Pedestrian Group, the Australian youth-focused publisher, has announced the promotion of James McManus to executive creative director.
Matt Rowley, CEO of Pedestrian Group said of McManus’ appointment: “James has been a foundational member of Pedestrian Group leadership and spearheaded the growth of our creative capability, which has included bringing the VICE, Refinery29 and Openair Cinemas brands into our creative arsenal, as well as preparing for the launch of our latest publication, The Chainsaw.
“He has a unique set of talents across all forms of media and activation, and this role will enable him to share even more of his expertise with our clients and partners,” Rowley added.
In addition to continuing to build the company’s creative capabilities, McManus will now be responsible for managing the group’s creative representation with clients and agency partners, overseeing the continued promotion and growth of the Australian VICE and Refinery29 brands within their global networks, and identifying opportunities for further creative integration with Nine.
Under McManus’ leadership, Pedestrian Group won Best Publisher-Led Advertising Campaign, Branded Content Studio of the Year, and Event of the Year.
This year the group has also received nominations for Brand of the Year, Launch/Re-launch of the Year, and two nominations for Best Publisher-Led Advertising Campaign.
McManus said of his appointment: “Pedestrian Group leads the charge for big, creative ideas and commercial solutions. I’m excited in this new role to continue elevating our productions, partnerships and people as our incredible portfolio grows.”
McManus will commence the role of executive creative director effective immediately, and a newly-created position of head of studio operations will be created within his leadership team to facilitate its continued growth.
Earlier this year, Pedestrian Group announced the appointment of new Vice ANZ team.
See also: Pedestrian Group announces appointment of new Vice ANZ team
The team of five will be led by head of editorial Brad Esposito – a respected editor, presenter and strategist – who reports directly to Pedestrian Group publisher Vanessa Lawrence.
Esposito will be joined by Nick Wray as senior video producer (formerly of Network 10 and BuzzFeed), award-winning journalist Gavin Butler as senior news reporter (a Vice APAC employee of three years), Arielle Richards as multimedia reporter (recent graduate of RMIT’s Journalism School) and Julie Fenwick as writer and producer (formerly of Acclaim Magazine).
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Top image: James McManus