AuctionsPlus, Australia’s most trusted online agriculture platform, has expanded its leadership team with the appointment of Jackson Hewett into a newly-created Head of Content role within the organisation.
Previously, Mr Hewett (pictured above) worked at News Corp for eleven years, including as editor of Business Spectator and associate editor at The Australian where he created premium content for the national masthead, co-hosted The Australian Ag Podcast with Weekly Times editor James Wagstaff, and has most recently been the editorial coordinator and master of ceremonies of the Global Food Forum.
AuctionsPlus general manager - commercial and brand Scott McCullough said the appointment is part of a strategic expansion within the company’s content team, and comes hot on the heels of the recent hire of former Queensland Country Life livestock editor Hayley Kennedy.
“AuctionsPlus is in the process of investing in our team and our platform, to expand on existing functionality delivered via insights, prices and intel in our weekly eDMs, The Box, MarketPulse and Market Comments,” Mr McCullough said.
“The vision is to create more relevant content, gathered from our cross-market contacts and unique industry data, to help our audience make better day-to-day business decisions.
“We know we have a trusted brand and a massive agriculture-centric audience, and these investments will help make us an even more valued and important part of our customers’ businesses.”
Mr Hewett comes into the role from a wide range of journalistic experience across print, radio and television, having covered business and economics in Australia, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and the United States.
He was awarded a prestigious Knight-Bagehot fellowship to study business journalism at Columbia University in New York, and went on to complete a MBA at Columbia Business School before returning to his roots in Australia.
“Growing up on a farm, I became interested in business from an early age and in 20 years of covering finance and economics across the world, I have always found myself drawn to stories involving agriculture, whether it be the impact of ethanol on the US corn market, or the export opportunities for fresh vegetables in the Nile Delta in Egypt,” Mr Hewett said.
“AuctionsPlus has a dedicated, passionate user base and I look forward to creating compelling content that helps them achieve their business goals, identifies trends and recognises the outstanding work done by the Australian farming community.”