Aimee Buchanan is the new CEO of OMD Australia, following Peter Horgan's promotion to CEO of the Omnicom Media Group Australia and New Zealand in July. The promotion is effective immediately.
Buchanan, who has more than 16 years of media experience in the Australian market, had been MD of OMD Australia for more than two years, and was GM for nearly two years prior to that.
She will take overall responsibility for OMD assets nationally, leading a workforce of more than 500 staff. OMD says the move is testament to its strategy of developing and promoting staff from within.
Horgan says the appointment offers the group continued stability in what has been a "stellar year for OMD", with significant new business wins, such as the $48 million Coles business, and key retentions, such as Tabcorp.
In July, IPG Mediabrands poached Leigh Terry, who ran the Omnicom Media Group in Australia, to run IPG across APAC. This move saw Horgan fill his spot and while it was widely thought Buchanan would take the OMD CEO spot, it was only officially confirmed today.
“Aimee’s capability and dedication has been fundamental to the growth and success of OMD Sydney over the last five years," Horgan says.
"She is a proven performer and leader, with a diverse skill set and importantly a huge passion for the OMD brand. Aimee’s promotion caps off what has already been an outstanding year for OMD Australia."
Buchanan says she is thrilled to be appointed to the CEO spot at a time "when media has never being more exciting or relevant".
"I am passionate about our ongoing focus on driving growth for our clients, from our people, always done with integrity," she says.
"I have big shoes to fill, but I look forward to continuing to work with the team to build on the success that OMD has had over the past 12 months.”
In May Coles dropped UM, its media agency of 13 years, and handed the account to OMD Melbourne after a lengthy pitch process. At the time, speaking to AdNews, Horgan said: “We didn’t promise any crazy stuff. There was some push and we eased off when it felt uncomfortable, but we didn’t buy the business. I’ve never been in the game of buying business. When you start doing that it just spirals downwards and OMD has always been vocal about that.”
There has been a lot of movement within senior ranks at media agencies this year. The Carat Australia CEO vacancy was filled last month by Paul Brooks, but IPG is still yet to fill the CEO vacancy of its media agency Initiative, following Lee Leggett's exit.
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