Vertali Media · People

The people behind
every screen.

A small, senior team of builders, editors, and operators keeping Vertali Media running for the people who actually use it. This is who we are, what each of us owns, and how to reach us.

Aroha Whitmore became CEO on July 1, 2026 — read the announcement

People

Leaders

Atlanta

HQ · Georgia

24/7

Operations

Est. 2021

Founded by Cody Kirtley

Leadership

Transition announcement →

Aroha Whitmore

Chief Executive Officer

Vertali Media · Platform Entertainment Group

CEO since Jul 1, 2026

Sixteen years across media and technology — senior leadership at Turner Broadcasting (Warner Bros. Discovery), Cox Media Group, and regional streaming platforms — with an MBA from Emory's Goizueta Business School. Joined Vertali in 2024 as COO, drove a 40% lift in operational efficiency, and shipped the recommendation engine and watch parties along the way. Now leading the company into its next chapter.

LeadershipStrategyOperations

16+

Years in media

+40%

Operational efficiency

Jul '26

Became CEO

Cody Kirtley

SVP, Digital Entertainment Strategy

Platform Entertainment Group · Founder of Vertali Media

Founded Vertali Media in 2021 and served as Chief Executive Officer through five years of growth — from a nascent streaming concept to a platform serving thousands of viewers nationwide. Now oversees the broader digital entertainment portfolio at PEG alongside Group Chairman Matthew Carter.

FounderStrategyPEG Leadership

Founder · led Vertali 2021–2026

Zac Blaxland

Chief Technology Officer

Platform & Infrastructure

Owns the platform, the infrastructure, and every line of code that ships. Designed the data model behind the recommendation engine, the Trakt / Emby / Sonarr integrations, and the rate-limiting systems that keep usage fair. First call when something is broken.

PlatformDataSecurity

100%

Owned stack

24/7

On-call

Integrations

Jordan Park

Chief Product Officer

Product & Experience

Owns the product roadmap, the user experience, and the design system. Translates what users, support, and editorial actually need into what gets built. Background in consumer product work before joining to lead the platform rebuild.

ProductDesignUX

Roadmap

12+

Ships / mo

NPS

Tracked

Sam Lewis

Chief Marketing Officer

Brand & Growth

Owns brand, growth, and the public-facing voice of the platform. Runs the seasonal campaign calendar with Ellie, partner co-marketing with Hayley, and the analytics that tell us whether any of it actually worked.

BrandGrowthAnalytics

Channels

Weeks / yr

∞

Ego

Riley Chen

Chief Financial Officer

Finance & Operations

Owns the books, the budgets, and the financial reporting to Platform Entertainment Group. Manages catalog acquisition spend with Hayley, infrastructure spend with Zac, and the runway that keeps the lights on.

FinanceFP&ATreasury

Capex

Forecasts

The team behind the work

Amelia Chalmers

Head of Programming

Curates the catalog and owns what gets added, scheduled, and surfaced. Runs weekly programming reviews, the show requests pipeline, and the special events calendar. Background in editorial at a regional broadcaster.

EditorialCatalogRequests

Hayley Ecuyer

Partnerships Lead

Runs relationships with publishers, networks, studios, and platforms. Owns the rights and licensing pipeline, contract renewals, and the regional rights council.

LicensingDealsRights

Caitlyn Furneaux

Head of Support

Owns the support queue, the help center, and the user experience end-to-end. Reviews every ticket escalation and is the bridge between what users need and what gets built next.

SupportQualityVoice of User

Ellie Innes-Noad

Community & Marketing Lead

Runs the announcement calendar, special events creative, and the public-facing voice. Edits the announcements you read on the platform and the seasonal campaigns tied to catalog drops.

EditorialCommsCampaigns

Ava Cabena

Trust & Safety Lead

Owns DMCA, account integrity, fraud, and the policies that keep the platform safe and compliant. Works with counsel on escalations and runs verification for sensitive actions.

PolicyComplianceAccount Safety

Morgan Reyes

Engineering Lead

Leads day-to-day engineering with Zac — sprint planning, code review, and the on-call rotation. Background in distributed systems. The second set of eyes when a deploy needs one.

BackendOn-CallReliability

Alex Tanaka

Data & Recommendations Lead

Owns the recommendation engine, the watch event pipeline, and the analytics that feed the daily limits. Turns "what should we show" into models and dashboards.

MLPipelinesAnalytics

Jamie Okonkwo

Frontend Lead

Owns the web experience and the design system. Ships user-facing changes with Jordan and keeps the platform accessible, fast, and consistent across every page.

WebDesign SystemAccessibility

How this team runs

We sign our work

Every change to the platform has a name on it. We don't hide behind "the team" — you can see who's responsible for what, above.

We ship, then we listen

We'd rather release something workable and adjust it next week than spend a year polishing. The recommendation engine, watch party, and events system all shipped that way.

We don't hide the limits

Daily caps, regional rights, missing episodes, special events — all of it is on the page, not something you find out in a support ticket.

Your ticket has a name on it

Support tickets go to Caitlyn and the team, not a black box. The same person who reads it usually writes back.

Working with us, or want to?

Partnerships and licensing go through Hayley. Press goes through Ellie. Account issues go through Caitlyn and support. Compliance goes through Ava. Not sure where to start? Write anyway — someone who can help picks it up, usually same day.

Get in touch