• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, December 5, 2011

Amid fierce competition for female audiences, media brands -- sometimes under the same corporate banner -- have made an art of poaching talent.

Just this week, NBC Universal's Oxygen Media hired Tony Carbone away from sister unit iVillage, where he was credited with advancing new interactive, mobile, and video products to the brand's key advertisers.

As vice president, digital at Oxygen, Carbone will be expected to oversee the strategy, planning, and execution of all digital initiatives across multiple platforms, including PCs, mobile, apps, interactive TV, and gaming.

Reporting to Jennifer Kavanagh, SVP of digital at Oxygen, Carbone will also serve as liaison with other internal departments, including legal, digital distribution, communications, operations, and technology.

“Tony was the best fit for the job and he has a proven track record as a digital thought leader," Kavanagh explained in an email to Online Media Daily.

“I appreciated that he’d spent time as a digital exec within a TV network as well as solely at a pure play business,” Kavanagh added. “Having had to solve and innovate for each of their unique needs meant his approach to Oxygen’s business would be well informed on all fronts. The fact that he worked for one of our sister companies here at NBCUniversal was incidental.”

Regarding the hire, an NBC Universal spokesman said: “This happens all the time” -- making the point that sister media brands regularly share resources. That said, industry competition for strong, talented executives has reached an all-time high.  

The news comes less than a month after Rod Aissa, OWN Network’s SVP of programming and development, left to join Oxygen as head of programming.

Aissa’s move represented just the latest departure for OWN, a co-venture between Discovery Communications and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions. 

NBCUniversal also recently found a new head of digital ad sales in Linda Yaccarino, who had recently left Turner Entertainment, where she served as COO and EVP of ad sales, marketing and acquisitions. 

In her new role, Yaccarino oversees all digital and cable entertainment ad sales for the company, including USA, Syfy, Bravo Media, E! Entertainment, Oxygen Media, Style, G4, Sprout, Chiller, Cloo and their respective digital platforms.

In addition, Yaccarino now oversees the sales efforts for NBC.com, AccessHollywood.com, NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com and GolfChannel.com and the stand-alone digital businesses DailyCandy, Swirl, Fandango, iVillage and Television Without Pity.

Still taking shape under Comcast's umbrella, NBC Universal has recently undergone a number of executive changes. This summer, the company named Jeffrey Schneider to the newly created position of EVP, business affairs, Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media.

This past March, meanwhile, Nicholas Lehman was named president of digital of E&DN/IM, where he is now overseeing the pure-play digital businesses within the division's portfolio, including iVillage, DailyCandy, Swirl and Fandango. Lehman is also working closely with the leaders of each of the TV network's online platforms, including the sites for Telemundo, Bravo Media, Oxygen Media, Style and mun2.

Prior to iVillage, Carbone served as vice president of digital content and programming at VH1, where he led a team of programmers, writers, editors, and film producers.