Clear Channel Outdoor has appointed one of its longtime executives to lead its Canadian operation.
Adam Butterworth
The company announced today that its former Singapore CEO, Adam Butterworth, is taking over as Clear Channel Outdoor Canada president, effective immediately.
He succeeds John Jory, who is retiring after leading the Canadian operations for 17 years. Jory will remain with the company in an advisory role for the next three months, said David Grabert, senior vice-president of marketing and communications.
In his new role, Butterworth will oversee all aspects of Clear Channel’s Canadian operation, including finance, real estate, public affairs, marketing and sales.
The company said he will be responsible for creating an “organizational culture” to drive the transformation of out-of-home media with new digital and mobile capabilities.
Clear Channel currently has about 5,000 digital displays in 19 countries. While that is only a fraction of its more than 760,000 advertising faces worldwide, Grabert said that continued digital deployment remains a strategic focus for the company.
Butterworth has spent 24 years with Clear Channel, starting in the U.K. before moving to Australia and eventually Singapore in 2010. In Singapore, he helped launch the country’s largest street furniture program with more than 3,000 transit shelters and 5,000 advertising faces, while also overseeing the deployment of mobile technology within the program.
“It’s that kind of enthusiastic embrace of the possibilities of out-of-home that he’s shown in places like Singapore that we anticipate he will bring to Canada,” said Grabert.
Most recently, Butterworth was CEO for Clear Channel Singapore, where he oversaw the launch of the country’s largest street furniture program that includes over 3000 bus shelters and 5000 advertising faces. He also pioneered the mobile enablement of street furniture in Singapore.
“Adam has really distinguished himself as a global citizen of Clear Channel Outdoor, and has really made a name for himself in three markets – and I’m sure Canada will be the fourth,” said Grabert.
He joins the company’s North American senior management team led by president and chief operating officer Suzanne Grimes. However, Butterworth reports to Toby Sturek, executive vice-president of specialty businesses, and Vaibhav Gupta, executive vice-president of business operations for EL Media Holdings Canada, a joint venture between The Ellman Companies and Cantor Fitzgerald which operates in the U.S. under the name Branded Cities Network.
Butterworth’s appointment comes as the out-of-home advertising company prepares to embark on a new 10-year contract with Billy Bishop Toronto City Centre Airport that takes effect Sept. 1. As part of the contract, Clear Channel will install five large-format digital displays throughout the airport terminal.
The contract augments existing contracts with Toronto Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport and other regional airports that put its assets in front of approximately 70% of passengers travelling through Canadian airports. The company has advertising contracts with more than 280 airports worldwide.
Earlier this year, Clear Channel also acquired advertising rights for Toronto’s Union Station, which serves more than 65 million commuters a year.
