Former Stuff senior leader Janine Fenwick joins Contented

Christchurch-based AI startup Contented has appointed Janine Fenwick as head of brand and content.

Fenwick joins from Stuff, where she spent over a decade in senior editorial leadership roles including deputy editor and head of growth. 

During her tenure, Stuff’s website grew to a monthly audience of more than 2.2 million.

In 2023, she was named Editorial Leader of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards. Judges described her as “quite simply one of the best in the business in Aotearoa”.

What’s needed in the AI era

While Fenwick does not come from a traditional marketing background, her career has centred on shaping voice, driving audience growth and ensuring quality at scale.

This is experience Contented sees as critical in the AI era.

“The value that Contented places on the quality of the words it creates is what drew me here,” says Fenwick.

“The future of AI is going to come down to taste rather than tech. Plenty of companies can build the technology. The ones that will win are the ones that care deeply about what comes out the other end, and Contented genuinely does.”

Reflects the company’s philosophy

Contented co-founder Lucy Pink says the appointment reflects the company’s philosophy that AI products should be measured by the quality of their output, not just their engineering.

“Janine has spent her career making words matter at the highest level,” she says. “That’s exactly the lens we want on everything Contented produces and puts into the world. 

“AI is reshaping how businesses communicate and with that, we believe the bar for quality has to rise, not fall. We wanted someone deeply committed to that standard. That’s Janine.”

Fenwick is based in Christchurch and starts her new role immediately.