Following a robust year of growth for the company internationally, says the company, joining members include George Mitchell, as Refinery29’s Vice President of Business Affairs & Operations, who formerly served as VICE’s Business & Legal Affairs Director EMEA, Kristin Cardwell as Vice President of International Strategy and Business Development, previously in senior roles at WPP EMEA and L'Oreal, and Nina Joyce as PR Director of Europe, who most recently was VICE’s Senior Communications Manager. Additionally, Kirsty Hathaway, part of the Refinery29 team since the launch of the UK operation in November 2015, has been promoted to Creative Director of Europe.
Based out of Refinery29’s international headquarters in London and reporting to Kate Ward, Executive Vice President and Head of International, George Mitchell, Kristin Cardwell, Nina Joyce and Kirsty Hathaway will work to further establish the brand’s European editions and operations.
As Vice President of Business Affairs and Operations, George will handle all legal, operations and business planning for the growing London team. Through her role as Vice President of International Strategy and Business Development, Kristin will be instrumental in new market launches and developing key strategic partnerships.
In the newly created role of PR Director, Nina will be leading the communications charge in Europe. Already integral to the business, Kirsty will, in her elevated role as European Creative Director, be developing insight-driven commercial creative projects with Refinery29’s array of clients from the fashion, beauty, entertainment and lifestyle industries.
“This is an exciting time for Refinery29, as we celebrate our growing European leadership team, reflecting our success, growth and ongoing commitment to this market,” said Kate Ward, Executive Vice President & Head of International, Refinery29. “With such strong talent serving as experts in their respective fields, we are in a position to supercharge our impact to and for our audiences, partners and teams internationally.”
Following last year’s appointment of Jacqui Kavanagh as Vice President of European Sales and Partnerships, the bolstering of the European executive team marks further growth for Refinery29. With a team of 45 across Europe, says the company, the brand saw the number of users on Refinery29.uk grow by 50 percent in 2017, along with a 600+ percent increase in video views from 2016. Refinery29’s German offering, which launched in 2016, developed a partnership with Dmexco, highlighting 29 influential women who are true champions of female leadership, whilst the London team launched agenda-setting editorial coverage, such as ‘Stop Skirting The Issue’, a campaign pushing for upskirt photography to be classed as a sexual offence. Refinery29 UK was recently nominated for three awards at the British Media Awards, including Media Brand Of The Year and Editorial Campaign of the Year for ‘Rag Week’, an on-site takeover that addressed the taboos and poor media coverage surrounding periods. Additionally, Jacqui Kavanagh was nominated for the Rising Star Award.
