Executive Team - Isentia Vietnam

Ed Harrison

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

Ed Harrison has over 25 years experience across many types of media including print, outdoor and digital in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Ed came to Australia in 2001 to set up JC Decaux’s business in Victoria and South Australia. From 2003 to 2008, he was General Manager (Australia) of JC Decaux, the world’s largest out-of-home advertising company, as it established a dominant position in Australian street furniture.

Ed then joined Fairfax Digital, a leading provider of online news, information and classified websites. As Group Sales Director at Fairfax Media, Ed was responsible for sales operations across 300 newspaper, magazine and digital brands with a diverse customer base and combined revenue of $500m.

From 2014 to June 2018, Ed was the CEO of Yahoo7, a joint venture between Seven West Media and Verizon, which delivered digital media products and original content to over nine million monthly users. Ed joined Isentia as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director on 6 August 2018.

Peter McClelland

Chief Financial Officer

Peter McClelland is an experienced CFO and COO with a strong track record in leading strategy and change in Australia, Asia and South Africa. He has expertise in business development, M&A, company performance and leadership from a range of industry sectors, including leading media and retail companies. He was previously CFO and COO at leading out-of-home advertising company, oOh! Media, where he was instrumental in building the scale and diversity of the business, ahead of its ASX listing process.

Prior to this role, Mr McClelland was Chief Financial and Administration Officer for Asia Pacific and South Africa at Luxottica, the world’s largest manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of optical and sunglass products. Most recently, he was CFO at Velocity Frequent Flyer.

Jen Marshall

Chief Product Officer

Jen Marshall brings strong leadership and extensive experience from across digital, product and media segments . Jen joins Isentia as Chief Product Officer departing from her position as CEO of Brainmates, a consulting, training and event business focusing solely on the practice of Product Management. During three years at the helm, she helped build the Brainmates business and worked with clients across diverse industries, spanning digital, physical and service products.

Prior to Brainmates, Jen was a Product Director at Fairfax for four years and was also a Category Manager at Optus Digital Media. Jen's early career was spent leading teams and producing 24/7 news at Sky News in Australia and the United Kingdom. Jen is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors course, she has an Executive MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in Broadcast Journalism from Charles Sturt University.

Paul Russell

Chief Technology Officer

Paul Russell has spent the last 15 years leading technology teams and building consumer and business-facing digital products. His experience spans small start-ups, scale ups, and larger enterprises in fast-moving, high-change businesses; encompassing marketplaces, software as a service, and media.

Most recently he was the CTO of Yahoo7, a joint venture between Yahoo Inc and Seven West Media. Here, he led a technology transformation that delivered a highly productive web delivery platform, while reducing costs and delivering market-leading products. Prior to Yahoo7, he was the Managing Director of SoftwareSeni, a blended onshore/offshore software development business, Executive GM of Technology and Delivery at Salmat Marketing Services, and CIO at Fairfax Digital.

Sean Smith

Chief Commercial Officer

As Chief Commercial Officer, Sean Smith is responsible for the commercial performance and long-term health of Isentia, including overseeing the delivery of services and growth across client and market portfolios.

With over fifteen years’ experience in the media intelligence industry, Sean is a well-respected leader in the industry and has extensive client knowledge across corporate, government and public relations sectors. Having previously held roles as Chief Executive for ANZ and Chief Executive for Media Intelligence at a global level, Sean brings a wealth of experience to further drive sales excellence and share best practices across all markets as CCO.

Prior to working in the media intelligence industry Sean worked for the Australian Sports Commission and Sydney Olympic Games Organising Committee (SOCOG). Sean is the current Vice President and Board Member for FIBEP (global association for media intelligence) and has completed Executive Education in International Business Management with Stanford University.

Khali Sakkas

Chief Insights Officer

Khali Sakkas directs our Insights service across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. With over 12 years’ experience in communications research, Khali has a deep understanding of our clients and the media intelligence industry. She is passionate about Insights, and has presented at a range of conferences, providing strategic advice on demonstrating success, reputation management and the impact of integration.

Khali holds a Bachelor of Communications from Charles Sturt University, has previously worked as an academic researcher for Monash University and also as a researcher for Indonesia’s national newspaper, Kompas. She is a member of the AMEC Asia Pacific Chapter Leadership team.

Tom Gerstmyer

Chief Operations Officer

Tom Gerstmyer is an Operations Leader with over 18 years of experience in the media industry and a diverse background with roles across sales, business development, supply chain, IT and program management in the US and Australia.

Before joining Isentia he held a number of senior operations roles at Fairfax Media leading large-scale transformation across technology, people, culture, sales, distribution and logistics to deliver multi-million dollar improvements in margins and cost bases. Tom is a former Non-Executive Director of the Audited Media Association of Australia and holds a Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration (Marketing) from Towson University.

Kelly Young

Chief Human Resources Officer

Kelly Young is a senior HR professional with deep experience on the frontline of business transformation and a focus on building performance cultures within companies.

She was most recently People and Culture Director at Bauer Media, where she overhauled employee experience by building leadership and change programs. She was able to create a culture of collaboration through mentoring and people initiatives, while supporting the widespread transformation of the business. Ms Young also held numerous HR roles at Fairfax Media across key brands including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review and digital brand teams. Following the 2013 formation of the Australian Publishing Media – grouping the leading metropolitan and regional products nationally – Ms Young continued to build culture and talent to meet the needs of an ever-changing media business.

Jacquie Shanahan

General Counsel and Company Secretary

Jacquie Shanahan joined the group in August 2015 and brings many years of company secretarial, corporate governance and commercial law experience to the group. She has had company secretarial and legal roles with subsidiaries of United Parcel Service of America, ASX listed Roc Oil Company Limited and RGA Reinsurance Company of Australia Limited (continuing). In addition to these roles,

Jacquie has been involved in the regulation of corporate governance reporting at the ASX and was a senior associate in corporate commercial practice at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Jacquie holds Bachelor of Arts and Laws for the University of Queensland and is a member of the Law Society of New South Wales and the Association of Corporate Counsel Australia.