Communicator Spotlight: Jessica Casano-Antonellis, SiriusXM head of communications
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Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Maro Hagopian
Jessica Casano-Antonellis has a long history of shepherding legacy media companies into the digital age.
Why it matters: She helped launch The Walt Disney Company's streaming services ESPN+ and Disney+ and now she's helping to bring SiriusXM into the digital world.
📍How she got here: Casano-Antonellis got her start at an agency managing tech and media clients like IBM, MTV and Bravo, followed by in-house jobs at Vimeo and Disney.
- At SiriusXM, she's crafting the narrative while overseeing publicity and corporate communications.
📻 Is there a future for radio? "SiriusXM is a legacy satellite radio company and before I joined here, when I thought of SiriusXM, I thought of rental cars or the fact that my dad was a subscriber," Casano-Antonellis tells Axios.
- "SiriusXM has low [membership] churn because it's a really sticky product ... but we're on this journey right now to launch the next generation of SiriusXM by going after a younger, more diverse audience, upgrading our technology infrastructure and meeting the expectations of consumers today."
- "We're going to launch this new experience that will manifest itself as an updated app, but transformations don't happen overnight. We're on that journey now building up the narrative, and it will really come to market in Q4."
🏆 Gold standard communicator: "Launching Disney+ under the guidance of Zenia Mucha gave me so many learnings that I've been able to take throughout my career. ... I remember seeing how much Bob [Iger] respected her. The command that she garnered from everyone — that is the gold standard."
🍽 Content plate: She's listening to LL Cool J's Rock the Bells radio or Conan O'Brien's Team Coco radio on SiriusXM.
👏🏻 On the weekends, Casano-Antonellis will be found on the soccer field sidelines cheering on her two sons or in the crowd, cheering on her wife, who is the lead singer of a local band.
🥅 Goal setting: She's a big believer in setting life goals; hers include owning a home in Italy by age 50, sitting on a public board by 55 and having a full sleeve of tattoos on one arm.
🧠 Best piece of advice: Take a beat before responding.
- "Not everything warrants a reaction. Communicators must know when it's worth engaging and when to just ride it out ... and 90% of the time it's best to do the latter."
