Pedestrian Group appoints ex-Buzzfeed talent as Vice Australia lead
Brad Esposito has been appointed to lead Vice Australia by Nine’s Pedestrian Group, effective immediately.
It was announced in March this year that Pedestrian Group would be reviving both Vice Australia and Refinery29. The Refinery29 team has already been launched, with the team announced back in June.
Brad Esposito
Esposito joins Vice Australia from Eucalyptus, where he held the role of director of content since October 2019. Previous to Eucalyptus, Esposito was involved in the launch of Buzzfeed Australia, which closed its news operations in 2020, but continues to offer client services and commercial content. Esposito left his role as a writer/reporter/social new lead in 2019.
He also previously spent time at Pedestrian Group as a senior reporter from March 2019 to October 2019.
In the new role at Vice Australia, Esposito will be responsible for the brand’s voice, mission and strategy across all platforms.
On his appointment, Esposito said: “I’m thrilled to be leading the charge at Vice Australia, especially at a time where there’s so much opportunity in Australian media. Everyone knows Vice’s roots of deep, culture reporting and its unique voice, and now it’s up to our team to innovate and experiment with what that means in 2021 and beyond. The media world has changed a lot since Vice launched, and the future is all about asking ourselves how (and where) our audience consumes content – and meeting them there. It’s a challenge all publishers are facing, but one that Vice is uniquely positioned to grab by the scruff of the neck. I can’t wait to get started.”
Pedestrian Group publisher Vanessa Lawrence commented: “Ushering in the next phase of the Vice brand in Australia and New Zealand relies on the perfect team; for us, that starts with Brad as our Head of Editorial. Few people can match his depth of knowledge about internet culture, which makes him uniquely positioned to lead the charge on telling Vice stories in new and exciting ways. We’re excited to bring both our readers and commercial clients something unique.”
Vice Digital president for Asia Pacific and the Middle East Myki Slonim added: “Australia abounds in fascinating stories, characters and talent. With the ever-accomplished Brad now on board as Head of Editorial, VICE readers can look forward to more culture-defining content and innovative storytelling across the platforms.”
Esposito is currently recruiting for a team of four that will include Gavin Butler, who is currently a senior reporter for Vice, based in Melbourne.
Vice Australia shrunk its operations back in June 2020, closing its offices and cutting back staff to one writer and editor. Virtue, its creative agency, closed its Australian outpost and since then has been run from Singapore.
