KOMI Group, one of the UK’s fastest-growing digital media companies, has appointed Sam Lenehan, formerly group managing director, as chief executive officer as founder and outgoing CEO Andrew Trotman steps into the role of chief revenue officer.
The strategic shift follows record-breaking growth and a recent international expansion, positioning KOMI to further scale its commercial success and global footprint.
Since 2021, KOMI has increased its turnover sixfold and grown EBITDA by seven times, marking a period of exceptional financial performance. The business is on track to exceed $25m USD in revenue this year, with a healthy balance sheet. The change in structure formalises roles already evolved in practice, and comes after more than £10m in growth investment from BGF across two rounds in 2022 and 2024.
The group is on a mission to build the world’s most engaged digital audiences. Reaching 150m followers and 5bn monthly views across its 40+ social-first media brands, its proprietary tool, KOMI Insights, leverages real-time data to spot trends, optimise content and drive results for creators, clients and advertisers.
Lenehan, who joined KOMI in 2020 and has served as group managing director since 2022, brings a proven track record of operational discipline, team scaling, and strategic clarity. Moving into the CEO position, he will run KOMI’s daily operations, shape the strategy, lead the exec team, and drive international expansion.
Trotman, who founded KOMI in 2016, will lead high-margin revenue growth, develop new commercial partnerships, and collaborate across teams to accelerate strategic growth and innovation.
Trotman said: “KOMI exists because of a fundamental belief in storytelling, using data-backed creativity to build hyper-engaged digital communities. As the global spotlight on the creator economy intensifies, I’ve never been more excited about where we’re going.
“Sam has been at the heart of KOMI’s growth and success; his leadership, ambition and dedication have shaped our strategy since the very early years of the business’s inception.
“KOMI is on a mission to be in the top 5 percent of everything we do, which means always challenging ourselves to play the best people in the right positions. And that includes me. With Sam driving the business day-to-day, I’m free to focus on the highest impact growth levers: monetisation, IP, and new revenue streams.”
Lenehan, now CEO at KOMI Group, added: “I’m genuinely honoured to be recognised in this role. The trust Andrew has consistently placed in the team at KOMI has allowed us to create a really special culture that continues to deliver enviable performance. My focus as CEO is to scale our reach, deepen our audience base, and continue delivering investor-grade returns – in the UK and now the US.”
The restructure follows a slew of promotions at KOMI to build out the leadership team. This included the appointment of Sian Broderick as managing director of KOMI Publishing and Terry Pierce as group operations director, two of 30 internal promotions made in the last year. Last month, KOMI also announced its expansion into the US with the appointment of Nick Jennings as senior vice president of special projects, where he will be responsible for strategic M&A opportunities.
KOMI’s team of 120 manages a portfolio of more than 40 social media brands, generating more than 4 billion monthly views and engaging 150 million followers around the world.
