IAB appoints News Digital Networks MD as chair

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia has brought on News Digital Networks Australia’s MD as its new chair.

Nicole Sheffield was unanimously voted in as chair of the association’s board and begins her tenure immediately. She takes over from Yahoo7 CEO, Ed Harrison, who has just completed his two-year term. The role of IAB chair is rotated through the board and is in place for no more than two years.

Sheffield boasts of commercial and digital acumen and is tasked with working closely with the board and newly appointed CEO, Vijay Solanki, to help define the future of the digital industry in Australia.

“I am delighted to take over as chair following Ed’s fabulous work and look forward to working closely with the highly engaged and professional IAB board,” she said. “Vijay has already made his mark with the introduction of new Council Chairs and you can expect to hear more from us on future strategy as the IAB continues to evolve.”

Sheffield has been with News for nearly five years, and also sits on the board of Chief Executive Woman, where she is chair of marketing and communications. Prior to News, she worked as general manager of lifestyle channels at Foxtel, and she was previously a publisher at lifestyle and youth titles at Seven after it purchased Pacific Magazines.

“The next two years will be significant for the fast growing and dynamic digital industry,” Sheffield continued. “The importance of digital daily ratings and evolution of measurement will be key to success, solidifying the opportunities that digital offers marketers and becoming essential in their daily lives and campaigns.”

For this part, Harrison pointed to the development of the IAB’s online audience measurement framework as a key achievement over the last two years.

“Now that Vijay is up and running, it’s a great time to pass on the baton,” he said. “The IAB board is strong and Nicole will do a fantastic job.”

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