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Movings/Shakings: 12 June

Musical chairs

MediaWorks’ commercial division has been bolstered by a flurry of new hires.

They include Aimi Cadwallader (head of sales transformation), Paul Colegate (head of commercial operations), Natasha O’Connor (general manager agency sales), James Roberts (commercial strategy advisor) Aaron Dawson (general manager of agency sales) Mark Banbrook (digital sales manager – direct) and Melanie Gielen (head of digital ad operations)

There are also two new Bravo commercial manager roles which have been filled by Caylee Geldenhuys and Amy Madden. They will be working with the MediaWorks sales teams in driving Bravo revenue and taking commercial solutions to market alongside Bravo sales manager Laurissa Hollis.

Katrina Chapman has also joined to fill the new role of commercial insights manager. She will work alongside the trade marketing team to provide commercial insights in order to deliver on trade strategy.

The commercial team is further boosted by the internal promotions of Michelle Cole (head of TV sales), Gerhard Simanke (head of radio sales), Jess Knox (head of trade marketing and customer insight), Danielle Tolich (head of radio integration), Johnathan Schaffer (head of radio pricing and planning) and Katrina Bartlett (pricing and trading manager).

MediaWorks chief commercial officer Glen Kyne said in the announcement that forming an industry leading team has been a priority for some time now, and he can confidently say he believes it has achieved this.

“It’s not only about attracting the most talented people from within the media industry but also those who are outstanding performers in other industries that offer fresh ideas and insights,” he said.

“The introduction of two Bravo commercial manager roles and a commercial insights manager is going to reinforce the strength of our team within the market and I personally look forward to delivering on our 2017 objectives.”

Sharpening up

Former Three and 60 Minutes journalist Alistair Wilkinson is joining TVNZ as the new executive producer for Seven Sharp.

Wilkinson brings with him more than 20 years’ experience in television news and current affairs, having worked as a reporter, producer, newsreader, and newsroom manager both here and in Australia. Most recently, he’s spent the last nine months as head of news at Local Focus—a video journalism project by NZME funded by New Zealand On Air.

​TVNZ head of news and current affairs John Gillespie said the new producer is a “journalist’s journalist with a sharp eye for a really good story”.

“He’s also a highly experienced and talented producer with the leadership skills and drive needed to take on one of the most challenging jobs in TV.”

Wilkinson added he’s looking forward to working with Mike, Toni and the team to develop the show. 

“It is a privilege to have been selected for the role. I believe good journalism matters now, more than ever before. I’ll be focused on leading a team which uncovers and tells more of the stories that matter to New Zealanders, in ways which inspire our audiences,” said Wilkinson.

He will take up the role in July.

A December departure

Countdown’s general manager of corporate affairs James Walker has announced he will be departing in December. He will be heading to the US after receiving a visa through the Green Card Lottery.

He assures the departure is not because the nationwide leafy green shortage has got the better of him.

In the announcement, Walker said it was a tough call to make as “the team has done some really cool stuff in the last couple of years”.

“There’s been free fruit for kids; the introduction of family violence and transgender policies for our team; a new online food bank; a Supplier Charter; the appointment of an alcohol responsibility manager; health and nutrition targets, and our mission to reduce food waste to zero and help those in need.”

Before leaving, Walker will be on leave from the end of June to mid-August, during which time Kate Porter has agreed to act as general manager corporate affairs. Kiri Hannifin will join the business on contract to cover government relations and support corporate affairs activity.

Roped into a new role

Former Tangible Media CEO John Baker has taken up the position of managing director at Lassoo Media & PR.

Baker departed Tangible Media in March after eight years with the company, believing it was time to pass the baton onto someone else.

A trio of moves

Motion Sickness has added social creatives Anna Maxwell and Christine Jensen to its team to increase the capacity of the social media strategy and management wing.

Anna Maxwell, Hilary Ngan Kee, Christine Jensen

Founder Sam Stuchbury said it’s been overrun by clients wanting ongoing social media, creative and content support and with these new team members, it has much more capacity and can select a few more making clients to add to the family.

Meanwhile, Hilary Ngan Kee has become a director of the business. She’s been with Motion Sickness Studio since 2015 and Stuchbury said her strategy-focused and creative background will continue to help Motion Sickness kill it, and deliver cutting edge work to its clients.

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