2013 Power 50

David Gyngell made his debut in 2013 at the top of the Power 50. Under our recalibrated definition of ‘street power’, Gyngell is a master. He’s one of the few media bosses who can, with equal measure, tap dance with the investment community and the marketing communications sector simultaneously. Not only can, Gyngell does. His hands are full right now with...

John ‘Steady’ Steedman has become one of the most influential media buyers in the country. But his impressive rise isn’t by default. Steady’s position as the leading force in a long list of media agency honchos is well deserved – his consortium oversees annual media billings of around $2 billion, making the GroupM buying conglomerate the largest entity in...

Kim Williams was chief executive of News Corp until August 2013 when he was replaced by Julian Clarke. He held responsibility for Foxtel along with newspapers, magazines and News Corp’s line-up of local digital assets.

Buckman is former Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Director of Digital Media and IPTV at Telstra, Australia’s largest mobile network where he oversaw a budget of around $500m looking after strategy, branding, marketing, advertising, sponsorship, media, and well as the network’s digital media and pay TV services. He was previously CMO of Commonwealth...

Worner is the CEO of Seven West Media, and previously CEO of Broadcast Television for Seven Network from 2011. He took on the role in July 2013 adn leads Seven Network, The West Australian, Pacific Magazines and the company’s Yahoo!7 joint venture with Yahoo. He is a former Head of Sport for Seven in Melbourne and Head of Production for the Seven Network,...

Kurt Burnette is chief revenue officer for Seven West Media, responsible for over one billion dollars of advertising revenue – a 20-year veteran of Seven. He took on the role in October 2013. He was previously chief sales and digital officer of Seven West Media. Burnette attended a management course at Stanford University in the US in 2013.

Justin Diddams is an analyst at Citibank, and along with Goldman Sachs’ Christian Guerra, Morgan Stanley’s Andrew McLeod, UBS’ Richard Eary and Commonwealth Bank’s Alice Bennett, are media analysts who all hold serious sway on the fortunes and strategies of listed media companies.

Tony Phillips is now the main marketing man at Woolworths, joining as CMO in May. He's a fomer Coles marketing honcho and has an agency background, including time spent running the retail arm of George Patteson Bates (now GPY&R).

Durkan is set become Managing Director of Coles in July. Coles executives have zoomed up the power rankings this year because they really do have street power. And Coles seems, for better or worse, to be more of the agitator and innovator over Woolworths – although we are being told to watch the latter closely in coming months.The other eyebrow-raising...

With the subscription TV market locked up and the nascent IPTV market firmly in his sights, Foxtel chief executive Richard Freudenstein finds himself in an enviable position at the head of arguably the most innovative broadcaster in the country.Despite only being available in around one third of Australian homes, Foxtel sits at the front end of where...

Schulze built the Standard Media Index from scratch in Australia and are now expanding to the US and UK markets. On the 15th of every month, media owners wait to see how their sector and company has travelled versus competitors for the previous month and brace for media buyers looking for new ways to beat up media owners for better ad rates based on the...

This entry should put a bee in a few bonnets. Loved by media agencies, mostly despised by media owners, Schulze and Fennessy have built the Standard Media Index from scratch in Australia and are now invading the US market before anyone lifts their idea.It has the backing of former All Black and Fairfax Media chief executive David Kirk, whose private equity...

As Nine continues its resurgence in the ratings, group sales and marketing director Peter Wiltshire’s task is to help bring revenue back in line with the network’s growing audience share. He and David Gyngell had flagged a target of 35% revenue – Nine is now sitting at around 36%, so the train is definitely on track.Wiltshire’s baby, the cross-platform...

Hywood is the CEO of Fairfax Media.

Rob Morgan is executive chairman of Clemenger BBDO. He looms large on the Australian advertising landscape and has done so for over three decades. He oversees a company employing 1,600 staff with an annual revenue of $283 million. He has been with the Clemenger Group since 1979. 

Danny Bass is CEO of IPG Mediabrands Australia. He took on the top role in November 2015, following his surprise exit from GroupM. He was Chief Investment & Intelligence Officer at GroupM, Australia’s biggest media buying group, and broadly expected to become the group's next CEO. Formerly GroupM’s chief digital officer, Bass has led the charge into...

Maile Carnegie is Country Director for Google Australia and New Zealand. She joined the internet company in 2013 from Procter & Gamble where she was Managing Director of the Australia and New Zealand business.  

Big things are brewing over at Foxtel’s advertising sales arm. Street talk has Fitzgerald & Co. ready to shake up TV buying with a game-changing deployment of Foxtel advertising into an automated trading exchange. It is said to be spooking a few rival broadcasters. Despite a suppressed market, MCN remains one of the stand-out advertising growth hot...

David Morgan was Nestlé's top marketer until December 2013. He has been renowned as one of the most forward-thinking operators in the Aussie marketing sphere, pushing for new agency relationship models and remuneration systems while supporting locally produced marketing, with all marketing operations centred in Australia and a public distaste for importing...

Kurt Camp was Woolworths top marketer until October 2013, after joining in 2012. He was previously Tesco’s former marketing boss in Thailand.  

Alex Dower joined Woolworths as commercial director in 2012. Previsouly he was customer development director for PepsiCo in the UK and brand development director for Pret A Manger, and also held multiple roles at Tesco.  

John Borghetti is CEO of Virgin Australia and masterminded the airline's turnaround and rebrand from Virgin Blue.

Mark Hassell is responsible for ensuring a consistent Customer Experience in the air and on the ground. In doing this Mark oversees Product and Service Development, Marketing, Brand Management, Customer Relations, Lounges, Cabin Crew and Customer Service.

McLennan is on our power list partly for his role at Ten and partly because he’s aligned himself to the powerful Murdoch interests and Lachlan Murdoch in particular.At Ten, McLennan’s cachet at this stage is more novelty and intrigue than power but as he has shown in his transition from global adman to Rupert Murdoch sidekick and now TV boss, never...

Mark Britt was CEO of Mi9, the joint venutre between Microsoft and Nine Entertainment. He left as part of a restructure following the dissolving of the JV in 2014. Britt went on to launch his own venture in Asia.

Executive producers Julian Morrow and Nick Murray’s The Checkout struck fear in the hearts of marketers in the same way journalists and producers would blanch at being mentioned on Media Watch.The consumer affairs show called bullshit on marketers’ spurious claims, and had the gumption to go after the big guys (which, of course, is easier on the ABC). The...

Executive producers Julian Morrow and Nick Murray’s The Checkout struck fear in the hearts of marketers in the same way journalists and producers would blanch at being mentioned on Media Watch.The consumer affairs show called bullshit on marketers’ spurious claims, and had the gumption to go after the big guys (which, of course, is easier on the ABC). The...

If content rules, Angus Ross is up there. He’s the new Tim Worner. We’ve put him near the top of our collection of creative and content players for a reason. Ross might be a little under the pump at present with Nine hot on his heels in the ratings but since taking over after Worner’s elevation last year to Network Seven chief executive – Worner has since...

David Nobay launched Droga5's Sydney office in 2008 - the agency's first outside New York. His 26 year creative career has spanned Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco and Melbourne.

You’re unlikely to see Scott Whybin writing a play or aspiring to make a feature film but his agency has been romping through new business wins and awards shows for two years. Upwards of 35% of the company remains in local hands – that’s more than sibling Omnicom agency Clemenger since it sold a majority stake to BBDO. And Whybin is showing no signs yet...

Whatever pleasure the Ten Network got out of beating the comedy duo’s Euro Gap Year intermittently with MasterChef last year after it lost out on signing the two would be long forgotten now. Hamish Blake and Andy Lee have continually come up with gold for the Nine Network with Euro Gap Year, Caravan of Courage and now the hilariously successful Asia Gap...

Whatever pleasure the Ten Network got out of beating the comedy duo’s Euro Gap Year intermittently with MasterChef last year after it lost out on signing the two would be long forgotten now. Hamish Blake and Andy Lee have continually come up with gold for the Nine Network with Euro Gap Year, Caravan of Courage and now the hilariously successful Asia Gap...

Alan Jones, the controversial king of Australian talkback, continued to dominate the radio market in the past 12 months despite some dips in audience share and a couple of typically Jones-ian foot-in-mouth moments – like blaming the Boston Bombings on “left-wing radical students” and suggesting Australia should reconsider its intake of foreign university...

In a world where content is king, Nine’s director of TV, Michael Healy, who’s appearing on the Power 50 for the first time, is an increasingly powerful and important player to the success of the network.Healy is in touch with his audiences, innovative and ahead of the curve, and has arguably been a major factor in Nine’s recent resurgence. While it’s still...

Ian Hogg took over as CEO of Fremantle Media in November 2009 and was elevated to his current role in August 2011. Ian has worked in the TV industry for 25 years, within TV networks and independent production companies.

Foxtel and its channel partners plow about $600 million annually into Australian production and Brian Walsh is key to it. He has been behind some clever programming initiatives at Foxtel in the past year, including the exclusive deal to carry acclaimed HBO content and the fast-track release in Australia of US shows before they can be pirated. Game of...

James McGrath is the Creative Chairman of Clemenger BBDO Australia, he joined the Melbourne agency in 2006 as ECDMcGrath has accrued over 500 international and global awards throughout his career.

Mark Fennessy and his brother Carl are back on our Power 50. Shine, started by Elisabeth Murdoch and sold to News Corp for £415 million, has been rumoured to be acquisition-hungry in Australia to build its drama slate but Mark Fennessy has downplayed the move. He said earlier this year he did not want Shine to become a “stupendous” TV production company...

Mescall was behind the Dumb Ways to Die campaign for Metro Trains Melbourne. It became a worldwide sensation which set a new record for award hauls at the Cannes Festival of Creativity and spawned a whole stack of run-on content, from apps to merchandise and even a hit song. He founded Smart alongside Ben Lilley and Ash Farr, which was bought by McCann in a...

Leigh Terry is CEO of Omnicom group in Australia. Originally a digital media specialist, Terry’s rise to run OMG Australia and New Zealand – the parent company to OMD and PHD – started after his chief executive, Mark Coad, left the business to try his hand running a creative agency. Under Terry’s watch, OMD and PHD have positioned themselves counter to all...

Peter Horgan is CEO of OMD Australia. He took on the role in 2011 and has been with OMD since 2003.

Sintras is chairman of the Starcom MediaVest group. When John Sintras was named as the first ever inductee in the MFA Hall of Fame, he was clearly moved by the accolade. Upon accepting the honour, the powerful media buyer became noticeably stirred, and gave a moving speech which seemed to say one thing: here is a man passionate about his industry.

Despite a significant drop from last year’s Power 50 ranking, Gerry Harvey and Katie Page’s market power remains significant. The husband-and-wife power couple have successfully steered their business, Harvey Norman Holdings, through one of the toughest periods the local retail sector has ever faced. With a multi-platform shopper offering, rigorous...

Despite a significant drop from last year’s Power 50 ranking, Gerry Harvey and Katie Page’s market power remains significant. The husband-and-wife power couple have successfully steered their business, Harvey Norman Holdings, through one of the toughest periods the local retail sector has ever faced. With a multi-platform shopper offering, rigorous...

He’s the king of online retail in Australia but advertising agencies must think he is a massive prude. Kogan, who makes his fortunes (big enough to get him on the BRW Young Rich List) through selling cheap but reliable electronics and appliances online, doesn’t hire an advertising or media agency. Instead, he does all of his publicity through internet...

Mark Lollback is CEO of GroupM Australia and New Zealand. He replaced John Steedman and took on the role in April 2016. His switch from client side to agency side was a surprise in the market. He ahs taken on a challenging role at the country's largest media buying group. He was formerly McDonald's Australia and New Zealand chief marketing officer. He...

Wirth is group executive of brand, marketing and corporate affairs at Qantas. She took on the top marketing role in May 2013 after a restructure of the airline's marketing divisions.  

Media companies, ad agencies and marketers need to be on alert. ACCC chairman Rod Sims – two years into his job – is sharpening his teeth on misleading advertising and labelling claims and is back on the case of the supermarket chains. In July the ACCC was successful in the Federal Court forcing Hewlett-Packard to pay $3 million for distributing misleading...

It was a double whammy for consumer advocate group Choice last year, losing its chief executive Nick Stace and long-time spokesperson Christopher Zinn who had all but marked his scent on all of Australia’s media. In steps Alan Kirkland to the top job of running the group that counts over 160,000 Australian consumers as members and keeps brands on their...

Kingsmill is director of corporate marketing at Telstra. She was previously director of marketing communications. She is also a AANA board member.  

As the chief executive of the largest Australian-based marcomms group, Mike Connaghan represents some of the country’s key advertising networks including Ogilvy, JWT and The Brand Agency, and media buying outfits Ikon, Maxus, Bohemia and Mindshare. Having key government relations firms Hawker Britton, Barton Deakin and Parker & Partners under his wing...

Marty O’Halloran is an industry luminary. Good-natured and charming, the executive chairman of DDB Group ANZ is also chairman of Interbrand and a board member of the Omnicom Media Group. After a quarter of a century with the agency, O’Halloran boasts an immense understanding and investment in the business. While he has slipped a few spaces from last year –...

Tony Davis is another new arrival in our Power 50. He and Quantium are the current pin-ups for big data, especially after Woolworths took a 50% stake in the company earlier this year. The big end of town is now taking note. The company has 150 actuaries crunching algorithms around anything that spits out data. With a background in direct marketing here and...

The former chief executive of Yahoo7! and before that Seven Network's director of investments is a wild card but he is pulling levers behind the scenes. He was considered a contender for the top job at Network Seven although the money is on Kurt Burnette. But Lund has a depth of market experience and nearly 10 years with Kerry Stokes.Lund was working...

Every year for a short period of time, Megan Brownlow arguably becomes the most important person in the media, advertising and marketing landscape. That’s of course when the PwC Australian Entertainment and Media Outlook is published. As PwC executive director, media and entertainment, she has her hand on the pulse of the industry and those in high places...

Anthony Hourigan is linked in. In the marketing and creative industries, Hourigan and his team are the equivalent of global executive search firms like Egon Zehnder, Korn/Ferry or Heidrick & Struggles. They influence and create new thinking in senior management ranks. He has placed some of the top marketers in the country, including Telstra’s Mark...