The UK cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean announced today that it is strengthening the Irish arm of the business with the appointment of Damon Westbury as chief commercial officer. Pearl & Dean Ireland, which rebranded from Wide Eye Media in 2022, says it is the market leader for cinema advertising in Ireland and has a 100 percent share of the cinema advertising market.
The Irish operation is also home to Adtower, Ireland’s largest digital out of home convenience retail media network and Packed.House an experiential and digital media services production company, and publisher of much-loved online properties including entertainment.ie, Beaut.ie and FamilyFriendlyHQ.ie.
In this new role Westbury will be responsible for commercially scaling Pearl & Dean’s powerful group media assets in Ireland and new markets, building an omnichannel media offering and driving new revenue and commercial partnership opportunities under the wider Pearl & Dean media brand.
Collaborating closely with Pearl & Dean’s board of directors and senior leadership team, he will jointly report to Kathryn Jacob, CEO UK, and Eoin Wrixon, CEO Ireland.
Prior to joining Pearl & Dean, Westbury worked in numerous senior roles throughout the course of his career. This includes Microsoft Advertising, Clear Channel Global, The European Broadcaster Exchange, Zinc Media PLC and most recently with WPP’s proprietary programmatic agency Xaxis. He brings more than 20 years of experience to the business with a unique background across, traditional, digital and programmatic advertising as well as branded entertainment and publishing.
The announcement of Westbury’s role coincides with the celebration of Pearl & Dean’s 70th anniversary in UK cinema advertising this year. The company has maintained its position as the UK’s best-known cinema sales house, with its impressive roster of Pearl & Dean cinemas including new contracts with Curzon Cinema and BFI Imax won earlier this year.
Kathryn Jacob said, “We are delighted to be welcoming Damon to the Pearl & Dean team. Damon joins the business at a pivotal time, as we celebrate our 70th anniversary and focus on further growth and new opportunities. His knowledge of the industry will be paramount in driving this forward and he is going to be a huge asset to our team across Ireland as well as to the wider team in the UK.”
Wrixon added, “We are delighted to have Damon joining Pearl & Dean. His appointment is part of a significant investment as we grow our cinema advertising, out of home and digital publishing business in Ireland. Damon brings a wealth of experience and expertise and is a key addition to the Pearl & Dean team.”
Westbury said, “I am thrilled to join Pearl & Dean at such an exciting time, to spearhead our commercial expansion across existing media formats, new mediums, and markets. I look forward to architecting and building a compelling cross-media proposition, under this iconic brand, for our media agency, advertiser, retail and AdTech partners.”
Pearl & Dean www.pearlanddean.com