Foxtel Media’s Julia Edwards and Twitch’s Nick Gorshenin join Verizon Media
Verizon Media has added two new senior hires to its branded content arm Ryot Studio.
Julia Edwards joins the business as head of strategic solutions and Nick Gorshenin as lead brand strategist. The additions follow new and repeat client wins including Mad Mex, Specsavers and Endeavour College.
Edwards joins from Foxtel Media where she was head of partnerships for Foxtel and global partners. Across the UK and Australia she has worked within the commercial teams at some of the world’s leading media owners (Guardian, CNN and Seven Network), developing and commercialising premium branded content across their platforms.
In her new role, Edwards will be taking on various responsibilities while head of Ryot Studio Zoe Cocker is on maternity leave. Edwards will be in charge of delivering integrated marketing communication plans and opportunities across Verizon Media’s platforms that include HuffPost Australia, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Lifestyle, Yahoo News and Yahoo Sport.
Gorshenin who will be reporting into Edwards, and joins the Ryot Studio team from his role as commercial content director at esports platform Twitch. Prior to this he was agency business director at Fairfax Media. His 12-year career spans branded content, publishers, ad tech, influencers and full-service creative.
Rachel Page, national sales director at Verizon Media ANZ, said she was pleased to welcome both Edwards and Gorshenin to the family.
“Their wealth of experience is a timely boost to Ryot’s ability to provide the right solutions for clients in these challenging times.
“While everyone moves to adapt to the new business conditions, we are fortunate to be part of a leading technology company enabling us to continue business as usual as people turn to our platforms including Yahoo News and HuffPost as they seek trusted news sources.
“As we all adapt to the new business conditions Julia’s leadership and Nick’s insightful strategic thinking will be fundamental to driving success for Ryot Studio and its clients into the future.”
On her appointment, Edwards said: “Verizon Media has an enviable reputation in the market so from the get-go I was excited to join such a well-respected company and lead such a forward-thinking brand. I look forward to working with the team and our clients to develop meaningful branded content that not only attracts and maintains audience interest but also delivers on objectives.”
