former chair of IAB, present chair of OpenAP, and a member of the 2023 ADWEEK 50, Halley’s run as Paramount’s advert gross sales chief has included being on the forefront of measurement and foreign money conversations because the business adopts extra various currencies; launching EyeQ, Paramount’s multi-billion dollar premium video adverts market; and taking Paramount out of upfront week by choosing extra intimate consumer displays, a transfer media patrons have responded to positively.
Talking in regards to the upfront change with ADWEEK in May, Halley mentioned there was “no reason” to return to upfront week.
“Every year, we get the same feedback, which is that the format is much better,” Halley mentioned. “I don’t think that, in a week that’s becoming more crowded and more difficult—not less difficult—re-entering the fray makes sense for us. It doesn’t make sense for us to abandon something that’s clearly been expressed as working.”
Despite ongoing modifications at Paramount amid its $8 billion Skydance merger, Halley additionally famous on the time that Paramount’s advert gross sales have remained enterprise as common.
“Near-term, advertisers want to partner with us because we offer them access to audiences and their future customers. That’s not impacted by the ownership of the company. The story that we tell is consistent, irrespective of the status of the merger, the transaction, and it’s a strong story,” Halley mentioned.