Regional Managing Director, Acast UK & Ireland named as Josh Woodhouse

Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, today announces Josh Woodhouse’s appointment as Regional Managing Director of Acast UK & Ireland.

Having been Acting Regional MD since Georgie Holt moved across the business earlier this year to become Regional Managing Director of Acast Americas, Woodhouse — previously the UK Director of Sales — now assumes the role full time. Leo Goldingham, previously a UK-based Group Business Director, will now step up to Director of Sales for the UK.

Woodhouse, who has been with Acast for five years, started his career at Bauer Media Group and has also previously worked at Pearl & Dean. Goldingham, who has been with Acast for the same length of time, was previously at Global and Wireless Group and will now lead Acast’s sales team for the UK.

Oskar Serrander, Acast’s Chief Operations Officer, said: “The UK is home to some of our biggest podcasters and is one of our best-performing marketplaces globally. Josh has been key to our growth over the past five years, and — after an extensive search for Georgie’s replacement — it became clear to us that the best person to lead Acast forward in the UK was already here.

“Promoting from within is something we strongly believe in, and that’s also why promoting Leo to a leadership role in this priority market also made a lot of sense. Both are well-respected, much-loved members of the UK team — and pillars of the creative, high-achieving and fun culture we’ve worked hard to build.”

Woodhouse said: “It’s safe to say that Acast has been a hugely important part of my life for the past five years, and to formally step into the Managing Director role for the UK and Ireland is a dream come true. It’s a really special place to work, not just for the incredible work we do with our podcasters and advertisers but for the culture we’ve built and sustained, despite our unprecedented growth and the pressures and challenges that can bring to a business.

“I’ve spent the past five years driving Acast’s commercial team in the UK and I can safely say that Leo is the right person to take over in this role as Director of Sales. I can’t wait to see how Leo can take the UK sales team to new heights, delivering market-leading campaigns for our advertisers and helping our creators to make a living from their hard work.”

Goldingham added: “Acast’s mission is to help podcasters make more money — and, as Director of Sales, my priority will be to improve revenue performance so our podcasters can continue to make the great content their listeners love. The UK sales team is exceptional and it’s a great honour to lead them in delivering excellence to advertisers, facilitating a healthy podcast ecosystem that allows our creators to thrive.”

Acast is home to some of the biggest and most iconic podcasts in the UK, including Shagged. Married. Annoyed., The Rest is Politics, My Dad Wrote a Porno and That Peter Crouch Podcast. Acast also works with publishers such as the Financial Times, the Guardian, The New York Times and The Economist to host and monetize their podcasts in the UK and further afield.

Elsewhere in the UK business, Lorna Byrne and Emma Morrisroe have been promoted to Group Business Directors, after consistent exceptional performance, with team leadership responsibilities overseeing sales with both media agencies and direct-to-brand clients.