NZME announces appointment of James Butcher as Chief Commercial Officer

New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) has today announced the appointment of James Butcher to the role of Chief Commercial Officer.

Butcher has been with NZME since 2021 as Head of Digital Audio, with responsibility for the company’s content and commercialisation strategy across its digital audio portfolio, which includes iHeartRadio and NZME’s Podcast Network. Prior to that, Butcher has more than two decades of experience in senior leadership positions across media sales and agencies in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Michael Boggs, NZME CEO, says Butcher’s contribution to NZME has been immense. “James has played a pivotal role in NZME achieving ongoing growth across our digital audio platforms, despite challenging economic conditions. Just last year NZME achieved digital audio revenue growth of 23%, our podcast revenues grew by 54% over the same period, and we have retained top spot on the Podcast Ranker for 30 consecutive months.

“As well as having built exceptional relationships internally, James is well regarded by our agency partners and clients - he understands our business well and he’s a passionate, collaborative team player. We have a hugely talented Commercial leadership team, supported by a strong, committed wider team, and I am confident James will do an excellent job in his new role, carrying on the great momentum we’ve already seen in the first couple of months of the year as we continue to track ahead of 2023,” says Boggs.

Butcher says he’s thoroughly enjoyed the last three years at NZME and says the opportunity to step into the Chief Commercial Officer role is a privilege.

“I’m proud to be taking on the role of CCO, continuing to evolve the way NZME connects with our customers, offering the best solutions for them to grow their brands and their businesses. We have a multitude of recognised, much-loved brands across our Audio, Publishing and Property platforms, and combined with our world class Commercial team who strive to deliver results for our customers across the country, I’m confident we’ll continue to deliver excellent results for our valued clients and audiences,” he says.

Butcher will commence his new role from today – Monday 26 February 2024.