Coull hires MSN UK's Bhatt as commercial director

by Darren Davidson Brand Republic 25-Jun-08, 15:35

LONDON - Coull, the interactive video platform, has appointed Hitesh Bhatt, previously head of agency sales at MSN UK, as commercial director.

In his new role, Bhatt will be responsible for expanding agency relationships, optimising business opportunities and growing revenue from the Coull Engage product.

Bhatt joined MSN UK three years ago as a sales manager. As head of agency sales, he oversaw the negotiation of annual contracts with key agency groups such as Aegis, Omnicom and Publicis.

He also led the strategic direction and running of the MSN UK sales team. Prior to MSN UK, Bhatt held roles at Emap, MTV UK and Yahoo!

Irfon Watkins, chief executive of Coull, said: "Hitesh brings invaluable experience to Coull. His appointment demonstrates Coull's commitment to building closer relationships with agencies, advertisers and publishers looking to embrace interactive video.

"With Hitesh, we will fully understand our clients' business needs and work in collaboration to develop effective video advertising products and services,"

Bhatt said: "It's an incredibly exciting time for technology providers, agencies and brands as the online video advertising market begins to demonstrate its effectiveness in an extremely competitive arena.

"Coull is delivering innovative, brand-driven, measurable campaigns that allow online video to truly engage with audiences in a non-intrusive way."

Bhatt's appointment is the latest in a series of senior hirings. Gillian Kent, a former MSN UK managing director, and Spyro Korsanos, founder of the Creative Ventures Group, both recently joined the Coull board as non-executive directors.

They come after Coull received series B financing earlier in the year from Finance South West Growth Fund, Creative Ventures Group and private investors.