After 12 years with the company, Peter Shea has stepped down from his position as sales director and has been replaced by his deputy, Mark Chippendale.
According to a spokesman Shea is taking on a new role within the company as a consultant representing Sky within industry bodies such as Barb.
It is not clear, however, if this will be a full-time role.
Chippendale, who will report directly to Airey, takes over responsibility for managing a department selling on behalf of 32 channel brands.
He is a well-known figure in the media industry having previously worked at Granada, Thames TV and on the agency side at Geers Gross.
Chippendale is also a pioneer and champion of interactive advertising, and Sky Media has recently celebrated the milestone of its 100th client to use the format.
The move comes during a time of intense speculation as to what will happen to the various TV companies' sales departments once, as is expected, ITV is finally given the green light to merge.
Various permutations of sales groups have been mooted, including the prospect that Sky sales could join forces with Five, given Airey's previous job as the chief executive of Five.
Sky Media's sales team has had a more successful time than some of its competitors, reflecting the growth of multi-channel viewing and the increase in third-party contracts; as well as its own portfolio of channels it sells airtime on behalf of Emap and Discovery Networks.
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