Audio storytelling creator and provider, Audible, has today announced its appointment of Ben Rolleston as new country manager for Australia, where he will oversee Audible’s national business and lead its brand and content marketing and customer lifecycle teams.
Rolleston (featured image) will also work closely with Audible’s content and customer acquisition leaders and teams to continue elevating Audible’s presence in Australian audio spoken-word entertainment.
For the past four years, Rolleston has been head of Alexa skills and partnerships for Australia, where he was key in helping brands, companies and content owners build a voice-first, personalised experience for Australian customers.
From Tuesday 26 April, he will report to Audible’s APAC head of operations, Leanne Cartwright-Bradford.
“Ben is a seasoned business strategist with strong understanding of content and customers in Australia,” said Cartwright-Bradford.
“His extensive background in driving business growth, while focusing on customers’ needs, complements Audible’s ongoing commitment to innovation in order to provide an amazing listening experience for our audiences.”
Rolleston commented, “As a passionate content professional, I’ve been fascinated with the evolution of how customers engage with audio storytelling and have watched over time as Audible has created a new form of entertainment media with audiobooks, podcasts, and Audible Originals.
“Having worked through enormous change in the way TV and video is commissioned and consumed, I’m excited to be a part of driving growth at Audible.”
Before joining Amazon, Rolleston served as vice president of commercial and content distribution at Viacom International Media Networks, where he oversaw all commercial, content and product revenue, as well as content distribution, for storied global brands such as MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.
Rolleston began his career as a lawyer with HT&E, before commercial leadership roles with the Rugby Union Players Association, negotiating contract and commercial terms for the Wallabies, and for Singtel Optus in their digital content team.
His appointment follows Cartwright-Bradford being promoted to APAC head of operations last year.
