DRG promotes Adam Barth to commercial director

DRG has promoted Adam Barth to a newly created commercial director role, adding to his existing responsibilities.

Effective immediately, Barth’s new title will be SVP EMEA and commercial director.

The new position has been created in response to industry and market changes as well as developments within DRG as it continues to evolve from a traditional distributor to “wide-ranging content business,” according to the company.

Barth was a key driver behind the recently announced co-commissioning deal with NENT Group’s TV3 Norway, making him an ideal candidate for the new role, according to DRG.

The exec will continue to report to Elin Thomas, DRG’s EVP of sales.

Barth, who joined DRG in 2015 from New Media Vision, retains his overall responsibility for the EMEA region, with a specific focus on Germany and the Nordics.

His other territories will be divided among the team. Lucy Roberts will pick up Benelux and Italy and Amity Easter-Utley will pick up CEE.

Thomas said: “In keeping with the evolving nature of distribution the roles of our teams also need to change: multi-faceted approaches to content need flexible, multi-faceted salespeople – and individuals like Adam are leading the charge. He’s a brilliant sales executive and has an unquestionable talent for spotting, nurturing and pushing through commercial opportunities.

“With this promotion, he will be operating much more closely with both content creators, and platforms where that content finds an audience, in order to generate value for all parties. Adam will undoubtedly evolve this role as a multi-tasking, wide-ranging commissioner and I am confident that we will be announcing more of his innovative and commercially valuable initiatives as he now pulls together all the strings available to him.”

Barth added: “This is an exciting time for DRG: we work in an increasingly complex market, with traditional distribution just one of the roles we now play: this new position elevates our continued strategy for looking at new ways to create, fund and exploit content – but it’s not just about selling.