Tag: Group Director

Sydney, Australia – Bastion Transform, the content strategy and digital transformation arm of Bastion, has appointed Jenni Ryall as its new group director for business development and strategy.

In her new role, Ryall’s focus will be on building out the media, tech, and content businesses for Bastion Transform, adding further breadth of expertise to the existing team’s understanding of technology, audience, and monetisation strategy.

Ryall brings with her over 15 years’ industry experience in tech, news media and content strategy, and was recently with Meta where she was responsible for strategic partnerships on news for ANZ. During said previous role, she played a key role in driving the multi-million-dollar investments into media companies across ANZ.

Prior to this, she has had an extensive career as a leader in news and digital media in Australia and the US where she has been at the centre of digital transformation, the repositioning of high-growth media brands and the push for innovation in news products.

Speaking on her new role, Ryall said, “I’m absolutely thrilled to join Gaven Morris and the brilliant team at Bastion Transform at a crucial time for businesses working at the intersection of technology, media, and content. With the explosion of AI into the mainstream, the rise of new formats for younger generations and the growth of new revenue models utilising content, it’s an important moment to extend the innovative future of content and media with Bastion Transform.”

Meanwhile, Gaven Morris, managing director at Bastion Transform, commented, “I’m excited Jenni Ryall has agreed to write the next chapter of her illustrious career with the growing Bastion Transform team. Jen’s experience and expertise with newsrooms, publishers and platforms is a breakthrough appointment.”

He added, “As another wave of major change approaches, the Asia-Pacific region needs a specialist service focused on purpose-led transformation and building successful future business. Our outstanding team is proud Jen is joining us in this new senior leadership role.”

Australia – The strategic partnership, brand, and experiential agency, Bastion Experience, has appointed James Bartold, former head of sponsorship, events, and commercial strategy at North Melbourne Football Club, to assume the newly created role of group director for brand partnerships.

Prior to his previous role at North Melbourne Football Club, Bartold has also worked as a management consultant across private and public sector clients and has held roles as a journalist at the ABC and AFL. He has been crucial in developing leading sponsorships across AFL and AFLW from ideation, leveraging strategy and execution, and leading a diverse team across sponsorship and experiential. Bartold has worked with clients including Mazda, Spirit of Tasmania, Hello Solar, and Ego Pharmaceuticals, as well as Chemist Warehouse and McDonald’s.

The appointment comes as a result of a renewed focus from Bastion’s clients on brand partnerships as part of their marketing strategy. The agency believes Bartold’s depth of experience, together with Bastion Experience’s decade-long ability to tap into real-world cultural, audience, competitor, and contextual insights will ensure that the business continually delivers best-in-class expertise to clients.

Commenting on his new role, Bartold said, “I am excited to be a part of a leader in the space that can help brands navigate the breadth of opportunities and provide solutions that build genuine partnerships that deliver for both parties.”

Meanwhile, Matt McCann, Bastion Experience’s CEO, commented that they have been heavily involved in the sponsorship industry for over 10 years and that they are encouraged by the current live conversations happening as brands look to further tap into the deep emotional connection between live events and partnerships. 

“After an in-depth search to find the right individual, we’re extremely excited about James joining the team. Five seasons leading the North Melbourne Club’s partnerships and commercial brand strategy brings a deep understanding of how to build, negotiate, deliver and measure effective sponsorship relationships. We are already seeing James’ impact on our team and our clients, which is brilliant,” said McCann.