Blue Ant Int’l taps Vice Media Group alum Sarah Hussain for sales and acquisitions

Blue Ant International has appointed Sarah Hussain as director of sales and acquisitions with a focus on the Middle East, Africa and Benelux including ancillary sales.

Sarah Hussain

Based in London, Hussain reports into Gerbrig Blanksma, senior VP of international sales and partnerships, for sales and Lilla Hurst, global head of acquisitions and partnerships, for acquisitions.

She will be tasked with all sales activity in the Middle East, Africa and Benelux including pre-sales, content licensing and partnerships while also supporting acquisitions.

Hussain has over 10 years of sales experience and most recently worked as senior sales manager for Vice Media Group in EMEA and Canada, planning and executing brand partnerships, pre-sales deals and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Vice in 2021, Hussain negotiated and executed linear and digital sales for Benelux, the Middle East, Africa and Israel as a sales manager at A+E Networks. In this role, Hussain also negotiated format options and agreements and sourced a network of new coproduction relationships from developing markets. She joined A+E Networks from ITV Studios in 2017.

Blue Ant International, part of Canada’s Blue Ant Media, has sales operations in the US, the UK and Canada.

It shops a growing slate of over 5,000 hours of content, including series and formats in factual entertainment, specialist factual, high-impact documentaries, kids and family, and scripted. It also has one of the world’s largest offerings of 4K natural history content.

“Sarah specialises in growing reach for producers in developing markets and has a deep connection to the Middle East, Africa and Benelux, which our clients can now tap into,” said Blanksma.

“Her proven track record maximising market opportunities and nurturing long-term relationships with platform partners is pivotal to expand our advantage in those regions.”