Pedestrian has replaced the CEO role just weeks after announcing widespread cuts to within the youth publisher, with The Guardian's Mason Rook to take on the remit left open by Matt Rowley.

It comes after the decision was made for Pedestrian to drop existing brand license deals and focus on its wholly owned content, which includes the Pedestrian publication and new FAST channel venture, Pedestrian Television.

Rook steps into the Pedestrian CEO role from Monday 29 July. He joins the business from The Guardian where he served as Commercial Director for the past four years. Rook has previously held senior commercial positions at ARN, The Daily Mail, and Nine.

"I am thrilled to be joining Pedestrian and to have the opportunity to lead such a dynamic and impactful organisation. I’ve been a personal fan of the business for many years and I look forward to working with the talented team to deliver exceptional content and connect Australia’s best brands to these audiences in new and exciting ways," said Rook.

As CEO, Rook will spearhead strategic initiatives to improve content quality and alignment, diversify the publisher's commercial base, and leverage Pedestrian’s assets to better connect leading brands with Australia's youth.

Nine’s Chief Digital Officer and Chair of Pedestrian, Alex Parsons, said: "We are delighted to welcome Mason back to the Nine business in his new role with Pedestrian. Mason's impressive track record and forward-thinking approach makes him the ideal leader to guide us through the next, exciting phase of our growth. He is without doubt one of the most talented media operators I have worked with."

Pedestrian announced its new strategic direction earlier this month, shutting down the local operations of the VICE, Refinery29, Gizmodo, Kotaku, and Lifehacker licensed brands. The decision saw around 40 roles made redundant, and followed hundreds of cuts made to the broader Nine business in June.