Leadstory appoints Heidi Sayers as CCO amid global expansion
Leadstory has named Heidi Sayers as chief commercial officer as CEO Cam Price prepares to relocate to the US to lead the company’s next phase of international growth.
The announcement:
LeadStory, the hyper-personalised, on-demand news streaming platform, today announced the appointment of Heidi Sayers as chief commercial officer, as founder and CEO Cam Price prepares to relocate to the United States to lead the company’s next phase of global expansion.
Combining the power of AI personalisation with verified news content from trusted global broadcasters including CBS, CNBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, Channel 10 Australia and France 24 among others, LeadStory enables viewers to curate a personalised view of local and global news, delivered seamlessly to their platform or device of choice.
Sayers joins LeadStory from The Australian Traffic Network (ATN), where she was NSW sales director. With more than two decades of senior experience at Nine and News Corp, she has a proven track record in creating integrated content partnerships that harness the influence of news, sport, and entertainment to drive effective outcomes for brands.
“In a world of fake news, declining trust and fragmented media consumption, what drew me to LeadStory is its willingness to tackle these challenges head on and deliver something truly unique to the market.
“LeadStory’s news delivery for the AI age provides marketers with a highly compelling way to reach audiences in contextually relevant environments and, more importantly, to be able tell their brand story at scale, in a way that’s genuinely interesting for viewers. Cam and the team have built an exceptional group of tech experts, producers, journalists and presenters, and I look forward to bringing LeadStory’s unique offering to market and collaborating on content-led partnerships that I know deliver for brands.”
LeadStory’s revenue model combines traditional video advertising with branded video storytelling, featuring on-location shoots with brands and their spokespeople. Over the past year, the company has partnered with leading brands including Tourism Fiji, Sydney Water, Tourism NT, Engineers Australia, Goodstart Early Learning, Koh, Pilot, and Juniper to craft and distribute powerful story-based content.
Following a successful funding round earlier in the year that saw LeadStory raise more than $4 million from mostly US investors, the company is accelerating its international growth strategy. Sayers’ appointment coincides with CEO Cam Price’s move to the United States, where he will lead efforts to forge new partnerships with AI stakeholders, hardware manufacturers, automotive brands, and distribution platforms to expand LeadStory’s reach across North America and other key markets.
“Heidi’s appointment marks a major milestone for LeadStory,” said Price. “Her commercial leadership and deep relationships across the Australian marketing landscape will help us scale confidently while continuing to deliver real value for publishers, brands and audiences alike.”
Founded in 2021, LeadStory attracts over 13 million viewers each month across web, mobile and its FAST TV channels, Breaking News and Your News (the world’s first personalised TV channel), that are available on Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels and VIZIO across Australia, New Zealand, North America, South-East Asia, LATAM and Europe.
The company has also expanded into in-flight and in-car entertainment, launching a news video app pre-installed in new Mercedes-Benz vehicles globally and securing a deal with Anuvu that provides content to airlines including Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines. Most recently, LeadStory welcomed well-known presenter Tim Gilbert to its growing on-air team.
Heidi Sayers will officially commence her role with LeadStory in November.
Source: Storydisco
