Programmatic video advertising platform TubeMogul has recruited NewsLifeMedia’s Sam Smith as managing director of its local operations as Stephen Hunt moves to New York.

Smith was most recently head of commercial integration at News Corp’s NewsLifeMedia.

He takes over the role as MD of Australia and New Zealand from Hunt who has moved to New York to fill a senior client services role for TubeMogul.

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“Sydney, Australia: June 13, 2013 – TubeMogul, an enterprise software platform for digital video branding, announced today the appointment of experienced advertising industry executive Sam Smith to the position of Australia and New Zealand Managing Director.

The appointment follows former Managing Director Stephen Hunt’s elevation to a senior client services role at the company’s New York office. Hunt has led TubeMogul Australia for two years.

“The last two years have been extremely dynamic for TubeMogul in Australia due to our focus on delivering new and innovative software tools to the programmatic market and aiding the growth of ad agency trading desks,” said Hunt, who moves to New York at the end of June.

Hunt added: “I am extremely confident that Sam Smith will bring a new level of energy and strategic focus to the TubeMogul ANZ team as he has considerable managerial and execution experience in the video, media, and advertising markets.”

Prior to leading TubeMogul, Smith worked for News Corp Australia’s NewsLifeMedia unit, where he was Head of Commercial Integration. Smith was also the Senior Vice President of Adconion Media Group Australia, and held senior sales roles at ninemsn and Yahoo!7. He has held senior roles at content solutions business TCO, and was Managing Director of RedLever, Adconion’s branded entertainment unit.

Smith was instrumental in the launch of ninemsn’s first video offering in 2004 and also in the creation of Yahoo!’s video channel launch in 2006.

“I am passionate about the power of video and its next evolution, which I believe will focus on powerful branding experiences and a closer alignment between television and digital video ad buying,” Smith said.

Smith said one of his key objectives at TubeMogul was to increase industry knowledge around issues such as consistency, transparency, and collaboration.

“Programmatic video advertising has bolted out of the gates in Australia, and in many ways we have led the world,” said Smith. “However, we need to look closely at the challenges of inventory management, clear and open practices, and communicate more actively the power of video advertising to brands.”

Smith, who is a member of the recently formed IAB Australia Video Advertising Council, said there had been a lack of discipline in the advertising industry in the area of video ad transparency. He said digital commerce now has a great opportunity to deliver accountability and openness, backed by trusted data and valuable performance metrics.