It's hard to keep up with all the latest moves across media, marketing and advertising, so we've made a list. Check out some of the biggest moves this week.
DDB Melbourne managing director Mike Napolitano has been promoted to Melbourne group CEO. Napolitano, who joined from TBWA to DDB in 2020 as group managing director, will continue leading the DDB Group in Melbourne including brands DDB, Tribal, Rapp and Mango. During his time at DDB new client wins include Coles, New Balance, Dulux, Movember, and multiple government accounts. Napolitano will report to regional CEO Andrew Little and his appointment is effective immediately.
Poem appoints Alex Watts executive director social and strategy
Independent communications agency Poem has appointed Alex Sol Watts to lead strategy and social for the business. Watts has led local and global transformation for brands including Skittles, Wotif, Coca Cola and American Express, and won a Grand Effie for his work on McDonald’s and Gold Lions and Webbys for Tiger Beer and KFC.
News Corp redundancies start to bite
News Corp Australia's latest round of redundancies has claimed Michael Desiere, with 22 years at the media group, who headed sDesiere, whose last day is June 14, told AdNews being made redundant was an unexpected turn of events.
Starcom hires Scott McCaffrey, promotes Jacqui Purcell
Starcom Australia has appointed Scott McCaffrey chief client and growth officer and promoted Jacqui Purcell national head of planning. McCaffrey, as part of the executive leadership team, will be tasked with leading the agency’s client-centric initiatives, including developing and executing strategies that elevate the quality of service for existing clients.Purcell will step into the newly created role following her return from maternity leave. She has been promoted from her previous position as client services director, during which she led the Metcash, Visa and Subaru accounts.
Long serving News Corp senior managers go
News Corp Australia's redundancies continue with the departure of several senior managers with decades of experience at the media group. Among the latest is Michael Wilkins, the managing director of News Sport Network, who started in 1988 as a copy boy for The Manly Daily. Marcus Hooke, the executive GM of production, logistics and property who was at News Corp for nearly 17 years, and John McGourty, the group director of the Editorial Innovation Centre, who made the move from Scotland back in 2000 to join the Daily Telegraph, are also leaving.
These follow the departures of Michael Desiere, who headed s
Channel Factory promotes Georgina Gellert
Social media video advertising solutions business Channel Factory has promoted Georgina Gellert to director of marketing and people strategy, ANZ. Gellert will now be responsible for marketing and PR activities, internal communications, client engagement strategies, and managing HR functions with Channel Factory’s external consultants. She is also a member of the ANZ senior leadership team.
Apparent appoints Simon Pugh chief media officer
Full service independent agency Apparent has appointed Simon Pugh chief media officer. Pugh has held senior leadership positions across Publicis Groupe, Omnicom and Dentsu in Sydney, New York and San Francisco. Prior to joining Apparent he helped establish the newly formed EssenceMediacom agency in Australia as chief client officer. He has worked with startups through to international brands including Square, Microsoft, Diageo and The Coca-Cola Company.
Maddie Basso joins Yahoo as head of commercial
Yahoo has appointed Maddie Basso to the newly created role of head of commercial for Australia. Basso will drive the company’s overall commercial strategy across partners, resellers and operations in the Australian market. Leading a team of 15, her primary focus will be enhancing growth in Yahoo’s joint business partnerships with agencies and advertisers.
Dina Bailey appointed Time Out commercial director
Publisher Time Out has appointed Dina Bailey commercial director. Bailey, based in Sydney and reporting to Kaylie Smith, Time Out APAC’s managing director, will lead commercial and partnership efforts across Australia. She has spent the past 13 years in big tech, with roles at Google, Meta and most recently Snap Inc head of agency development. She has also worked at OMG and Dentsu Aegis.
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