ViacomCBS Appoints Co-Lead for Australia & NZ

Jarrod Villani is to join Beverley McGarvey, chief content officer and executive VP, as co-lead of ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand.

As chief operating and commercial officer and co-lead with McGarvey, Villani will be responsible for all the combined company’s commercial activities and operations in both markets. Villani was most recently Queensland’s head of restructuring and Brisbane’s head of office at advisory and investment firm KordaMentha. He will take on his new post in early 2021.

McGarvey, who was promoted to her new role in March this year, led the integration and transformation of ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand. She is responsible for all content and creative activities related to the company’s networks and digital properties in Australia and New Zealand.

McGarvey and Villani report to Maria Kyriacou, president of ViacomCBS Networks International’s operations in Australia, Israel and the U.K.

Kyriacou commented: “Network 10 has performed very well this year. It is the only commercial network growing its audience and it has also recorded its highest commercial shares in key demographics since 2011. The integration and transformation of Network 10 and ViacomCBS under the leadership of Beverley has been successfully completed. We have launched a new channel, 10 Shake, 10 Play is experiencing its biggest ever digital audience and the MTV and Nickelodeon channels have also grown their share.

“We will continue to build on that momentum, while at the same time leveraging the powerful ViacomCBS brands and assets from both a content and revenue perspective.

“Jarrod is a highly qualified commercial leader with extensive experience in organizational transformation and stakeholder management. Jarrod’s broad commercial knowledge coupled with Beverley’s experience as an Australian media and creative leader ensures the business remains a unique and powerful media group. It is in great hands.

“I would like to congratulate Beverley for her leadership of ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand since March this year. It is a credit to Beverley and her team that the business has continued to compete and evolve.”

Kyriacou added: “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the KordaMentha team, led by Henriette Rothschild who has been interim chief transformation officer. Henriette has been instrumental in ensuring the merged Network 10 and ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand businesses are well-positioned for the future.”

McGarvey said: “I am thrilled Jarrod is joining our team and I look forward to working closely with him alongside the existing executive leadership team and the international leadership team as we take ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand into 2021.

“Next year we will launch premium SVOD service Paramount+ whilst growing our existing linear and subscription broadcast and digital assets. Jarrod has worked closely with the team throughout this year and on a project basis in the past and we are thrilled to have him join us on a permanent basis.”

Villani said: “I am delighted to be joining Beverley, Rod and the team at ViacomCBS and continuing the development of the business. The combination of ViacomCBS’ global content portfolio and Network 10’s broad reach and key demographic prominence provides a unique opportunity in our markets for our viewers and partners across multiple platforms.

“It’s a very exciting time for the network and the broader ViacomCBS business and I look forward to joining them in the new year.”