From Account Executive to Sales Director: Q&A with Chase McArthur

Hey Chase! To kick things off, can you tell me about how you got started in ad tech? I find that a lot of people in our industry end up here by chance. What’s your story? 

I went to school for marketing and graduated in 2009. It was a difficult time to find a job, but I managed to get my first with an internet retail company — sort of a smaller version of Amazon. There, I was exposed to the digital retail world and adopted a marketing state of mind. 

My father was in TV ad sales for the majority of his career, so I was familiar with the advertising space. After about two years, I took an ad operations job with NBC Universal, doing entry level ad trafficking and getting familiar with the lingo. My first sales role was with CBS Local working on digital ad sales while supporting the more senior radio sales executives. At the time, they didn’t love digital. It was difficult to convince terrestrial radio people to bring digital to their campaigns. Overall, it was a great experience with amazing management that taught me a lot.

Fast forward two years and I took a role with Westwood One, which was similar to what I was doing at more of a national scale. Eventually, I wanted to work for a company where digital advertising was their primary product and found out about Jun Group through a former colleague. I loved that the company was 100% ad tech with all their products built in-house, under their roof, and they actually worked. That’s ultimately why I’m here now and have been for almost eight years.

With our new in-app audio product, I feel like it’s all coming full circle for you now…

It is, in a very cool way because it’s not an afterthought for our company. It’s a natural expansion of our product set that gives brands an exciting way to utilize the power of audio in new places, compared to the more passive listening experiences people typically encounter on radio or podcasts.

You were recently promoted to Senior Director of Sales. What are your goals with your new role?

I’ve always wanted to manage a team. I really like the coaching aspect and was ready for the next phase of my career. I’ve experienced just about every possible scenario as an individual contributor and wanted to help others understand and showcase our product. At the same time, I didn’t want to manage unless I was 100% sure I could be in a position to help others succeed, and Jun Group really gave me a lot of confidence in that area. 

How has the transition been from individual contributor to manager?

The transition was great. Before flipping the switch to manager, I had the opportunity to mentor and help with the new associate account executive program we have here. This helped me get into the manager mindset and prepare myself for the next level.

Tell me about the associate account executive program. How does it work?

At all levels, we bring on very intelligent, motivated, and hard working people that do a great job. We created the associate account executive role to give younger people more opportunities to succeed and grow by working more closely with senior sellers, so they can learn the ins and outs of selling, as well as how to be successful at Jun Group specifically. 

Over the years, we’ve brought on incredible sales talent with low turnover, who’ve built wildly successful careers from the ground up. This program was intended to formalize that process. It’s a great role for people looking to make that first jump into sales with the potential to experience vertical growth very quickly.

Today, there’s a lot of uncertainty in our industry, from cookie deprecation to macroeconomic factors. What’s your outlook on the future of ad tech? 

I think if everything were to remain constant, there’s only so much you can do to evolve. Change is necessary and creates more opportunities to advance as a company. We do a great job of embracing that here. I’m excited to see what comes of it in the future and continue to grow with the industry. At Jun Group, it really all comes down to the people, and with our team in place, there’s nothing to be afraid of.

Follow Chase McArthur, Senior Director of Sales, on LinkedIn.