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.
Publicis Media chair steps down
Publicis Media ANZ chairman John Preston will step down from at the end of the year. Preston took on the role in September 2018, providing strategic support to the CEO and the Publicis Media executive leadership team. This included overseeing the executive team following the departure of Matt James, who joined Zenith globally in London and the promotion of former Starcom boss Toby Barbour into his role as Publicis Media CEO. Preston was also part of the recent acquisition of New Zealand's largest independent media agency MBM and played a large role in the merger of Blue 449 and Spark Foundry. Preston says that after over three decades in media, it’s time to try his hand at something new and very different.
Nicky Bryson re-joins PwC
Former TBWA Sydney head of strategy Nicky Bryson has re-joined PwC as director of brand and consumer insight. Bryson initially departed PwC in 2018 to join TBWA Sydney. After being hospitalised from severe burnout at the agency earlier in the year, Bryson founded The Trenches with Youngbloods to empower and support young talent so they don't go through the same situation. She previously worked in brand strategy on PwC's advisory board and has also held strategy and planning roles at M&C Saatchi and Leo Burnett.
The General Store nabs VMLY&R exec
Danny Lattouf has joined independent agency The General Store as partner and chief strategy officer. His focus will be to partner with CEO Matt Newell and general manager Maddie Livesey to lead The General Store forward in its next stage of growth. Lattouf, who has more than 20 years of experience, joins from VMLY&R where he spent almost five years as the managing director of IdeaWorks and as the regional head of retail across Australia and New Zealand. Prior to that Lattouf was Microsoft’s head of retail marketing and was also based in Singapore with Iris as a global account director leading a team of retail specialists across Singapore, London, Munich and Miami.
Saatchi & Saatchi bolsters production
Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney has appointed a new leadership in the production department following the promotion of three senior staff. Greer Macpherson and Deb Munro have both been made production directors, while Kim Avetta has been promoted to design production director. Macpherson joined Saatchi & Saatchi in 2008 as an account executive before moving into production as an integrated producer and senior producer. Munro has worked in senior account and account director roles at agencies including Euro RSCG, IdeaWorks and McCann Erickson Sydney. Saatchi’s design department celebrates Avetta’s 15 years of Saatchi experience where she has worked in senior print production and production management.
Former Bauer exec joins Ovato
Bauer Media has appointed News Corp’s Andrew Cook to its sales team, as its commercial director Paul Gardiner departs. Cook, who has been general manager of sales for The Australian and the News Prestige Network since 2018, steps into the director of sales role at the publishing house. Leaving Bauer after more than 14 years, Gardiner returns to New Zealand to head up Ovato as managing director. The search for Cook’s replacement has begun, with News Corp to look both internally and externally.
APAC Effies enlists Unilever's David Porter
The Asia Pacific Effie Awards has announced David Porter, Vice President of Global Media at Unilever AAR (markets outside Europe and the Americas) as the chairman for the 2020 edition of the Awards. Porter possesses more than 40 years of industry experience in both agency and in-house capacities. Prior to joining Unilever in 2010, Porter spent 25 years in UK agencies before a seven-year stay in Asia Pacific with Mindshare where he managed the agency’s multimarket relationship with Unilever. Porter chairs the World Federation of Advertisers Media Forum, APAC and the Mobile Marketing Association, APAC. He was also a head of jury at the 2018 APAC Effie Awards.
BRING capitalises on power of music
Universal Music Australia’s creative agency BRING has hired Adam Ireland as general manager, brand partnerships. Reporting to BRING managing director Roddy Campbell, Ireland will focus on building commercial relationships and identifying brands who understand the power of investing in music and value the opportunity to work with global and domestic artists via Universal Music Group. Ireland will tap into BRING and Universal Music Group’s custom insights and talent access, to assist in crafting culturally compelling campaigns across live events, branded content and media solutions. Ireland joins most recently from sports storytelling platform AthletesVoice, where he held the position of chief revenue officer.
KMPG elevates Amanda Hicks
KPMG Australia has appointed Amanda Hicks as national managing partner of brand and marketing and a member of the firm’s National Executive Committee. She will continue to lead the firm’s Customer, Brand and Marketing Advisory (CBMA) business. In her new role, Hicks will be responsible for leading KPMG’s marketing and branding function in Australia. She initially joined KPMG through the firm’s acquisition of her business, Acuity Research & Insights and was appointed to lead the CBMA team in July 2019.
Q Advertising appoints new GM
Queensland agency Q Advertising has promoted Sarah Davis to the position of general manager. Davis has been working with the agency for the last four years as a senior account director. She recently completed an MBA at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Q Advertising director Roger Delaney says the appointment was an important announcement for the business as it seeks to grow its market share across Australia.
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