Bleav Expands Advertising Leadership with the Hiring of Maryann Alvarez and Gretchen Waller

Bleav, the fast-growing sports and lifestyle media network reaching more than 500 million annual downloads and views across audio, video, and social, today announced the hiring of Maryann Alvarez (left) and Gretchen Waller (right) as Directors of Partnerships, strengthening the company’s advertising and brand partnerships organization as it continues to scale.

The appointments come as Bleav expands its commercial operations and builds a modern go-to-market strategy for brands seeking to connect with highly engaged sports and lifestyle audiences. Alvarez and Waller will focus on developing strategic partnerships with brands and agencies while driving sponsorship, advertising, and integrated marketing opportunities across Bleav’s growing portfolio of 500+ shows distributed across podcast platforms, YouTube, and social media.

Alvarez joins Bleav with extensive experience across audio, media partnerships, and brand strategy, having previously worked across leading media organizations including The New York Times, PRX, Warner Bros. Discovery, and New York Public Radio. She brings deep experience working with agencies and brands to build high-impact audio and cross-platform campaigns.

Waller brings a proven track record of driving revenue through high-impact sponsorships and performance-driven partnerships. Prior to joining Bleav, she held roles at REALM and True Native Media, where she worked closely with brands and agencies to structure and close integrated podcast and digital campaigns, helping scale advertiser investment and deliver measurable outcomes.

Both executives will report to Jonathan Dianora, Head of Advertising & Revenue Partnerships at Bleav, who joined the company earlier this year to build and scale the network’s internal sales organization.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Maryann and Gretchen to the team as we continue building Bleav’s advertising and partnerships organization,” said Dianora. “This is a pivotal moment for Bleav as we expand our footprint in the sports and lifestyle space and deepen our relationships with brands and agencies. Maryann and Gretchen bring tremendous experience and energy, and they are incredibly well positioned to help brands connect with our passionate and highly engaged audiences across audio, YouTube, and social.”

Bleav has experienced significant growth as audiences increasingly turn to creator-driven media and team-focused content to follow their favorite leagues, athletes, and cultural conversations. The network features hundreds of shows hosted by athletes, analysts, and creators, giving brands authentic ways to reach fans through host integrations, sponsorships, and cross-platform storytelling.

Bleav provides unique turnkey scale, allowing brands to advertise across one show, hundreds of shows, or entire verticals — including sports, entertainment, business, and more — instantly across its network. This flexibility enables marketers to run highly targeted campaigns or large-scale brand initiatives across Bleav’s growing creator ecosystem.

With the addition of Alvarez and Waller, Bleav continues investing in its advertising infrastructure to support brand partnerships, host-read advertising, sponsorships, and scalable network-wide campaigns across its expanding programming slate.