eMedia Monitor names Maya Koleva as head of product

eMedia Monitor has appointed Maya Koleva, PhD as Head of Product as the broadcast intelligence company pushes deeper into AI-powered insights and narrative intelligence. The move follows another senior hire and signals a broader effort to turn its real-time media data into products for customers across PR, government and enterprise.

Why it matters: - eMedia Monitor is shifting from monitoring media to packaging that data into AI-driven insight products. - The appointment adds product leadership at a time when customers are demanding faster, more trusted analysis of broadcast and digital audio-visual content. - The hire also supports eMedia Monitor’s expansion in the US and its push toward more advanced AI use across the business.

What happened: - eMedia Monitor appointed Maya Koleva, PhD as Head of Product. - Koleva starts immediately and will be based between eMedia Monitor’s Vienna headquarters and Sofia, Bulgaria. - The appointment follows the hiring of Larry Thomas as VP, Americas. - Thomas Netousek, PhD, founder and CEO of eMedia Monitor, said Koleva is the right person to shape the next generation of the company’s insight products.

The details: - Koleva brings nearly two decades of experience in media intelligence across the private sector and academia. - She previously served as Research and Insights Director at Commetric, where her work covered client consulting, communications measurement, research, analytics and product development. - Koleva’s recent focus has been applying AI to research and communications measurement. - Her work has emphasized data quality, methodological rigour, validation and human judgment in AI-generated analysis. - From 2019 to 2026, Koleva served on the global board of AMEC, the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication. - At eMedia Monitor, Koleva will lead product development across the company’s media intelligence offering. - eMedia Monitor says that work will connect its proprietary technology, global media data and AI capabilities to changing customer needs. - The company’s monitoring infrastructure covers more than 4,500 broadcast channels in 94 countries and 42 languages. - eMedia Monitor also tracks more than 130,000 podcasts, YouTube, TikTok, web-TV and digital news sources. - Its technology includes speaker recognition, semantic and sentiment analysis, and AI-assisted topic and narrative classification. - eMedia Monitor serves PR consultancies, media intelligence companies, enterprises, government departments and international NGOs. - The company is increasingly focused on generative, analytical and ultimately agentic AI. - Koleva said the next generation of media intelligence will be defined by how effectively organizations can turn information into trusted, explainable and actionable insight.

Between the lines: - The hire suggests eMedia Monitor wants closer alignment between its data engine and the products customers buy. - Koleva’s background in measurement, research and standards work points to a focus on AI systems that are useful and defensible, not just automated. - The company is trying to differentiate on narrative intelligence as media monitoring becomes more software-driven and AI-enabled.

What’s next: - Koleva will help shape new product development across eMedia Monitor’s media intelligence platform. - eMedia Monitor is likely to keep pushing deeper into AI-powered analytics as it expands its customer base and US presence. - The company continues to build on recent recognition, including Gold at the DataComms Awards 2026 and Gold at the AMEC Awards 2025.

The bottom line: - eMedia Monitor is betting that stronger product leadership and deeper AI integration will help convert its monitoring scale into higher-value insight products.