NBCUniversal hires BBC’s Maggy Chan to lead global advertising

NBCUniversal has appointed Maggy Chan as managing director and executive vice-president of NBCUniversal global advertising and partnerships.

She joins from the BBC, where she is the chief operating officer of global distribution and responsible for advertising sales and the monetisation of BBC World News.

Chan will work with NBCUniversal’s international advertising and partnerships team across EMEA, Asia Pacific, and US. Her role involves expanding NBCUniversal’s advertising partnerships, growing the company’s global reach and helping advertisers connect with the broadcaster’s one billion viewers in 150 countries.

Chan succeeds KC Sullivan, who had taken the role in 2020 to lead NBCUniversal’s One Platform Global Advertising & Partnerships offering. Sullivan left in August to rejoin CNBC as president – he previously served as president and managing director of CNBC International.

Based in London, Chan will report to Linda Yaccarino, the chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal.

“Partnerships power this business, period. A decade ago, we set out to become the leading partnership platform in advertising. Now, that ambition has become a reality. Our partnership commitment has made NBCU a partnership company but we’re just getting started,” Yaccarino said. 

“That’s why I’m so excited for Maggy to leverage her global perspective to help us continue creating a platform, network, and ecosystem that’s fueling growth for every business. I can't wait for her to become the BBC's best gift to NBCU since The Office." 

Chan spent nearly 15 years at the BBC, rising from finance roles into leadership roles in global distribution and international ad sales. She has previously worked as an auditor at PwC.

“I’ve long been passionate about bringing audiences around the world the content they love. And with NBCUniversal’s incredible network of partnerships and cutting-edge technologies, there’s no limit to how far and wide we can extend our reach,” she said.

NBCUniversal has formed several ad sales partnerships with media companies, including Comcast stablemates Sky Media in the UK and RTL AdConnect in Europe. It has also become the exclusive reseller of Apple News inventory in the UK.

In July, Sullivan told Campaign that NBCUniversal had a strategy to expand its reach and cross-media offering through these strategic partnerships and by adding verticals, such as gaming publisher Anzu.