Maria Scannell has been appointed as the new chief commercial officer of Maximum Media while Ali Donnelly has been appointed as its new general manager.
Maria Scannell joins Maximum Media from Digicel, where she was founder and head of Trend Media Pacific. Overseeing six markets in the region, she was responsible for building a team of 45 staff across commercial production, digital publishing, media sales and marketing. She was also a mentor for Digicel’s ‘Women in Leadership’ programme which supports the development of high-performing senior women across the Asia Pacific markets.
In her new role, Scannell will work closely alongside Group CEO Daragh Byrne and managing director John Burns to lead the continued expansion of Maximum Media’s commercial operations in Ireland.
Ali Donnelly, meanwhile, returns to Maximum Media from Vizeum, which she joined in 2015. While at the media agency she worked on brand strategy and business growth across multiple brands in alcohol, FMCG, and entertainment industries. Shei previously worked at Maximum Media in 2012 in marketing, PR, campaign management and sales. In her new role as general manager she will play a lead role in managing the day-to-day operations in Dublin, and will work on a number of key projects for the business.
According to John Burns, managing director of Maximum Media: “These senior appointments reflect Maximum Media’s commitment to outstanding work in digital broadcasting. For our vast audiences, brands, and agencies, Maximum Media is quickly becoming the largest and most influential media organisation in Ireland. The addition of talent like Maria Scannell as CCO and Ali Donnelly returning as GM further states our intent to innovate, develop and provide readers, viewers and clients the best offering in the Irish market, in 2018 and beyond.”
Commenting on her new role, Maria Scannell said: “Maximum Media has been at the forefront of innovation in brand partnerships and leading digital products for the last number of years, so I am incredibly excited to be part of this dynamic team. As Brexit looms and with so much change driven by technology companies, there has never been a more interesting time to return to Ireland’s media industry. 2018 will see us investing heavily in our commercial department from sales, creative and client services expertise, to more informed data management platforms, so we can create more engaging, impactful and effective brand campaigns.”
