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News Corp’s Nicholas Gray replaces Chris Janz as ThinkNewsBrands chair

ThinkNewsBrands has appointed board member Nicholas Gray as its new chair, as inaugural chair Chris Janz steps down, following his departure from Nine last month.

Gray is the managing director of The Australian, NSW and prestige titles for News Corp Australia, and was formerly CEO of The Australian.

He has also worked at Nine and Lion Co, and served in non-executive director positions at iSelect, IAB Australia, Community News, Medium Rare Content Agency, SocietyOne and UNSW.

Gray has served on the board since ThinkNewsBrands was formed

Upon his appointment, Gray emphasised the importance of ThinkNewsBrands and thanked Janz for his service. “ThinkNewsBrands serves an important role resetting perceptions about news and highlighting the effectiveness of Total News.

“With more than 19 million people engaging with news every week, and audiences continuing to increase as Australians seek critical news and information, news, in print and digital, is a standalone media channel with reach leading the way.

“I’d like to thank Chris for his contribution as inaugural chair. During his tenure, we appointed General Manager Vanessa Lyons, migrated measurement of news readership to Roy Morgan and delivered important research.

“I’m looking forward to working with my fellow board members and the ThinkNewsBrands team to continue this great work.”

Nine’s Chessell joins the board

Nine’s James Chessell, who recently stepped into the role of managing director – publishing following Janz’s departure, is also joining the board of ThinkNewsBrands.

“I’m thrilled to bring my editorial experience to the ThinkNewsBrands board as we continue to future-proof quality journalism through advertising support. To me, this role signifies a commitment to advocating on behalf of news and the people who produce it,” he said.

ThinkNewsBrands general manager, Vanessa Lyons, said: “These appointments solidify the balance of expertise across the board and the wider ThinkNewsBrands organisation.

“Between us we have marketing, sales and editorial experience which will continue to help with our vital work supporting Australian journalists and ensuring marketers understand the power of news. I’m excited to work with Nicholas, James and Nathan moving forward.”

ThinkNewsBrands was formed in 2020 and is funded by News Corp Australian, Nine and Seven West Media.

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