Today GroupM agency MediaCom has announced its new CEO - Sean Seamer, who joins from his role as CEO GroupM New Zealand.
MediaCom has been without a CEO since Mark Pejic exited in June and joined IPG Mediabrands in Melbourne.
Pejic had led the agency throughout the scandal that engulfed it around campaign misreporting at the tail end of 2014.
Prior to GroupM New Zealand, Seamer spent 12 years working at MediaCom across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific. He has “intimate knowledge of the people, culture and product”, plus close ties to the Australian operations from his time as a GroupM board member for Australasia, and previously his APAC leadership roles.
“MediaCom has been a huge part of my career and I’m very much looking forward to being back in the team,” Seamer said.
“The talent in Australia and in the network is world-class, so it will be a pleasure to work with them again. MediaCom Australia has great people, a strong product vision and some of the most diverse capabilities. It’s a really exciting time to be in the industry and I’m raring to get stuck in.”
Speculation has been swirling around who would take over the role, with many believing it to be an undesirable role to take on. It's a tough gig with a lot of work to rebuild its reputation and to kickstart new business after an exodus of clients this year. Others opined that whoever took it on would have nowhere to go but up.
The agency's former clients IAG and Foxtel, which were both embroiled in misreporting, moved their accounts out of MediaCom and into sister agency Mindshare. MediaCom also lost Canon to Leo Burnett, It did, however, regain a chunk of NewsCorp's business from UM, although the digital stayed with UM.
Seamer’s appointment follows the promotion of James Sneddon to managing director of the Sydney office and Anny Havercroft to Melbourne managing director.
Mark Heap, MediaCom APAC CEO, said: “Sean has been one of the big success stories within MediaCom and I loved working with him previously. His background in digital leadership, his experience in developing the business, and his ability to inspire those around him are exactly the capabilities we need.
"We looked at many potential candidates for this role and felt that Sean’s familiarity with our people, product, culture and clients really made him the stand-out choice and will allow him to gain traction very quickly. He has worked with many of our senior people in Australia and I’m sure they will be as excited as I am to welcome him back as our new CEO."
Mark Patterson, CEO and Chairman of GroupM APAC, who is acting Chairman of GroupM Australia, said Seamer was well-travelled, very broadly experienced and a "top-class individual with the smarts and the style" that make him a great leader.
"He has excelled in all his roles and, in the last 12 months, has done a first-rate job in establishing our business in NZ where he and I have worked closely. He is just the guy we need to lead MediaCom Australasia," Patterson said.
Seamer will continue to oversee GroupM New Zealand operations into 2016. He said: ”It’s critical that we continue to foster the culture and direction we’ve established in New Zealand and I’m committed to the journey. I’m very fortunate that I have such a strong agency leadership team there; without them I wouldn’t have been able to take on this opportunity.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.