MTV Networks' Entertainment Group has named Ben Hurst vice president, strategy and business development. Prior to joining MTV, Hurst was vice president, business development and ad sales strategy at Joost, an online video service. The Entertainment Group is comprised of brands featuring Comedy Central, Spike TV, and TV Land and web sites like Atom.com and GameTrailers.com.

In his new role, Hurst will be responsible for leading strategic planning projects for Comedy Central and will oversee development initiatives in areas such as syndication, acquisitions and new business launches.

"With Ben, we have the perfect person in place to drive some of the Entertainment Group’s most critical projects,” Dan Yang, MTV's senior vice president, strategy and business development, said in a statement. “He is already making my business life easier.”

Hurst previously worked for MTV Networks from 2002 to 2005 and was the manager, and then director, of business development and ad sales strategy. Prior to that he was a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co.