Netflix has tapped veteran advertising exec Nicolle Pangis to lead their growing sales efforts in U.S. and Canada.
Her role at the streaming giant, VP of Advertising, had been vacant since Peter Naylor exited the company over the summer. President of Advertising Amy Reinhard, who has been in her post for the past year, has installed Pangis as her No. 2, overseeing the U.S. and Canadian markets.
After entering the ad business two years ago, Netflix shuffled its executive team leading the initiative. Strategically, ads are taking on increasing importance, with the company’s recent subscriber growth propelled by new customers on the cheaper, ad-supported Basic With Ads tier. Still, the company is early in what it has called its “crawl-walk-run” entry into advertising. The initiative is widely seen as a multi-billion-dollar opportunity, but the company faces more work ahead now that it has moved past an initial outsourcing deal with Microsoft and is building its own ad tech infrastructure. It also is looking for more live events like its Christmas Day NFL doubleheader or the multi-year WWE deal starting next January as ways to compel ad buyers.
Pangis had previously been CEO of Ampersand, which is owned by owned by a consortium of pay-TV providers like Comcast, Charter, Cox, Verizon and other MVPDs. She helped Ampersand evolve from a legacy sales outfit focused on local linear TV to an advanced advertising firm focused on addressable technology. With reach to some 65 million households, Ampersand has more than 75% of the addressable TV market.
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In a LinkedIn post, Pangis said at Netflix she would be “diving head first into a world of incredible fandom, data, creativity, and opportunity!” She added the she is “excited to partner with brands and agencies to explore how Netflix can open up new possibilities for meaningful connections and innovation.”
Prior to her time at Ampersand, Pangis held posts at Xaxis, GroupM and 24/7 Media.
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