Hi Impact Studio has appointed Simon Shelley, former global VP of BBC Studios, as chief commercial officer.
In this newly created position, Shelley will drive the global growth of Hi Impact, creating and curating stories that matter for audiences across the world to elevate major events and organizations. He will work closely with founders Andrew Cryan and Max McGill.
Founded in 2021, Hi Impact, a premium supplier of live-streaming at events, has offices in London and Dubai; it recently completed the production of 75 simultaneous live broadcast locations at COP28, bringing the solutions to the climate crisis to millions of viewers.
With traditional news media viewing figures and revenues falling, there is an ever-increasing role for events to fill the gap online, helping to explain the complex issues in society and find solutions to them. At COP28, Hi Impact’s partners saw their online audiences on average being over 50x larger than those watching in person.
At BBC Studios, Shelley formed the multi-award-winning program partnerships division, evolving the way brands tell stories. During his five-and-a-half years at the BBC, he oversaw the rapid growth of BBC.com series, focusing on issues that are shaping society, partnering with the likes of WWF, WHO, UN, CES, Google, L’Oreal, Airbnb, Cisco, Mastercard, eBay, Nintendo and more, to develop content strategies that put viewers’ first.
Shelley has brought depth to themes across climate, health, fashion, sport, music and technology to viewers in over 150 countries, but also charted the effect that powerful storytelling can have on us with a study of over 500 films on social media, correlating the traits of the best performing pieces in terms of viewing rates, comments, and shares. This experience will combine with the television backgrounds of Cryan and creative director Max McGill who have collectively produced flagship BBC programs such as Sunday Politics, Daily Politics, BBC London News and BBC Breakfast.
Shelley said, “Inspiring stories and indispensable content can make audiences think, feel, or do something, but the way in which these stories are captured and curated must be taken to a new level to meet viewers’ ever-changing expectations. I’m thrilled to be joining the immensely talented team at Hi Impact as they innovate major event coverage and create TV formats that connect deeply with audiences. My time at BBC Studios was very special, it’s a place brimming with creativity and ambition. I’m incredibly grateful for the firm friends made and immensely proud of the stories told.”
