ADMA gets a new managing director

Ben Sharp

ADMA has appointed former Adroll chief, Ben Sharp, as its new managing director, replacing Jodie Sangster at the helm of the data-driven association.

Sharp joins officially from 4 April and will spend the month in a handover with Sangster for the new role. Meanwhile, a search remains underway for a permanent CEO to lead the Australian Alliance for Data Leadership (AADL), the umbrella group formed to oversee not just ADMA, but also Data Governance Australia, and the Digital + Technology Collective. Current COO, Steve Singha, remains in an acting CEO capacity across the group.

Sharp boasts of more than 20 years in the media sphere, working for the likes of Allure Media, Yahoo7! And Yahoo A/NZ. He was most recently the local managing director of Adroll, which shut down the bulk of its operations in Australia late last year as part of a global realignment of the adtech business.

AADL chairman, Steve Brennen, said Sharp’s varied experiences would help build on top of the transformative work undertaken by Sangster over the past seven years.

“Ben will bring a new perspective and drive ADMA’s next phase of growth,” he said in a statement. “As data becomes increasingly integral to business, government and consumers are faced with big opportunities as well as industry challenges that need to be tackled. Ben’s energy, expertise and direction will drive this agenda and ensure the industry has strong support and representation in a time of rapid change and evolution.”

Sharp said his emphasis will be on education and broadening the benefits ADMA provides.

“I'm hugely excited to join ADMA at a critical time where the collision of data, CX and emerging technologies is creating huge opportunities and will lead where the media and marketing industry goes over the coming year,” he commented.

“ADMA is a 50-year old organisation that has always been at the forefront of new product and technology disruption. My vision is to expand and evolve its position even deeper as the leading education provider and go-to resource for our 600-member organisations, and the industry at large. that wants to be informed, stay connected and achieve professional and commercial growth.”