What you need to know:

• Nine’s Lizzie Young is leaving later this year to take on the role of local CEO of new social platform WeAre8, which pays users to view ads.
• She is currently managing director of local markets and group marketing at Nine, but will leave to start the role in the second half of the year.

Nine’s Lizzie Young, currently managing director of local markets and group marketing, has been appointed Australian chief executive of social app WeAre8, which is due to launch in the Australian market later this year. 

WeAre8 is a social platform founded by Australian Sue Fennessy and backed by the UK’s Channel 4, venture capital fund Centerstone Capital and ex-footballer Rio Ferdinand. It recently raised £11.4 million – A$20.2m – as part of a Series B funding round.

WeAre8 pays users every time they watch an ad, with 50 per cent of every ad dollar going to the user’s “8Wallet” account. A further five per cent goes to charity and carbon offsets, while another five per cent goes to a content creator fund. Fennessy is a co-founder of Standard Media Index, whose husband, James Fennessy, is the New York-based Global CEO. 

Interestingly, a major early investor in SMI, Bailador, an investment firm co-founded by former Fairfax Media CEO David Kirk, announced earlier this month it was seeking to sell its stake in SMI for $20m in cash. It has not disclosed who bought the stake, and the sale is subject to regulatory approval. 

Young joined Nine back in 2010, and has led commercial partnerships and been a director of Powered in that time. 

“Lizzie Young has made a significant contribution to Nine since she joined us 12 years ago and we thank her for her passion and energy which she brought every day,” Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby said. 

Young was reportedly one of several people who applied for the role as Nine CEO, after the departure of Hugh Marks. Sneesby, the former CEO of Stan, was appointed in March 2021.

A number of key figures at Nine have left since then, including Chris Janz, former chief digital and publishing officer, who moved on in July last year. Young's husband, Nick Young, recently moved from Nine to Nova Entertainment to take the role of Chief Commercial Officer. Paul Brooks, Nine's Director of Sales, has been asked by Coles to lead its new Media unit that will tap traditional media advertising and integrate grocery trade marketing budgets. And Nic Christensen, Nine's head of corporate affairs, left and will join SBS as head of corporate communications. 

Young will take on the role at WeAre8 in the second half of 2022. She is also a member of Chief Executive Women, and a non-executive director of Domain, Future Women and Two Good Co.