Adelicious has appointed Andrew Goldsmith to the role of Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Previously serving as Managing Director since October 2021, Goldsmith’s promotion comes at a time of exceptional growth for the company, allowing them to accelerate their long-term growth plans.

By the end of 2023, Adelicious had a 314% year-on-year increase in network listens, marking a sevenfold increase over the past two years and establishing them as one of the world’s leading independent hosting and monetsation networks. This growth in listens led to their brand count more than doubling and both average campaign values and overall revenues increasing more than threefold.

Goldsmith’s tenure at Adelicious began with a mandate to expand the commercial and operations departments, alongside network growth and attracting senior talent to the business. His efforts have also been pivotal in fostering relationships with media planning and buying teams in the UK, US and globally. Goldsmith’s previous experience includes roles at Global Radio, Primesight and as Business Partner at The Guardian, where he was instrumental in returning the newspaper to profit for the first time since 1988.

The promotion of Goldsmith to CEO is part of the company’s wider growth strategy, allowing co-founders David McGuire and Pascal Hughes to move to the newly created roles of co-Chief Growth Officers, with the trio focusing on the on-going evolution and long-term vision of the business.

Andrew Goldsmith, CEO at Adelicious, said: “Stepping into the role of CEO at such a dynamic time for Ademicious is both an honor and an exciting challenge. Our impressive growth sine launch is a clear indication of our team’s hard work and the innovative strategies we’ve implemented. As CEO, I am committed to working with David, Pascal, and the team to bring our exciting plans to fruition and further reinforcing our position as a leader in the global podcasting market.”

In a joint statement, David McGuire and Pascal Hughes, co-Chief Growth Officers at Adelicious, added: “Our revenue and network growth has far exceeded our forecasts, made possible by Andy and his team and our fantastic partners whose amazing content they trusted us to look after. As a result, we’re able to accelerate our plans for growth and are delighted that Andy has accepted the position of CEO. Andy has already driven exceptional growth and opened up the door to some of the world’s biggest brands and we look forward to seeing our growth and our new projects come to fruition.”

Adelicious, founded in 2020, is home to a suite of popular commercial podcasts including Apple’s most popular podcast of 2023, The Diary of a CEO and the 2023 I’m a Celebrity ‘King of the Jungle’ Sam Thompson’s show Staying Relevant, alongside co-host Pete Wicks. The platform also features other notable shows such as Wellness Unpacked with Ella (Deliciously Ella), Short History Of, Socially Distant Sports Bar and The Motherkind Podcast.

Nicole Gardner has joined Adelicious as Agency Director, as the podcast ad platform grows to meet rising demand. Challenger ad platform Adelicious has been able to capitalize on the current boom in podcast ad spending. With more brands turning their attention to podcasts and more podcasters seeking to make authentic connections with brands, Adelicious’ bespoke approach is exactly what many in the industry have been looking for. With demand for its services expanding fast, Adelicious continues to build a team in support of rapid growth.

Nicole Gardner joins as Agency Director, looking to develop a commercial agency sales team and pursue new opportunities in podcasting, particularly around demand for host-read ads. She brings ten years of experience at Global Radio, and an extensive network of business contacts.

“I had heard about what Adelicious were doing, and it was something I wanted to be a part of,” says Gardner. “In moving from a large media organization to a start-up, I’m excited about the opportunity to make a difference, to build something from the ground up. And my clients are excited about it too. There is a real appetite for alternatives, for innovation, and for competition in podcast advertising.”

This demand for alternatives is the driver of Adelicious’ success. The platform was launched in the summer of 2020 by two podcast producers who wanted more flexibility in how they monetized their podcasts. Their ‘by podcasters, for podcasters’ philosophy has resonated with the industry, offering higher revenues, greater transparency and more options. The network already serves millions of listens every week, and continues to add high quality podcasts to its portfolio.

“We’re growing so quickly” says MD Andrew Goldsmith. “We need talented people with experience and who can hit the ground running, and that’s what we have with Nicole. I can’t wait to work with Nicole to deliver great campaigns for our clients and help us to continue to expand.”

Podcast ad platform Adelicious has appointed Andrew Goldsmith as Managing Director, as the business expands rapidly.

Adelicious is a premium podcast ad platform that connects brands to high quality podcasts and their audiences. The business was formed by two podcast producers who were frustrated by the lack of flexibility in podcast monetization. Confident that their frustrations would be shared by many other premium podcasters, they launched a more bespoke service that would offer higher revenues and a greater range of options than existing podcast ad providers.

Eighteen months later, their ‘by podcasters, for podcasters’ approach has led to a growing network of high-end podcasts, including the recently added portfolio of podcasts produced by Intelligence Squared. The appointment of Andrew Goldsmith as MD will capitalize on the demand and lead Adelicious into the next phase of growth.

Andrew Goldsmith joins with extensive experience in media sales, including as Agency Director at Global Radio and Sales Director at Primesight. As Business Partner at The Guardian, Goldsmith was part of the team that saw the newspaper return to profit for the first time since 1998. Commercialising and monetising audio content was a big part of that project, with Goldsmith delivering a successful commercial audio strategy and playing a key role in launching The Guardian’s flagship podcast Today in Focus.

“I can’t wait to get started with Adelicious” says Goldsmith. “This is a team with big and bold plans, and that have the talent and the structure to deliver on those ambitions. I’m also looking forward to working with podcasters. Podcasts are such a unique and specific sector of the media, managing to be highly personal while still reaching audiences of millions. They really capture people’s attention and imagination, and that gives them real power. Adelicious is the ad platform that podcasting deserves, and we want to drive ad spend levels to match the growing audiences that podcasts are delivering.”

Already serving millions of listens every week, Adelicious continues to add podcasts to its network. Among recently added clients are Intelligence Squared. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Adelicious as our podcast platform, says Commercial Director Chris Chapman. “The core team and the company’s relationship with Spotify make us confident that our growth as a podcast company producing premium shows will continue.”