Backlight Welcomes Josh Normand as President and Chief Revenue Officer
By Kathleen Barrett
We live in a media-driven world where every team and business is under pressure to create more high-quality content than ever before. At Backlight, we provide simple yet powerful tools that empower our customers to meet that challenge head-on—whether it’s unlocking new monetization opportunities, doing more with increasing content production, or tapping into AI to extend the lifetime value of content. We not only help creators and teams keep up, but we clear their paths so they can move smarter and grow faster.
I’m thrilled to welcome a critical addition to our leadership team as we take this mission to the next level. Josh Normand joins us as President and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), where he’ll be leading the charge on our global growth strategy and scaling our go-to-market organization so we can better help teams everywhere create, manage, and deliver content with more impact and less friction.
Josh is an industry veteran who has sat at the intersection of media and tech for decades. At companies like Vimeo, Brightcove, and Adobe, he’s played a pivotal role in shaping new product offerings, helping many of the world’s largest brands and media companies launch their first streaming services, scaling businesses and building teams from the ground up, and taking multiple companies public. Now at Backlight—where the world's most notable brands and media companies rely on our suite of world-class solutions—Josh will play a critical role in expanding our global footprint and ensuring our sales strategy keeps pace with our momentum.
I sat down with Josh to get his take on leadership, team building, and what’s next for the media landscape.
Hi Josh, thanks for being here. What drew you to Backlight?
That’s simple — the people and the product. When I was looking for my next role, my top criteria were working with great people, great products, and great customers. Backlight checks all of those boxes.
When I spoke with customers, it was exciting to hear how much they truly love the products. I heard time and time again, “We’ve looked everywhere, and there’s just nothing else out there like Iconik!” Customers described how transformative Backlight’s solutions have been for their businesses — you just can’t say that about many technology products, especially in the video space. That made the decision really easy for me.
I think one of the most interesting things about sales is that you’re on the front lines of customer needs, product requests, etc. On that note, a lot has changed and continues to change with the media landscape. Where do you see all of this going? What excites you most about the future of content?
The convergence of traditional media, digital media, and technology has been a passion of mine for a long time. Video is the most powerful medium for storytelling, and the transformation we've seen — where every person and company can now create, manage, and distribute video like a major media company — is just the beginning of a much bigger trend. AI is only going to accelerate this transformation. What excites me most is how Backlight’s technology can not only streamline media workflows, but also unlock entirely new possibilities — enabling not just better business outcomes, but also higher-quality content.
You have a lot of impressive experience under your belt. What do you love most about your job? What is your approach to team building? What is your work (or leadership) philosophy?
I love helping customers succeed and solve meaningful problems, and I’m equally passionate about developing and growing Sales professionals in their careers. I believe in providing clear direction and being realistic about priorities. I also believe in leading from the front — staying close to customers and never asking someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself. If you keep customer value at the core and work backwards from there, it becomes much easier to align sales incentives with great outcomes.
What has changed most about sales, the industry, or both since the start of your career?
So much has changed, and yet some things are still surprisingly the same. I’m surprised by how separate Linear/Broadcast and Digital still feel in many media companies — that feels like a missed opportunity for the industry. At the same time, I’m encouraged by how marketing teams across industries are embracing video and starting to think more like media companies. That shift is driving demand for high-quality storytelling, and that’s exciting.
As for sales itself, there’s much more science to it now, and AI will only accelerate that trend. I started my career before LinkedIn and automated emails, which helped me develop grit. Today’s tech automates a lot of what used to be manual, so sellers now need to bring real value; information is currency. The best salespeople today are experts in both their customers’ businesses and the technology, and they live at the intersection of those two worlds. They don’t wait for demand, they provoke it with insight and perspective. That’s what the role has become, and those who master it thrive.
What’s one work lesson you would tell your younger self?
It would be to remind myself how much the “people” aspect of the job really matters. I worked in high-pressure sales cultures where psychological safety wasn’t really a thing. Now I’ve seen how much creating the right environment allows people to thrive — to focus on the customer and do their best work. That’s something I’ve brought to the teams I’ve built, and I’m looking forward to continuing that at Backlight.
Lastly, what’s one thing that we’d be surprised to learn about you?
Most people probably wouldn’t guess this, but I’m a yogi — I practice yoga a few times a week. It helps me stay grounded and focused, and it’s been great for stress, mindfulness, and my overall health. It’s made me a better father, partner, and CRO.
Thanks for sharing, and welcome aboard, Josh! We’re lucky you’re here.