PBL sales and marketing director Joe Pollard has been given the top job at Ninemsn. Pollard was seconded to the portal from PBL in April to conduct a broad review and restructure Ninemsn’s underperforming sales operations. As flagged by Digital Media in June, Pollard was the most likely successor to CEO Tony Faure, who announced his abrupt departure in June and officially left the company in August. Faure’s exit punctuated a long line of executive walk-outs include head of mobile Chris Noone, head of marketing Tony Thomas, head of content and network innovation Jane O’Connell, commercial director Jason Scott, Sydney based sales manager Esther Carlsen and head of innovation Jennifer Wilson.
Pollard is understood to have secured the role against stiff global and local competition, with sources suggesting that a senior US Microsoft executive was on the shortlist and two senior Fairfax Digital operatives were also vying for the role.
Pollard is a former media buyer and director for J. Walter Thompson and prior to joining PBL worked for Nike Inc in the US and Japan holding the positions of global director of media, digital and content establishing their branded content division.
Ninemsn chairman Ian Law, said, “Joe will focus strongly on building the creativity and leveraging the substantial assets of both PBL Media and Microsoft. This will include driving commercial opportunities across the ninemsn platform, and the related business units within PBL Media in NINE, and ACP Magazines.”
He added that her appointment was the result of a “unanimous selection” of both shareholders, PBL and Microsoft.
“We are very confident she will take the business forward. She has been part of the ninemsn business for the past five months, restructuring the commercial division and has an excellent understanding of the brand and the business.”
Law said Pollard was joining ninemsn as the company continues to post strong growth year on year in audience across its network and was achieving double digit growth in revenues.
The new look executive team at Ninemsn stands as Nicholas Gray (CFO), Nick Spooner (COO), Alex Parsons (Search), Dean Capobianco (Mobile), Carolyn Managh (Marketing), Max Uechtritz (Editor in Chief) and Josie Gosling (HR).
Pollard said “I am very excited and passionate about the future of digital media and the role ninemsn will play in shaping its direction. I am also excited at leading such a talented group of people who work at ninemsn.”
