BIOGRAPHY: ROB LEACH
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & CONSUMER DIGITAL, BBC WORLDWIDE
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
Rob Leach was appointed Director of Business Development & Consumer Digital, BBC
Worldwide Australia & New Zealand, in October 2013. He is also Head of BBC World News in
the territory.
As Digital and Business Development Director he oversees all aspects of digital, investigates
new approaches for developing our legacy businesses and pursues new commercial
opportunities. Rob is also responsible for managing the teams that license BBC Worldwide’s
brands, including live events, consumer products and DVD. In addition, he oversees TV
advertising, integration and sponsorship and manages the relationship with MCN, BBC
Worldwide’s advertising sales house.
Rob has also headed up the BBC World News channel in Australia, New Zealand and the
Pacific Islands since late 2011. In his role for BBC World News, Rob oversees the territory
channel management, reporting, marketing and promotion; as well as seeking out new business
and distribution opportunities for the channel.
Prior to this role, Rob Leach was the Business Development & Strategy Director, joining BBC
Worldwide Australia & New Zealand in April 2011. Responsible for the development and
implementation of key growth strategies and the identification of new business opportunities that
fit with BBC Worldwide’s global objectives, Rob was instrumental in the launch of the global
BBC iPlayer in Australia in September 2011.
Before joining BBC Worldwide ANZ, Rob was Head of MCN Connect, which he joined in 2006.
He formed this key division of MCN, the multi-channel sales house for the Foxtel and Austar
subscription TV platforms, to drive the strategy and development of all digital media products
and commercial models on and off the STV platform.
In his native Britain, Rob joined BSkyB as Client Sales Manager in September 1997. He
became Controller of Interactive Airtime Sales in September 2000, with the responsibility for
creating and launching Sky’s ground-breaking interactive TV advertising services.
He was then promoted to Head of Interactive Services for Sky Media in August 2003, with the
additional remit of developing commercial models across all Sky’s digital media offerings.
Prior to joining Sky, Rob worked in advertising and marketing on both the client and agency side
for ten years.
Rob is a Director of AIMIA, sits on the Australian IAB Measurement Council and the Connected
TV Marketing Association board for Asia Pacific. He is a prolific speaker at digital media
conferences, for example the Connected TV Entertainment Conference, the Mobile Apps
Conference and AIMIA Digital Conference and has written a number of comment pieces on
digital media for B&T and other publications.
May 2014