Group Nine Media has announced the appointment of WPP and Xerox veteran Christa Carone to oversee sales, marketing and data insights.

Carone, who held the role of chief operating officer for WPP consulting firm Group SJR and managing director for J. Walter Thompson endeavor Colloquial, will be joining the digital-first media company, which is home to Thrillist and video news creator NowThis, among others.

Group Nine very recently recieved $40m in funding by Discovery, according to Axios. It's considered a vote of confidence in Group Nine as the TV network looks to scale up social content to match its TV-heavy presence.

In her previous roles, both at Group SJR and as chief marketing officer for Xerox and executive vice president at Fidelity, she was known for her buy- and sell-side leadership experience and boasted an extensive track record of building and running high-performing teams. Carone will oversee multiple disciplines at Group Nine, including the company’s sales and marketing teams as well as its data insights.

Carone considered this a remarkable time for Group Nine “as the company benefits from the collective power of its amazing brands, but it is also a fascinating moment for marketers who have more choices and more challenges in connecting with audiences. Group Nine is in an advantaged position to be a resource and invaluable partner for marketers,” she said, “bringing their brands closer to the audiences that Group Nine knows like no other.

To her, that’s what makes her new role an exciting and relevant opportunity.

“I’m joining a team that values great storytelling, that applies smart insights to cultivating communities, and that places a premium on quality and creativity. The momentum building with each of our brands is energizing, the talented team is impressive and the overall success of Group Nine is inspiring. Even better, I have no doubt that we’re just getting started.”

Group Nine’s chief executive officer Ben Lerer praised Carone in her new role, saying: “We have great brands, enormous reach and industry leading data and insights -- and with moves like our recent JASH acquisition -- an ever-expanding range of content creation capabilities. Bringing Christa in to connect data insights together with marketing and sales will help us to continue to refine our go-to-market strategy and allow us to be a better partner for brands and agencies alike. And, while all of that is obviously exciting - what’s more exciting is that I believe Christa shares our values and will be a caring, thoughtful colleague and leader."

With this move, Group Nine adds to its momentum: in October, it named a new CMO in Publicis alum Adam Schlacter, and formed a partnership with DigitasLBi in May as the agency looked to resuscitate its brand assets.