Ikon Melbourne's managing partner Sharon Cookson has left the business after five and a half a years for the same role at rival media agency OMD.
In the newly-created role, as managing partner OMD Melbourne, Cookson will join the Melbourne leadership team that includes OMD Melbourne general manager, Antonia Glezakos.
The appointment follows news last month of ex-IPG Mediabrands exec Dianne Richardson returning from New York to Australia to take up the position of MD OMD Melbourne.
With three senior women in new roles, with Glezakos having been in the job for 10 months, OMD Melbourne is clearly bolstering its ranks in the region for the year ahead.
In shock news in October last year, OMD Melbourne's longer-serving managing director Margie Reid left the media agency to join creative indie shop Thinkerbell, taking a managing partner role.
Cookson, who has an MBA in business and corporate strategy, has more than 25 years of experience in media and full-service creative agencies across Australia and New Zealand; working with clients such as Bupa, Bank of Melbourne, Westpac, GE, L’Oreal, Nestlé, Lion Nathan and Qantas.
It's not Cookson's first time at OMD, having previously worked there from 2007 to 2012.
CEO of OMD Australia, Aimee Buchanan, says: “With the significant growth the Melbourne team has experienced, Sharon will bring an additional level of support for the team.
“She has extensive knowledge of the local market and I look forward to her contributing to the ongoing success of our Melbourne office.”
Cookson will report into Richardson and begins her new role in April.
Ikon chairperson Lesley Edwards says the search for Cookson's replacement is already underway and an announcement will be made in due course.
“Sharon has played a significant role in building the Melbourne office into the successful agency it is today and we wish her well for the future,” Edwards says.
“She leaves the business in great shape and we are confident the team will continue to produce best-in-class client work during this period of change. Ikon Melbourne has a strong leadership team, and supported by myself, will form the interim agency leadership.”
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