Youri Hazanov, Former YouTube Exec, Joins Jellysmack as Head of International

Jellysmack has been tapping industry trailblazers to execute on its international vision, and it’s doing it at record speed in order to solidify its global foothold and expansion ambitions.

We’ve been onboarding top executives from several industries who are passionate about the growing creator economy and keen on building the infrastructure required to support the company’s ongoing scaling. 

One of those recently onboarded top executives is already getting to work on that mission. Youri Hazanov joins Jellysmack’s stacked leadership team as Head of International. 

Hazanov brings over a decade of experience developing the global presence of YouTube as Managing Director of Google in over 20 countries, where he oversaw operational expansions into central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Israel, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. There, he established and developed strategic relationships while also managing a large team of country leads.

In his new role with Jellysmack, Hazanov will direct Jellysmack operations in key markets across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. He is also tasked with establishing and building new key relationships in the regions.

This hire reinforces Jellysmack’s commitment to an international expansion strategy announced shortly after Jellysmack closed its Series C investment from SoftBank Vision Fund II in 2021. 

International growth is a key part of Jellysmack’s 2022 roadmap, an objective the company has already taken meaningful steps towards. That includes establishing teams in dozens of countries like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, India, and Brazil. The company has historically focused its efforts in the United States. 

“It seems like every week, the company is signing a new international creator,“ Hazanov says.

“Jellysmack has a proven, replicable approach––and a ton of momentum behind it. I’m thrilled to join at a critical time, where I can help expand our global presence in key markets.”

Youri Hazanov, Head of International

Part of Hazanov’s focus will be signing new international creators to the Jellysmack Creator Program, an offering that leverages the company’s proprietary AI technology and first-party data to help individual video creators grow their audiences across multiple social platforms. 

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of the creator economy for quite some time,” says Hazanov. “​​When I started at YouTube in 2010, most creators were U.S. based, but that’s no longer the case. Jellysmack is well positioned to reach international creators, and I’m thrilled to lead this effort.”

The Creator Program currently boasts over 500 of the world’s most influential creators as partners. Today, it includes megastars PewDiePie, MrBeast, and Like Nastya, plus other fan favorites like Patrick Starrr, Bailey Sarian, Nas Daily, Rezendeevil, and Karina Garcia. It has helped these creators grow and amplify their audiences across multiple social platforms at record speed. 

In addition to digital superstars, the company also partners with smaller-scale creators based on insights generated by the company’s proprietary creator detection tool, which identifies creators with high potential for significant growth across social and content platforms.

Creators from every platform look to Jellysmack’s Creator Program as a turn-key solution to develop their audience base and grow their revenue, all without requiring any extra effort or assuming any additional financial risk.

Once a creator joins the Creator Program, Jellysmack enrolls its suite of proprietary technology products and a global team of experts to edit, optimize, and distribute their videos onto Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

Furthermore, Hazanov is in charge of international expansion of the company’s Media Partner Program, which commenced with the signing of leading Parisian rap and R&B radio station, Skyrock. With the Media Partner Program, Jellysmack optimizes and operates social content for media brand partners and IP owners. 

To assist him in building out the international team, Hazanov has brought three experienced, senior leaders. Harry Levy, formerly of Taboola and Google, will focus on EMEA as Head of Sales and Partnerships. Former Universal Music and Expedia executive Laurent Hulin will lead growth initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. Coming from NBC Universal, Allan Navarrete joins as Jellysmack’s Head of Latin American operations.

“Harry Levy, Allan Navarrete, and Laurent Hulin are tried-and-true thinkers,” says Hazanov. “They have decades of experience scaling digital businesses between them. We’re fortunate to have them building partnerships with the most talented video creators and media companies all over the world.”

This team of industry vanguards are vital to the company’s 2022 roadmap objectives. Together, they will bring Jellysmack’s global vision to life. 

Youri Hazanov is an alumni from the University of Geneva, where he earned both his masters in information and communication systems as well as his MBA. His extensive credentials also include an executive certificate from Harvard Business School in the Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports (BEMS).

In total, Jellysmack-managed content boasts a cross-platform reach of 125 million unique U.S. users every month, making it the largest digital-first company in monthly social media viewers in the United States.