Nine Entertainment executive Lizzie Young’s sudden departure

The Nine Entertainment board has announced another departure of a key executive, amid tensions within the company’s management.

Nine Entertainment senior executive Lizzie Young. Picture: Supplied

Nine Entertainment senior executive Lizzie Young has quit the media giant, amid ongoing friction among members of the company’s board.

The company revealed on Sunday that Ms Young – who was appointed group managing director of marketing and local markets in 2020 – had tendered her resignation.

Ms Young’s departure comes as Nine’s chief executive officer Mike Sneesby approaches his one-year anniversary in the top job on April 1.

The Australian understands that sharp tensions at Nine’s board level – which were brutally exposed following the departure of Mr Sneesby’s predecessor, Hugh Marks, in November 2020 – have yet to be resolved.

The tribal fault lines of the board have put those loyal to the merged company’s broadcast division at loggerheads with those who hailed from the former Fairfax print stronghold.

Ms Young is the second executive to quit during Mr Sneesby’s tenure.

In July last year the company’s chief digital and publishing officer Chris Janz quit after he was overlooked for the job as Nine’s CEO.

Ms Young will take up the position as chief executive at firm WeAre8, which is described as a “social app that gets money into your pocket every time you watch an ad”.

The site connects users with brands and then remunerates them after they view short clips. It also donates money to charity each time an ad is watched.

Mr Sneesby thanked Ms Young for her service at Nine Entertainment.

Ms Young was responsible for marketing across the Nine group.

She joined Nine in 2010 and was appointed a non-executive director of real estate website Domain in February 2020.

Ms Young declined to comment when contacted by The Australian.