Ninemsn has made two senior hires, with former head of strategy Nicholas Gray stepping into the role of national sales director and Todd Forest being appointed to head content and audience experience.
Starting on Monday, Gray will be responsible for managing all of the online portal’s Australian sales teams covering display, performance, video and mobile, and will report into Kerry McCabe, ninemsn’s commercial director. The former head of strategy, who is also on the board of two of ninemsn’s investment companies, iSelect and RateCity, was appointed following a three-month, global search.
On Gray’s appointment, McCabe said: “The digital market requires strong and experienced leaders and…I am confident we have secured the strongest person for the role. Nicholas is an exceptional strategic talent and his expert knowledge of the digital sector will ensure a smooth transition for our team and clients.”
Meanwhile Forest, the former vice president of AOL’s media networks, will head ninemsn’s content team in the role of director of content and audience experience. He brings almost two decades of experience to the role, having spent seven years working with AOL in the US and holding the positions of general manager Asia Pacific with Jobfox and strategic planner of Nike. Forest, who also joins ninemsn on Monday, will report directly to CEO, Joe Pollard.
“Todd brings with him a wealth of international experience in developing great digital content and an innovative and strategic approach for our business,” said Pollard.
“Todd’s focus will be on overseeing audience and increasing engagement across ninemsn and given the importance of his remit, we have also doubled our internal resources in research.”
