Sam Hicks
Managing Director, UK
Whalar
Sam Hicks is the Managing Director, UK for global creator commerce company, Whalar.
She is responsible for spearheading the company's strategic initiatives, driving innovation, fostering collaboration, and unlocking opportunities for creators and brands in the UK market.
Sam brings an extensive background in driving business growth for the Creator Economy, supporting operational leadership and building company culture. With over 20 years' experience in media, technology, content, sales and marketing, Samantha has been at the forefront of developing commercial and business strategies, and innovation pilot programmes for global leading brands spanning CPG to Telco, Apparel to Finance, including 02, P&G, Nike, and Diesel.
Sam’s previous roles at Whalar included Commercial Director, UK, and more recently, SVP Account Management, EMEA, where she was responsible for developing and driving the commercial sales strategy in EMEA to unlock growth opportunities for clients. She led a team focused on building long-term, profitable, and trusted relationships with clients, and worked closely with cross functional peers to deliver best-in-class experiences for those clients.
Passionate about people, culture, and technology, before joining Whalar, Samantha led Spotify Advertising’s EMEA and APAC Account Management teams, where she, along with her team, was awarded ‘2020 UK Sales Team of the Year’ by MediaWeek. She was also the founding member and co-chair of Spotify’s Global DIB committee and is a member of ActionAid UK’s Arise Fund Leadership Circle – a fund that supports and trains women-led emergency response and preparedness.
Samantha lives in the UK with her family and 2-year-old black Labrador, Hugo. She is also an avid runner and enjoys the occasional half-marathon when she is not keeping up with Hugo.
She is responsible for spearheading the company's strategic initiatives, driving innovation, fostering collaboration, and unlocking opportunities for creators and brands in the UK market.
Sam brings an extensive background in driving business growth for the Creator Economy, supporting operational leadership and building company culture. With over 20 years' experience in media, technology, content, sales and marketing, Samantha has been at the forefront of developing commercial and business strategies, and innovation pilot programmes for global leading brands spanning CPG to Telco, Apparel to Finance, including 02, P&G, Nike, and Diesel.
Sam’s previous roles at Whalar included Commercial Director, UK, and more recently, SVP Account Management, EMEA, where she was responsible for developing and driving the commercial sales strategy in EMEA to unlock growth opportunities for clients. She led a team focused on building long-term, profitable, and trusted relationships with clients, and worked closely with cross functional peers to deliver best-in-class experiences for those clients.
Passionate about people, culture, and technology, before joining Whalar, Samantha led Spotify Advertising’s EMEA and APAC Account Management teams, where she, along with her team, was awarded ‘2020 UK Sales Team of the Year’ by MediaWeek. She was also the founding member and co-chair of Spotify’s Global DIB committee and is a member of ActionAid UK’s Arise Fund Leadership Circle – a fund that supports and trains women-led emergency response and preparedness.
Samantha lives in the UK with her family and 2-year-old black Labrador, Hugo. She is also an avid runner and enjoys the occasional half-marathon when she is not keeping up with Hugo.