Prophet makes its first Sydney hire amid rapid expansion

Decision intelligence platform Prophet has appointed media veteran James Sawyer as Vice President, Sales and Partnerships, marking the company’s first major Sydney hire as it scales across Australia.

Sawyer joins with a 25-year career spanning leadership roles at TotallyAwesome, Ikon Communications, Foxtel, Carat, and DDB, and most recently, his own consultancy advising publishers, agencies and start-ups.

Prophet CEO Jordan Taylor-Bartels said the appointment reflects growing demand for the company’s data-driven decisioning tools.

“Prophet is growing rapidly, and as our customer base continues to expand across Sydney and beyond, strengthening our presence on the ground is key to accelerating our next phase of growth,” Taylor-Bartels said.

“We’ve onboarded more than 30 enterprise customers to date, and that momentum continues as more companies recognise the power of decision intelligence.”

“Offering the clarity the industry desperately needs”

Sawyer said Prophet’s vision to simplify complexity for brands was what drew him to the role.

“The media ecosystem has never been more complex, which is exactly why I joined Prophet,” he said. “It’s offering the kind of clarity and predictive intelligence the industry desperately needs.”

Reporting to Chief Growth Officer Paul Veltman, Sawyer’s remit includes leading Prophet’s commercial operations in Sydney and Brisbane, strengthening partnerships with brands, agencies and tech partners, and positioning the company as a category leader in predictive intelligence.

Veltman said Sawyer’s broad background across agencies, clients and consultancies made him the “ideal addition for this pivotal new role.”

“Our business is expanding rapidly across the ANZ region and to meet this growing demand we’re strengthening our team with diverse, high-calibre talent,” Veltman said.

“James’s experience gives him a unique perspective on the challenges marketers face and how to drive meaningful business growth.”

Building the next generation of decision intelligence

Prophet describes itself as Australia’s most advanced decision intelligence platform, enabling businesses to test strategies before acting.

“By creating digital clones of organisations, we enable decisions to be tested before they’re made,” Taylor-Bartels explained.

“This helps businesses understand impact, explore possibilities and act with confidence. James will play a key role in expanding our reach and helping organisations cut through complexity to see what truly drives results.”

Sawyer said his focus will be on connecting brands and agencies with Prophet’s predictive capabilities.

“Having worked across agency, client, publisher and consultancy roles, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful it is when brands have a clear view of what truly drives performance - and that’s exactly what Prophet delivers,” he said.

“As VP of Sales and Partnerships, my focus is on positioning Prophet as the go-to partner for predictive intelligence, helping brands, agencies and publishers make smarter, more accountable decisions. I couldn’t be more excited to join the team.”

A fast-growing Australian tech success

Founded by Jordan Taylor-Bartels, a former Hyperloop global marketing lead, and Sean Taylor, ex-Ogilvy and VMLY&R Commerce CEO, Prophet launched in 2024 and has rapidly grown its customer base across retail, insurance, media, technology and on-demand delivery sectors.

“The brands that thrive in the next decade will be those that can test, learn and act faster than their competitors,” Taylor-Bartels said. “That’s where Prophet plays.”

Sawyer’s appointment is effective immediately.

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