1. Can you tell us a little about your background and what led you to a career in sales within the racing, data, and media industry?

I’ve been working within the media for the last 15 years in various sales roles, and whilst I enjoy the fast paced nature of media, my true passion is racing & sports and when News Corp Australia purchased punters.com.au and later Racenet, I lobbied hard to start working within that team that combines my experience and passion into one role.

2. What makes selling in the thoroughbred racing & wagering space different from other industries?

It’s a very niche market and one that employs passionate and very sharp minds with differing opinions on how we can improve both the racing and wagering side of things. In no other role have I enjoyed robust conversations about the state of our industry and finding that on most occasions, we all have the same goal in mind

3. How do you see the role of data and media evolving in shaping the future of racing?

It’s an exciting and also daunting thought. 

Exciting as I think we are only starting to see the true amalgamation of the two, which can only benefit players/punters and something that we at InForm are constantly trying to stay ahead of the curve of.
Daunting in the fact that I honestly believe we don’t know what we don’t know yet and something might be just around the corner which could change the way we work in the industry

4. What are the biggest opportunities you see for brands and partners when working with our company?

The opportunity to acquire, grow & manage customers all through one single provider. For the most part, there are different ways in which you can procure some of our services, but none of those are coupled with a media element utilising News Corp’s global reach to drive acquisition and retention of customers under the one product.

5. How do you and your team tailor solutions for clients across such a diverse range of stakeholders—punters, owners, breeders, and advertisers?

Every week we work and deliver campaigns for the entire spectrum of the industry.
A lot of our work centers around sportsbooks and helping them grow, however we also work directly with PRA’s such as Racing Queensland, The Hong Kong Jockey Club and Racing Victoria, helping them promote their meetings and events.
On the participant side, we recently partnered with a thoroughbred online sales company, integrating them onto our platform with an aim of connecting buyers to vendors through our highly qualified audience.

6. Can you share a recent campaign or partnership that you’re particularly proud of, and why?

We work closely with one of the PRA’s locally here in Australia. That partnership has been developing steadily over 6 years. What started out as helping them provide editorial content only, has now expanded into a full scope of our services, from media, content, data and video and after their recent major carnival, truly believe we are assisting in helping them deliver improving year on year results

7. What excites you most about the upcoming racing season?

Here in Australia, Spring is upon us, which means the best horses are back in work. All the big races are just around the corner and I am excited to see everything from our 3 year old crop through to our weight for age stars.
Internationally we still have the Arc and the Breeders Cup to run and I enjoy keeping an eye on those races along with watching new progeny from first & second year sires starting to race (and win!)

8. From a sales leadership perspective, how do you balance building strong client relationships with driving commercial outcomes?

As mentioned in an earlier question, the majority of people I deal with are passionate about racing and wagering, so I find it easy to build rapport around our industry and how we can achieve success usually comes off the back of that

9. What trends do you think will have the greatest impact on racing media and data over the next few years?

The introduction of video and bespoke content in the media designed to reach new customers.
With the introduction of new customers will come different ways they engage with our sport and the wagerers, so I also think they way we understand content and data will evolve to accommodate that

10. Finally, outside of work, do you have a favourite race, horse, or personal racing memory that inspires your passion for the industry?

Domestically here in Australia, I love the Golden Slipper. And whilst 2 year old (juvenile) racing doesn’t lend itself to international competition, it definitely shapes our breeding industry and also provides participants that optimism of a faster ROI.
In terms of a favourite racehorse, I am and have been a part owner of many racehorses in my time, and I can tell you  there is nothing better than the thrill of your horse winning, no matter what benchmark or track…so any horse that has won a race that I am a part owner of, is my favorite!