Sam McDonagh joins WeAre8 to lead global expansion.
NEW YORK: WeAre8 (“8”), the people’s platform, that enables micro-sponsorships for everyone, today announced the appointment of Sam McDonagh as Head of International, responsible for launching the “8” platform in key global markets. Currently based in Sydney, Australia, Sam has over 25 years experience in senior management roles at companies including eBay, Dollar Shave Club and most recently Airbnb, where he spent 5 years as Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand.
Among Sam’s first initiatives will be to launch and increase the awareness of 8 around the world, beginning in Australia, and to grow local in-country teams to ensure 8 provides advertising partners and the community with support, an empowered experience and cultivating brand love.
“Australia and the broader APAC region are incredibly important markets for 8 with developed advertising markets and early adopters of tech,” said Sue Fennessy, Founder and CEO of WeAre8. “Sam has a deep passion for innovation (‘finding a better way”) with a set of unique experiences in growing disruptive marketplaces and an incredible track record growing companies that are focused on strong communities. This makes him an enormous asset to 8.”
WeAre8 is mobile first and utilises a powerful data engine, enabling everyone to get sponsored. Brands can now reach, sponsor and pay people directly for watching content, being creative and sharing stuff. “People are way more powerful than they imagine, and our mission is to help them discover that. People should hold all the cards and yet brands still spend billions of dollars advertising “at” them when they could be sponsoring them in a respectful way. Our technology enables brands to use their “muscle”‘ for more. More for people, more for brands and more for the world. That is the essence of Weare8” said Sue Fennessy, Founder and CEO of WeAre8.
“WeAre8 is an incredible company that is quite simply changing the way brands connect with people, our people. Working with 8 and its stakeholders provides the unique opportunity to imagine a better way, to work with a wonderful formative team at an early stage and I couldn’t be more excited to lead the company’s efforts internationally. And we’ve only just started,” said McDonagh.
WeAre8
Weare8, headquartered in New York, is a trusted global marketplace for brands to sponsor and reward people for their time, creativity and advocacy. Each year, brands spend $500B on advertising “at” people. It’s no surprise we no longer feel liberated by technology but trapped by it. Our data gets scraped, our digital lives traded for unbelievable amounts of money that never comes to us and we get repeatedly bombarded by ads. Our platform was built to usher in a new future where brands can reward the people who love them, where every dollar spent by brands can have an impact.
