Opia, the international risk-managed sales promotions consultancy, has appointed Darryl Postelnick, former Microsoft Vice President of US Retail Sales as Sales Director for the North American market.
Postelnick has been recruited by Opia after a 15-year career at Microsoft, which he joined after eight years as Director of Sales at Disney’s Buena Vista Home Entertainment division.
At Microsoft, Postelnick was given the brief to assemble the team that would successfully launch the Xbox console, functioning as Director of Sales within the Xbox division for two years before moving into general management of all Microsoft consumer goods over a 10-year period. Most recently, Postelnick functioned as Vice President of US Retail Sales, managing a team of 80 employees and a $6 billion budget.
As Opia’s Sales Director, North America, Postelnick will bolster the fixed fee and risk management expert’s position in the US markets, leading sales efforts and scaling business through partner relationships, as well as identifying and developing key verticals to aid Opia’s growth in the US.
“Retailers are so used to running the same promotions all the time. Opia’s promotions are creative and accomplish the priorities of their partners,” Postelnick said. “Opia has the unique ability to address each client’s priorities in a way that is exciting and from outside the box.”
He added: “I think that Opia will become a turnkey solution in the electronic retailers’ toolkit. Opia provides solutions that solve the problems for a lot reputable global electronics brands, especially when it comes to addressing the refresh cycle. Being able to provide great sales promotions to give people the incentives to upgrade earlier is what attracted me to the company.”
Opia Managing Director Andrew Marwick observed: “Darryl is a proven industry leader who brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise that will prove instrumental in expanding our operations in the US. We’ve already collaborated with Darryl on a consultancy level and now we’re delighted to welcome him on board to head up our sales strategy in this incredible market. This is another great milestone for Opia.”
Opia is an industry expert in risk managed sales promotions, with a proven track record in results-driven business and consumer campaigns for brand owners in the hi-tech, telecoms, FMCG, retail and automotive sectors.
Supported by a 24/7 customer service team fluent in 18 languages, Opia’s global reach enables it to offer multilingual redemption campaigns in over 60 countries, including EMEA, North and South America and Asia-Pacific.
Opia was acquired by Australian media and entertainment company Village Roadshow Ltd (VRL) in December 2015. VRL bought 80% of the business for approximately £24 million. Opia Managing Director Andrew Marwick and Sales Director Steve Gales retained a 20% holding in the company and continue to run the business on a day-to-day basis. Opia became part of Village Roadshow’s Digital Division, together with Edge Loyalty Systems Pty Ltd, which VRL acquired in 2012.
