SAN JOSE — Roku, Inc. announced that Sarah Harms (pictured) and Sal Candela will join the company as Vice President of Advertising Marketing and Vice President, Global Agency Partnerships, respectively. Harms will report to Jay Askinasi, SVP, Head of Global Media Revenue & Growth, and Candela will report to Kristina Shepard, VP, Global Advertising Sales and Partnerships. Both will be based in New York.
Harms will be responsible for the overall strategy and execution of marketing and measurement efforts across Roku’s advertising business. Previously, Harms spent five years at Microsoft, where she oversaw national sales and account management for the buy-side ad technology business, formerly Xandr. Harms started her career at WPP, working in business development, partnerships, investment, and strategy in digital, video, and programmatic channels.
In his new role, Candela will elevate partnerships with Roku’s largest advertising clients across all markets with a focus on fostering deep collaboration with agencies. Candela was formerly the Head of Agency Development at Spotify and prior to that the President of Enterprise Partnerships & US Investment at Omnicom Media Group. Candela’s strong experience from both the buy-side and sell-side make him instrumental in supporting the strategic direction and growth of Roku’s overall media and agency business.
“Expanding the Roku Media team marks a pivotal time for the company, as Roku continues to grow its market-leading scale,” said Jay Askinasi, SVP, Head of Global Media Revenue & Growth, Roku. “I have no doubt that Sarah will help take our business to new heights with her proven ability to deliver scalable, valuable solutions to advertisers. Sal’s deep industry knowledge and agency relationships will be advantageous to our business as media investments continue to shift towards TV streaming this Upfront season.”
