Facebook has appointed Carat Sydney managing director Dan Sinfield as head of FMCG, a newly-created vertical industry leadership role, AdNews can reveal.
Appointing Sinfield, who joined Carat from OMD Australia in October 2014, will be a major coup for the social media giant and its new leader Will Easton.
AdNews understands he will join Facebook's leadership ranks and his appointment has no impact on the role and responsibilities of head of agency Ellie Rogers - another former media agency executive who was poached from Ikon Communications three years ago.
Carat Australia chief executive Paul Brooks tells AdNews the media agency is in the process of finding a replacement.
“We’d like to thank Dan for his contribution to the business over the last three years – he’s been a great leader and valued member of our Sydney team, and we wish him all the best,” Brooks says.
“We’re currently in the process of confirming his replacement. Change is exciting – we look forward to welcoming some great new talent to the business in 2018 and will continue to build on the strong momentum of a very successful 2017.”
Facebook confirmed the move to AdNews but declined to comment ahead of Sinfield's starting date, which is towards the end of January.
In a media agency career that nearly spans two decades, Sinfield has worked at OMD, Mindshare and Carat, working with a broad range of blue chip clients. He arrived Down Under from OMD London in 2003.
He brings to Facebook vast industry knowledge, connections and media buying know-how to Facebook's sales operation.
Carat has several clients that operate in the FMCG space, including two of the 10 largest FMCG companies in the world – L'Oreal and Mondelez.
Another Carat client, supermarket giant Woolworths, is also heavily influential in the FMCG space.
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