The Fishbowl: Sally Keane, Spotify

The Media Leader’s interview series asks the media industry’s top salespeople 10 revealing questions, drawn from our fishbowl. The questions will be drawn at random and contain some tricky posers set by the commercial chiefs themselves.

This week is Sally Keane, Spotify’s head of enterprise sales for Northern Europe.

Sally joined Spotify in 2021 as head of sales for Northern Europe where she leads the enterprise advertising teams in the UK, Nordics and pan-EMEA, driving the sales strategy and execution for some of the region’s top brands and agencies.

Prior to Spotify, Sally has held a number of leadership roles across her career of more than 20 years in marketing and advertising at LinkedIn, Yahoo! and Viacom.

Who’s been the biggest influence in your career and why?

I’ve been very fortunate in my career to have worked with and been mentored by some amazing people. The biggest influence on my career would be Josh Graff, Managing Director of EMEA & VP of Global Enterprise at LinkedIn. I worked with Josh for over eleven years, he was always my biggest cheerleader and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. He is truly inspirational.

Name all the streaming platforms you subscribe (pay money) to.

Sky, Netflix, Disney, Spotify.

What keeps coming up in conversations with clients at the moment?

The three things that are continuously coming up with clients are the cost of living crisis, diversity and inclusion, and hybrid working. These topics are all top of mind for people right now.

If you could learn any new skill from scratch, what would it be?

I would love to learn to play piano – what’s stopping me then? Having a 10-year-old and an 18-month-old.

What’s your best advice for someone who wants a job in media sales?

Network network network: build it, water it, work at it.

**Peer question** If you could work with any other media owner on a collaborative campaign for an advertiser, who would it be and why?

Question by Emma Callaghan, Reach sales and invention director.

Clear Channel. I started my career in out-of-home advertising and am still a massive fan of the medium.

What is one of your greatest achievements?

Personally, having children. It was a journey for me to become a mum so I cherish it. Professionally, my greatest achievement was becoming the president of the professional women’s network Bloom in 2020. Despite the pandemic, I was able to double Bloom’s membership to 350 people by pivoting to an online membership experience, as well as raise £50,000 for women’s aid.

What are the three most important skills that a media salesperson needs in 2022?

The top three skills needed to be a successful media salesperson are: commercial resilience, planning and prioritization, and a growth mindset.

What do you hope to be doing 10 years from now?

Something that makes me happy and fulfilled.

When did you last change your mind about something?

Two seconds ago with the last question!