Virgin Media Television (VMTV) has made a number of key appointments to its commercial team including that of Sarah Murphy (above), the TAM Ireland manager and former group trading director of Dentsu, who has been appointed to the newly created position of investment lead with Virgin Media Television.
In her new role she will support Frankie Carty in his new position as head of agency business and trading. Carty joined VMTV in 2019 from Core where he was director of Core Investment.
Elsewhere, Tara Moran has been appointed to the newly created head of client solutions position where she will lead a full service client solutions team with responsibility for driving advertising partnerships across linear TV, VOD, experiential and third party platform collaborations. She joined Virgin Media Solutions from Maximum Media in 2019 as head of partnerships & innovation.
VMTV has also announced that Paula McCarthy is stepping down as head of Virgin Media Solutions at the end of April. After three years in the role and 13 years with the broadcaster, she has decided to take up an opportunity in another sector.
According to Ian Byrne, director of digital & commercial enterprises: “At Virgin Media Television we are responding to a fast changing media landscape where audience data is becoming more valuable, viewers are consuming content across multiple devices and platforms and advertisers look to engage consumers in more bespoke and unique ways. I am delighted to be leading and working closely with such a dedicated and talented team, all of whom are tasked with delivering best in class client services and innovative, impactful advertiser solutions across the VM Television suite of propositions. It is wonderful to welcome Sarah Murphy to the team at such an exciting time for the business as we successfully navigate the re-igniting of the market after a tumultuous 2020 and look to support and collaborate effectively with all media and advertising stakeholders.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Paula McCarthy for her enormous achievements and her dedication to the business over the past 13 years, as she leaves to follow a business dream in another industry. We share our very best wishes and support as she embarks on her new venture.”
Commenting on her departure, Paula McCarthy adds: “After 13 years with the business, the time has come for me to hand over the reins and pursue a very exciting personal business venture. I’m very proud of what we have achieved in that time, growing from a single terrestrial channel to a multi-platform entertainment business as part of the world’s largest TV and broadband company, whilst delivering double digit advertising revenue growth along the way. It’s been an honour and a privilege to work alongside so many supportive agencies and advertisers over the last number of years. I’m delighted to be leaving the new-look Virgin Media Solutions team in the very capable hands of Frankie and Tara, under the stewardship of Ian Byrne. Whilst I will be sorry to say goodbye, I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into my new venture ahead.”
