Damon Lafford joins C4 as Head of Agency Sales

10 January 2012

Channel 4 today announces the appointment of Damon Lafford as the first of two Heads of Agency Sales, following a rigorous search and selection process.

Damon Lafford will report directly to Jonathan Allan and will be responsible for the relationships, output and revenue for half of Channel 4's agencies and clients.  He will lead a multi-disciplined, integrated team of 50 across three agency teams, and will play a key role in the strategic development of C4's market offering.

Lafford joins Channel 4 from Sky Media, where his most recent role was as Head of Trading, responsible for negotiating airtime deals and promoting all of Sky's non-spot output, including a number of new initiatives such as Sky 3D, and Sky IQ. Prior to this, Lafford spent over 10 years at Viacom Brand Solutions, rising from Account Director, to Vice President, Director of Investment, during his time with the Sales House.

Jonathan Allan said of the appointment:

"Having scoured the market in the past couple of months, Damon shone in terms of his diverse experience within TV sales from ITV, Viacom and Sky, his style, ambition and attitude, and also his potential for further progression. I am looking forward to working with him and C4 are very privileged to have him join us."

Damon Lafford added:

"After a fantastic period at Sky, I am delighted to have the opportunity to join C4 and work with Jonathan on building our reputation for partnership and innovation. C4 Sales has a portfolio of first class channel brands who attract the best audiences, so I look forward to using my Viacom and Sky experience to provide real  progression and value to agencies and clients."

The appointment is the first in what will be a series of senior appointments to lead new divisions in Allan's restructured Sales Team.

Allan announced plans to restructure Channel 4 Sales in October, creating six agency teams, which will include specialists in trading, sponsorship, AFP, product placement, creative solutions and digital.

Allan is in the process of recruiting for another Head of Agency Sales, to lead a further three agency teams; a Head of Trading, and a Head of Digital and Partnership Innovation, who will be responsible for driving industry-leading sales innovation across disciplines.

These three forthcoming senior appointments will join Damon Lafford, and Merlin Inkley, Channel 4's Head of Airtime and Portfolio Management, to form Allan's leadership team.