Digital advertising veteran Hisham Ghostine is the new head of media innovation and performance at Torstar.
Ad industry veteran to develop new media solutions for advertisers
Torstar, the company that owns the Toronto Star, has announced the addition of a digital advertising veteran “to lead initiatives focused on media innovation and performance” at the company.
Torstar’s new head of media innovation and performance, Hisham Ghostine, has more than two decades of experience in advertising and technology, most recently as CEO of media and chief commercial officer at advertising giant Dentsu Canada.
Ghostine will primarily focus on digital advertising for Torstar, chair Paul Rivett said.
“What we’re trying to do is just continue to escalate getting us front of mind with respect to digital advertisers,” Rivett said. “We have the data, and we have the ability to be very relevant for advertisers.”
Ghostine said data is key to digital advertising and his role will be to leverage the data Torstar has and help advertisers reach their audiences, including future audiences such as the younger generation of
potential readers.
Ghostine holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising and marketing and an executive MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and is “one of the key thought leaders in the digital space,” Rivett said.
“We need to have somebody of his stature and credibility in the marketplace to deliver the message.”
Rivett noted that Torstar’s new chief client officer, Michael Beckerman, had previously worked with Ghostine and that Beckerman “couldn’t say enough great things about him.”
Ghostine said the pandemic has shown the weak points in the Canadian news industry, but it has also helped show the way forward.
“I think we didn’t do well as (the) Toronto Star to sell ourselves,” he said. “We are reflecting on the fact that we have to, and this is the way forward.”
“I think we’re on the right path to achieve something.”