West Entertainment welcomes Martin Cunnison as Strategic Sales Lead
Martin (Marty) Cunnison, Strategic Sales Lead, West Entertainment
West Entertainment has announced that Martin (Marty) Cunnison has joined the company as Strategic Sales Lead. Cunnison will play a central role in driving the commercial growth of WestIQ and WeFly OTT, helping airlines use passenger intelligence, connectivity and entertainment technology to create more personalized experiences and unlock greater value from every connected journey.
Cunnison brings more than 25 years of experience helping airlines adopt innovative passenger experience, retail and digital technology solutions. Having worked across airline technology, inflight connectivity, entertainment and payments, he has built and scaled successful commercial partnerships with airlines and technology providers around the world.
Back West’s beginnings
Cunnison's relationship with West stretches back almost to the company’s earliest days. Having first worked with West Entertainment’s founders, Kate Groth and Rick Warren, more than 20 years ago, Cunnison later became West’s very first customer through his role at AirFi.
Together, AirFi and West pioneered a new go-to-market partnership model, introducing a number of West’s first airline customers and helping establish the foundations for the company’s continued growth.
“Marty has been part of West’s story almost from the beginning, so welcoming him officially to the team feels incredibly special,” said Kate Groth, President of West Entertainment. “He understands our business, our customers and the aviation technology landscape exceptionally well. His commercial experience, industry relationships and ability to bring together entertainment, connectivity and commerce make him ideally placed to lead the next phase of growth for WestIQ and WeFly OTT.”
In his new role, Cunnison will work closely with West’s commercial, product and technology teams to develop opportunities for WestIQ, the company’s passenger intelligence and personalization solution, and WeFly OTT, its cloud-based entertainment and streaming platform.
His focus will be on helping airlines make more effective use of connected passenger journeys - combining content, data, personalization, connectivity and commerce to improve the onboard experience while creating new engagement and revenue opportunities.
“Joining West feels like a natural next chapter in a relationship that has developed over many years,” said Cunnison. “I have seen firsthand the passion, agility and customer focus that Kate, Rick and the entire West team bring to the industry. WestIQ and WeFly OTT represent an exciting opportunity to help airlines move beyond simply delivering content and towards creating more intelligent, connected and commercially valuable passenger experiences. I am incredibly excited to be part of that journey.”
Rick Warren, Managing Partner and CEO of West Entertainment, added, “Marty has an outstanding ability to understand what airlines need and translate new technologies into practical, valuable solutions. He has also been a trusted partner and friend of West for many years. We could not be happier to have him join the team and help us take these products, and the wider West business, to the next level.”
