Facebook appoints Antonia Christie as Australian head of communications

Facebook has appointed former Mi9 communications manager Antonia Christie as head of communications for Australia and New Zealand.

The hire is understood to be part of a wider expansion that has seen the company double in size as it strengthens its sales and marketing presence in the region.

Christie took on the position of head of communications for ninemsn in 2011 before the media company launched its umbrella brand Mi9.

Christie’s appointment at Facebook follows reports the social media giant – estimated to have more than 12m users in Australia – has been working to more aggressively market its platform to the country’s biggest advertisers. In the last 12 months, Facebook has made a string of high profile appointments including Will Easton who was made CEO in November, and Ellie Rogers, former digital director at Ikon who was brought in as head of agency in June.