In this newly created role, Joel will head up Time Out’s global content organisation and drive its worldwide content strategy with regional Editors in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia reporting to him. The promotion comes as Time Out’s footprint continues to expand globally following the recent addition of Time Out Australia and Time Out Hong Kong, formerly franchise partners, to the brand’s network of owned and operated businesses. Joel will report directly to Christine Petersen, CEO of Time Out Digital.
Joel has held a variety of positions at Time Out over the past five years; he joined as Editor of Time Out Sydney in 2012 and became Time Out North America’s National Content Editor in 2015; in that role, he oversaw the growth of the brand and audience in the U.S., creating the Time Out USA website and steering the launch of magazines in Austin, Miami, L.A. and Chicago. In 2016, he was appointed National Content Director and Content Director for Creative Solutions and in 2017, he became Editor-in-Chief of Time Out North America. Joel was formerly Arts and Entertainment Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Christine Petersen, CEO of Time Out Digital, commented: “As we continue to grow Time Out’s footprint across the world, we need a passionate, experienced and creative leader to drive our global content strategy. Joel is exactly that and it is testament to the depth of talent at Time Out that we have been able to fill the role from within. I can’t wait to see him taking our content to new heights.
“Millions of people rely on Time Out’s high-quality, unique and curated content to discover the very best of the world’s greatest cities. It’s this positive and trusted content that is of incredible value for both our audience and our advertising partners craving brand safe environments—that’s why we’re dedicated to creating more of it globally.”
Joel Meares, Global Editor-in-Chief of Time Out, said: “Our hugely talented content team is working for the world’s greatest cities and the people enjoying them—by bringing everyone closer together within one global team, we will be able to better empower our global audience to discover the cities they know, the cities they love and the cities they can’t wait to explore.
“We are driven by the fact that there’s no one else consistently developing and curating the type of content Time Out has always been known for—and there’s still so much more for us to do. One key focus will be inspirational video content which we have grown massively over the past months and which we know our audience love. No one knows the city like us, so if a can’t-miss-moment happens from NY to Hong Kong, Sydney to London, we will be there to capture it.”
