Paramount Snags Roku Ad Sales Leader Jay Askinasi as CRO

Roku Metropolis is now just a little emptier, with Paramount naming Jay Askinasi, Roku’s advert gross sales chief, as CRO.Right this moment, Paramount, a Skydance Company, introduced that Askinasi will tackle the newly-created chief income officer function, main the corporate’s monetization technique and strengthening its place as a “next-generation media firm.” He’s the most recent member of CEO David Ellison’s exec management workforce and begins Nov. 3.Askinasi will lead the corporate’s promoting gross sales workforce, partnering with product groups, leveraging data-driven insights, cultivating ecosystem partnerships, and driving a unified promoting platform, in keeping with Paramount.Regardless of Askinasi main the corporate’s advert gross sales workforce, ADWEEK has discovered that John Halley, president of Paramount Promoting, will keep in his function, reporting to Askinasi.“We’re thrilled to welcome Jay to Paramount as our new CRO. He brings a novel and extremely related mixture of expertise throughout advert tech, platforms, knowledge, businesses, and startups—all grounded in a deep understanding of the media and converged video panorama,” Jeff Shell, president of Paramount, stated in an announcement.The manager spearheaded advert gross sales whereas at Roku, becoming a member of the corporate in 2024. He beforehand served as CEO of Publicis Media Alternate U.S., overseeing media funding technique.“This can be a pivotal second of transformation for the business, and Paramount is clearly positioning itself on the forefront of that change,” Askinasi stated. “I’m excited to assist form a next-generation digital monetization engine—one that may stand alongside the most important tech platforms—whereas preserving the artistic excellence and cultural affect that outline Paramount’s iconic content material.”In late July, Paramount introduced that it was nearing the tip of its present upfront cycle, with general quantity in keeping with that of final yr. The amount was pushed by sports activities and streaming.“The fact is that if you happen to had a sports activities portfolio, if you happen to had an enormous tentpole portfolio, [advertisers] have been diving in on that,” Halley informed ADWEEK in September. “And truly, stage one of many upfront moved earlier and far sooner than we thought due to these coveted properties.”