It's hard to keep up with all the latest moves across media, marketing and advertising, so we've made a list. Check out the biggest moves in adland this week.
Dentsu names long-awaited CEO
Dentsu Aegis Network appointed Henry Tajer to the role of CEO Australia and New Zealand, following an extensive global executive search. Tajer recently returned to Australia to head up Amazon Media Services, as the company's local managing director. Tajer takes over following the departure of Simon Ryan last year. Tajer spoke to AdNews about his plans in the new role, saying he wants to drive better recognition of the creativity within the business.
IPG snags IAG media lead
IPG Mediabrands has named former IAG media lead Ros Allison as head of performance. Allison has previously worked at Zenith for nearly 10 years and also did a stint at TrinityP3 consultancy and Vivaki.
IAB appoints new chair
Nine director of sales Matt Rowley was appointed IAB chair, replacing Cameron King who announced his departure last month. Rowley, who joined Nine from Fairfax Media after the two companies merged, currently oversees sales for all Nine publishing assets, including nine.com.au and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Initiative young gun goes international
Initiative communications design director John Dawson is heading overseas with the business, joining the Denmark office while he completes his MBA at Copenhagen Business School. Dawson will take on the parallel role at Initative, called IUM in Denmark, working on global accounts Lego and Carlsberg. Copenhagen Business School invited Dawson to the program in recognition of the many accolades he's earned over the years, including being named one of AdNews Top 30 Emerging Leaders in 2018.
Westpac hires top Aldi marketer
Westpac has appointed former Aldi marketing director Samuel Viney as head of advertising. Viney steps into the role this month, which was left vacant following the shock exit of Andrew Howie. Viney has previously worked at BMF, Y&R Group and Saatchi & Saatchi. He was also named ADMA’s marketer of the year in 2015, after only going client side in 2013.
Dentsu bolsters executive team
Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has named Anthea Kane as chief financial officer for Australia and New Zealand. Anthea joins DAN from ANZ Banking Group where she has held multiple roles across more than 17 years, most recently as the CFO global technology, services and operations – a division of the bank spanning 33 countries with more than 20,000 people. She begins her new role at DAN on 18 February.
Tinder boosts Australian team
Tinder has appointed Kristen Hardeman as the country manager of Australia. She is responsible for overseeing marketing operations across the nation. Hardeman previously led consumer marketing for Intel Australia, where she was responsible for the marketing initiatives and strategic partnerships with the Sydney Opera House and Vivid Sydney.
Coles nabs ex-Fairfax CMO
Coles has named former Fairfax Media CMO Michael Laxton as general manager of brand and media. Laxton exited Fairfax, now Nine, in late 2018, following the mega-merger between the two business and will report to recently appointed Coles Group CMO Lisa Ronson in his new role.
Nine appoints programmatic manager
Nine has named Lisa Thom as its new program, marketing and communications manager in Perth. Thom will oversee the state's programming and drive marketing and commercial integration opportunities across key Nine properties. She has previously worked at Pedestrian Group and Nova Entertainment.
VMLY&R hires new creative
VMLY&R Melbourne appointed Robyn Bergmann as new creative director. Bergmann has previously worked at Ogilvy, Publicis and Leo Burnett in South Africa across brands such as Audi, Unilever, Coca-Cola and Cadbury. She joins newly promoted James Wills as creative director in the Melbourne office.
Pedestrian Group reveals first managing director
Pedestrian has promoted its group commercial director Brian Florido to managing director. Florida has previously worked at OMD as communications manager and Zenith as media planner. He first joined Pedestrian in 2012 and has worked across various roles within the business, including development of sales ideas and sales and revenue management.
MercerBell bolsters leadership team
MercerBell has grown its strategic leadership team by two, with the appointment of Brad Bennett and Jo Gascoigne. Bennett steps into the role of executive strategy director and has previously worked at independent creative agency The Hallway. Meanwhile, Gascoigne steps into the role of strategy director and is based in Melbourne.
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