Digital Advance Marches Forward With New Executive Appointments

Digital Advance has made two key leadership appointments as it seeks to capitalise on 12 months of tremendous growth.

Kirsty Harman joins the team as head of commercial and Simon Randall as head of content.

Announcing the appointments, company founder Matt Harman said: “We’ve seen the reach of the Digital Advance network of sites more than double in the last year - Simon and Kirsty will take us to the next level.”

Kirsty will be responsible for growing the monetisation of Digital Advance’s existing businesses and identifying new commercial opportunities. She comes to Digital Advance from Fairfax Digital, where she was Advertising and Marketing Manager.

“It’s very exciting to be part of a nimble organisation with a clear vision for the future of the media industry. My job is to see Digital Advance thrives by developing platforms that enable advertisers and consumers to connect with each other in new and valuable ways.” says Kirsty.

Simon will oversee development of the groups four sites. He’s spent fourteen years in media on three continents and comes to Digital Advance from the New Zealand Press Association, where he led the commercial team.

“The opportunity to be at the beginning of something new in media - a new model for our industry - was too good to miss,” says Simon.

“The speed of change with digital media is incredible. One day you’re kicking around a new idea, the next day it’s live on your site. And if your audience doesn’t like it, the feedback is instant.

“That’s another great thing about working in Online - the ability to converse with your audience. And that’s as true for advertisers as it is for journalists,” says Simon.

Simon’s first job was to refocus Guide2.co.nz into a destination for great personal finance content, hence Guide2’s new tagline - “making finance personal”. He will also introduce a broader range of bloggers from relevant professional fields.

Guide2 has recently enrolled bloggers from New Zealand and overseas and focused on delivering unique content to the site.

“The latest IAB advertising figures show that confidence has well and truly returned to the online sector. These appointments will ensure we are well equipped to capitalise on that confidence.” says Matt.

ABOUT

Digital Advance is a leading New Zealand online publisher formed in March 2008.

Digital Advance’s websites include personal finance site guide2.co.nz, news and views platform, Voxy.co.nz, competitions and giveaways database, Gimme.co.nz, consumer recommendations website, Recommended.co.nz and, in Australia, guide and ‘how to’ resources website, guide2.com.au.