Advisory Partners

Barry Adams is one of the most trusted voices in SEO for publishers, with over two decades of hands-on experience helping global news organisations grow their visibility in search. As the founder of Polemic Digital, Barry specialises in all aspects of SEO for news publishers, focusing on Google News, Discover, and Top Stories optimisation. He’s worked with major brands like The Guardian, The Sun, and The New York Times, and is known for cutting through SEO myths with sharp technical insights, practical editorial strategies, and a passion for making news content more accessible and visible across platforms. With Google constantly shifting how it treats news results, Barry remains at the forefront of helping publishers adapt, survive, and win.

• Areas of expertise: SEO, Google News, Google Discover, GEO/AEO/AIO/AI Search
• Location: United Kingdom
• Languages: Dutch, English and German

Ariane Bernard is a product leader and entrepreneur with a speciality in content management and data products - CMS, subscription & eCommerce, data and AI. She’s worked across all sizes of companies: as the founder and CEO of a venture-backed startup (now defunct), internationally as the chief digital officer at Le Parisien (LVMH), in scale-ups as the first product lead for editorial products at Taboola; and in large, mature corporate environment in her 14 years at The New York Times including working on the CMS team.

Ariane is the founder of Upsides Labs, a strategy advisory and dev studio oriented at publishers and e-commerce companies in New York City. She works with clients all over the world on key projects involving large-scale publishing and AI capital investment projects, and organisational transformation.

• Areas of expertise
  • Product, in particular publishing tech (cms-es, data and analytics, paywalls, machine-learned technologies and content creation utilities)
  • Business (P&L owner in various roles; I’m an Excel fiend and a friend of CFOs)
  • 0 to 1... but also, complex rehaul of intractable legacy tech
  • Deep technical knowledge (as CTO, as CPO)
  • Complex procurement for capital projects
• Location: United States
• Languages: English and French

Dieter Haerens is a seasoned C-level leader with extensive expertise at the intersection of financial services, media, and digital transformation. His career is defined by high-impact executive roles, a.o. as CEO of Saxo Bank Belgium, where he successfully co-led the complex post-acquisition integration of BinckBank, with a major rebranding and the migration of over 400.000 clients. He has served on the executive committee at Mediafin as director of business development and previously as COO, where he co-directed corporate strategy for brands such as De Tijd and L’Echo and built new revenue streams and digital transformation.

As a business builder, Dieter combines his corporate experience with entrepreneurial ventures, acting as a wingmate for a fintech company and designing growth strategies for clients through his own consultancy firm. He has a strong background in wealth tech, having co-founded the SaaS-fintech Harmoney, and possesses deep roots in financial content creation as a former editorial director for Roularta Media Group and as a Visiting Lecturer at the EHSAL Management School. His professional portfolio embodies a consistent focus on driving value, innovation, and customer centricity within competitive and also regulated environments.

• Areas of expertise: media, communication, (branded) content strategy, wealth services
• Location: Belgium
• Languages: Dutch, English and French
  

Karen Nahum is a General Manager, Senior Advisor, and Independent Board Member at Anima Holding and Fondazione Mondo Digitale. She has a strong background in publishing, digital media, and education, with extensive experience leading digital transformation, coordinating cross-functional teams, and developing new revenue streams through innovation and platform-based content design. Previously, she held senior leadership roles at Il Sole 24 Ore, De Agostini Publishing, Humanitas, Disney Channel Italy, and Hasbro. She has been recognised among the "Inspiring Fifty – Tech & Innovation in Italy" and awarded the Merito e Talento Prize for Innovation.

• Areas of Expertise: Corporate and business strategy; Transformation and operating model design; Digital strategy, innovation, and growth; Cross-media content organisation; Board-level advisory and governance.
• Location: Italy
• Languages: Italian and English

Jonathan Paterson is an editorial consultant and board-level advisor who works with journalists and publishers to help them meet audiences where they are. A former BBC editor, he spent more than two decades in senior roles at BBC News before joining the launch team of social-first start-up The News Movement in 2021. He is passionate about helping individuals and organisations bring high-quality journalism to new audiences, and lectures in digital storytelling at City, University of London (City St George’s).

• Areas of expertise: Audience Growth Strategy (including youth audiences), Content Strategy (including Social Media, Video), Digital Transformation
• Location: United Kingdom

Karine Serfaty is a strategic advisor and former Chief Data Officer specialising in AI, data and digital transformation. She has led large-scale transformation programmes in global media organisations, including The New York Times, ITV and The Economist Group, driving significant step-changes in digital maturity, revenue growth and customer value.

At The New York Times, she co-developed the digital subscription strategy that contributed to a tripling of digital subscribers and doubling of revenues within three years. She later became ITV’s first Chief Data Officer and rebuilt the Data, Research & Insights division at The Economist Group, doubling customer lifetime value and tripling marketing ROI.
Today, Karine advises senior leaders on embedding AI and data into corporate strategy and operating models, helping organisations navigate disruption with clarity and execution discipline. She serves on the board of the Institut de l’École Normale Supérieure and teaches at ENS in Paris. She holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

• Areas of expertise: 
  • Data, AI and analytics strategy (including GenAI / agentic)
  • Digital and subscription -led business models
  • Transformation leadership in complex, content-driven organisations
  • Strong experience across media, publishing and adjacent B2C / services sectors
  • Board- and C-suite-level advisory, bridging strategy and execution
    
• Location: France
• Languages: French and English