He was the founding CEO of Allure Media before joining HuffPost Australia in March 2015, where he helped establish the title in the local market. Now, HuffPost Australia CEO Chris Janz is making his next move, taking on a role with HuffPost's joint-venture partner Fairfax Media.
But Huffington Post is in good hands, with Janz replaced by programmatic marketing company Rocket Fuel's managing director JJ Eastwood. Eastwood has an extensive history in sales and advertising with previous roles at Ebay, Mi9, Fairfax Media and News Corp.
Of the appointment, Huffington Post international CEO Jared Grusd says: “JJ is an immensely talented sales leader and is perfectly suited to take HuffPost Australia to the next stage. He will use his strong commercial acumen and industry expertise to build on the terrific work done by Chris and the team since launching HuffPost Australia in August 2015. Chris was a pivotal force in establishing HuffPost Australia and we’re delighted he will stay involved as part of a newly-formed local Management Board, who together with JJ and local editor-in-chief, Tory Maguire, will guide our exciting plans for the brand’s continued growth in Australasia.”
Janz’s new role will see him take on the newly-created position of Fairfax Media director of innovation, publishing. Discussing the changes, Fairfax Media group director of digital ventures Guy Reypert reveals: “True to form, Chris has delivered in quickly establishing HuffPost Australia as a powerful digital brand underpinned by a strong bench of editorial talent. Chris will stay involved with HuffPost Australia while taking on a new challenge leading digital product development work and driving publishing innovation at Fairfax. We’re confident that JJ, with his proven track record of building high performance commercial teams, will continue the success achieved to date and take HuffPost Australia to even greater heights.”
Eastwood adds: “I have a great respect for The Huffington Post brand and admire how they’ve established themselves in Australia over the past 12 months, delivering engaging content in a way that has created authentic connections with their audiences. I’m very optimistic about the future of digital media and look forward to working with the talented team at The Huffington Post."
