Concrete Playground has announced a series of new hires and internal promotions that underline an ambitious commercial growth strategy for 2019.

The four new hires include: Natalie Ratcliffe , operations director; Whitney Higginson, senior business manager; Belle Stewart, senior business manager and Jane Ryan, project manager.

The following two internal promotions have also been made: Tahlia Phillips, commercial director and Jarrod Kris, partnerships director.

In 2018, Concrete Playground executed major commercial content partnerships with American Express, Samsung, Heineken, LVMH Moët Hennessy, Diageo, Mitsubishi, Tourism New Zealand and Zantac, increasingly providing major brands with direct access to its readership through activations and events, amplified across its on- and off-platform channels.

Concrete Playground’s founder and director, Rich Fogarty, has made the recent changes to further drive Concrete Playground’s commercial partnerships for brands across the lifestyle, tourism, automotive, finance, FMCG, hospitality, technology and arts sectors.

Fogarty said: “Concrete Playground has been growing its audience and revenue for almost a decade now thanks to the expertise, drive and passion of our team.

“We place a great emphasis on finding and developing the best and brightest new media thinkers in our space, giving people the tools, support and autonomy they need to deliver what will hopefully be some of the best work of their careers.”