MCN chief sales officer Nick Young has been appointed director of sales - digital for Nine, exiting the Foxtel sales house.
Current digital sales director Pippa Leary will exit the business as a result, transitioning out of Nine later this year. Leary has revealed she intends to return to professional board roles.
Young will be responsible for the sales strategy and revenue growth for 9Now and nine.com.au, leading the sales teams in Nine's key markets, including its programmatic sales team, as well as Nine’s advertising product and data teams.
Young stepped into his current roles as chief sales officer late last year, as part of a wider restructure to the MCN business following the end of the sales representation deal with Ten.
“Nick Young is one of Australia’s most experienced digital sales leaders and I’m rapt that he is now a part of the Nine team,” Nine chief sales officer Michael Stephenson said.
“He is incredibly well respected, has experience in both digital and television, and alongside Richard Hunwick will be able to work with marketers to unlock the power that comes through using television and BVOD together.”
Young will start at Nine in the coming months and Leary will remain with the business until she completes the work required to combine the group’s unique digital data assets.
Leary took on the larger executive role within the business after the consolidation of Nine and Fairfax last year. She has been the driving force behind the acceleration for 9Now, which most recently launched the use of dynamic ad insertion.
"Over the past two years she has achieved more than we could have asked for, making 9Now the clear commercial leader in Australia with a product grounded in the strength of its data proposition and more than seven million sign-ups," Stephenson said.
“She has ensured we have led the way on helping to drive marketing awareness of the opportunities available through addressability.”
MCN CEO Mark Frain thanked Young for his service, adding that he would personally "lean back" into the company's sales function.
“During his eight years at MCN, Nick has shown tremendous commitment to the business, having at first led our digital business, and then our whole suite of Television and Digital assets as MCN’s Chief Sales Officer," Frain said.
"Nick came to us from Nine ready to take on opportunity, and he now leaves as a solid executive who has achieved great successes, which have been celebrated and recognised by our industry."
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