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Movings/Shakings: 31 August

Taking the lead

Yahoo Finance has appointed Sarah O’Carroll in the newly created role of editor-in-chief for Australia and New Zealand.

The appointment is part of a relaunch of the finance destination and follows extensive user testing, editorial focus groups and learnings from its sister editions in the US and UK.

O’Carroll will be responsible for driving a range of new editorial initiatives to expand the site’s content offering, targeting today’s finance consumer at key life stages.

O’Carroll is the former business editor of news.com.au and was head of content partnerships for publisher Private Media. She joins Yahoo Finance from Power Ink Media, the content strategy consultancy she founded, having worked with clients including Accenture, Deloitte, Virgin Money, The NSW Department of Education and RAMS.

Reporting directly to Simon Wheeler, director of content for Yahoo7, O’Carroll will lead the drive to establish Yahoo Finance as a leading finance destination.  

Wheeler, director of content at Yahoo7, says O’Carroll is a respected business journalist in Australia and will bring creativity, enthusiasm and personality to the role.

“Her experience across commercial content shows she really understands audiences, but with the integrity and knowledge that defines Yahoo Finance as a brand, and we are committed to making this a leading finance destination across the region.”

A fresh start

Spencer Willis has announced on Twitter he has moved on from his role as a creative technologist at Z Energy. As of this month, he’s taken on the role of head of customer experience at Callaghan Innovation.

Previous roles include CEO of BC. and national qualitative director of Colmar Brunton.

A pair of appointments

TRA has announced Carl Sarney will be joining as head of strategy, taking over from Colleen Ryan.


L-R: Terri Hall and Carl Sarney

Sarney joins TRA from FCB where he spent over six years as a planner and senior strategist. His prior experience is in qualitative research.

Sarney’s depth of experience across a broad range of industry sectors, in particular, his work with government will be valuable as TRA with recent insights work with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), Inland Revenue and NZTA.

Colleen Ryan will remain within TRA, shifting to a broader role focused on innovation and training within the business.

TRA has also recently welcomed Terri Hall as business director. Hall joins from Kantar TNS Sydney where she led key accounts including Diageo, Campbell Arnott’s and Coca-Cola as client service director.

With a strong commercial focus, Hall brings to TRA a wealth of experience in integrating brand, communications, and innovation insights into client strategy and execution.

Changes

Laura Maxwell has announced she is stepping down as chair of the IABNZ Board effective from 1 September, but will remain as a board member.  Rhys Heron, who is currently a board member will replace her as chair. Heron is currently the managing director of mi9.

Maxwell says she would like to thank Adrian Pickstock for his tenure as chief executive of IABNZ, as he has decided to focus fully on his own business. 

“Adrian has raised the profile of the interactive advertising ecosystem in New Zealand and facilitated the development of the new revenue reporting that more accurately reflects apportionment of revenue.  I’d like to extend a warm welcome to incoming chief executive Gill Stewart, starting on 3 September.”

Maxwell says Stewart brings with her a wealth of experience in senior roles, including chief executive of The New Zealand Marketing Association and general manager of The Radio Bureau. 

“We are excited about this next phase of the IAB and can’t wait for Gill to get her feet under the desk ad for Rhys to lead the board.”

Moving on

Colenso BBDO’s head of activation and PR, Paul Gunn, has left the agency after five years.

Colenso confirmed his departure but there is no word on his next move.

His previous roles include a communications consultant at Gunn Communications, a group account director at TBWAWhybin and an account director at Spark PR.

Mountain high

WeAreTenzing has announced that Dean Taylor has joined its team.

Taylor joins from Mango Communications where he was head of digital PR for the last four years. Prior to his role at Mango, Taylor held senior digital marketing roles across Australasia at Skinny Mobile, Virgin Australia, and Warner Music.

In his new role, Taylor will be helping the roster of content creators to connect with agencies and brands, as well as helping them grow their audiences, improve their content and their results.

CEO and founder Brooke Howard-Smith describes Taylor’s appointment as an important step forward for the fast-growing holistic management company.

“Dean’s exceptional understanding of the influencer and independent content creation landscape is unparalleled and his knowledge and enthusiasm provides immense value for our clients.”

Creative and curious

Curious has signed director Lucy Knox. She will be working independently, as well as part of the directing duo with W.A.M. Bleakley.

Knox has worked in both documentary and narrative forms; lending a unique quality to her narrative work, focusing on authentic performances in visually striking worlds. She says she is thrilled to have the opportunity to work on projects with the support of such a stable as lit as Curious. 

Kate Roydhouse, managing director and executive producer of Curious Film says: “It’s shaping up to be a busy year for Lucy, with some really cool projects already underway. It’s exciting to bring yet another super talented director into the fold.”

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