Martin Sorrell makes shock departure from WPP
Martin Sorrell has made a shock departure from WPP amidst allegations of personal misconduct. The company is now hunting for a new CEO to replace Sorrell who has been in the role for 33 years. In the statement issued about Sorrell’s resignation, WPP says the investigation into the allegations has concluded and “did not involve amounts that are material.” The statement did not address whether those amounts and the allegations of misconduct were separate matters. Sorrell said in a statement that it’s in the company’s “best interest” he steps down. Read more.
GroupM recruits Imran Masood as Xaxis MD
GroupM has appointed former Sizmek ANZ boss Imran Masood as managing director of its programmatic platform Xaxis. He will be joined by new Xaxis GM Steve Wood, who transitions across from its data, tech a service hub [m]Platform Australia, where he is director of services. GroupM has also promoted MediaCom's national head of business science Juan Franco to head up [m]Platform. Masood left the buy-side advertising platform Sizmek at the end of 2017 after nearly two years at the helm of the company. He has 14 years of experience in the media, marketing and advertising industry, and has previously worked at Amobee, Adconian, Network Ten and MTV. Masood was previously a member of IAB Australia’s technology council. Read more.
Vince Lagana exits Leo Burnett for The Monkeys
The Monkeys has lured Vince Lagana to the growing agency as ECD, exiting Leo Burnett Sydney after six years at the agency. His departure follows the news CEO Pete Bosilkovski has left Leo Burnett for Y&R. He joins The Monkeys from his role of co-ECD at Leos, where he produced work including Small World Machines, Bundaberg Rum’s Road to Recovery, and Samsung’s S-Drive, LifeLIVE, BrainBAND and Pocket Patrol initiatives. The Monkeys has been rapidly expanding since its acquisition by Accenture and picking up a slate of clients last year, including Canadian Club, Australia Post, Holden and more. Read more.
Columbus picks up nine new clients and recruits group business directors
Dentsu Aegis Network's data-driven marketing agency Columbus has picked up a spate of new business since the launch of Merkle in Australia. The agency has secured nine new clients, including Macquarie University, Event Hospitality & Entertainment Limited and Hi Pages, adding $10 million in annual billings. It has also appointed six additional staff and two group business directors, Leonie Dawkins and Guy McGechan, to manage the new business wins. Dawkins joins Columbus from Carat and McGechan joins from Havas Media. “Leonie and Guy are stellar examples of the great talent in our industry. Both have diverse backgrounds across media with deep expertise in delivering results for a wide range of clients,” Columbus chief executive Rebecca Tos said. Read more
Neil Shoebridge to leave Ten to set up consultancy
Network Ten’s head of corporate communications Neil Shoebridge has resigned to start his own corporate communications consultancy. Shoebridge has led Ten’s corporate communications for the past six years and was previously the media and marketing editor at the AFR for almost a decade. He leaves Ten on 25 May but will continue to work with the company as a consultant. A new head of communications will be revealed soon. “Neil has done an amazing job at leading our communications and publicity teams and we are very grateful for the passion and dedication he has shown Ten and our industry over the past six years,” Network Ten CEO Paul Anderson said. Read more.
McCann continues to bolster creative team in Sydney
McCann Sydney has grown its creative and production teams with new hires and the integration of Smart Sydney into McCann Sydney. Iggy Rodriguez and Justin Carew join the agency, both former creative group heads at Leo Burnett, as creative directors. The wider-team from Smart Sydney will expand the production and creative departments respectively. The appointments also follow the announcement of Nicole Taylor as national CEO for McCann Australia. Taylor joined McCann from DDB Sydney where she had also been CEO. Read more.
M&C Saatchi Melbourne appoints new ECD
M&C Saatchi Melbourne has appointed Emma Hill to the role of executive creative director. Hill joins the agency from The Shannon Company, where she had been creative director and managing partner. She will work closely with the M&C Saatchi Melbourne MD Andy Cairns and chief creative officer Cam Blackley. Her 20 years of experience with brands including Carlton and United Breweries beer brands Pure Blond and Strongbow, Dulux and Bupa Health Insurance was a key reason behind the decision. Blackley said Hill was the only name on the list when looking at the future creative leadership of M&C Saatchi. Read more.
SCA appoints new head of TV sales in Sydney
Southern Cross Austereo has today announced the promotion of Nathan Soulsby to head of TV sales - Sydney. The announcement comes after Kristen Budd’s move to GM of SCA’s Central Coast office. Caretaking the role recently, SCA national head of television sales Will Allen said Soulsby had been a key contributor to the consistent share and revenue growth for the company. Previously group sales manager, Nathan has been with SCA for just under two years.
Melina Hamilton joins AnalogFolk as strategy director - experiences
AnalogFolk has appointed Melina Hamilton to the newly created position of strategy director - experiences. Hamilton joins AnalogFolk from MullenLowe Profero where she was senior business designer leading CX and product strategy for three years. Hamilton has more than eight years experience developing customer-led ecosystems for clients in Australia and the UK, with previous digital experience at Razorfish, Sage Pay and Universal Music. Most recently at MullenLowe Profero she was leading strategic development for Brown Forman / Jack Daniels, Student Super and QIC Global Real Estate experiences.
Mindshare appoints new client director
Mindshare Melbourne has appointed Liam Hale as client director on its Nike account. Hale joined GroupM on 16 April and reports to Mindshare Melbourne MD Helena Snowdon. He joins from Dentsu Aegis Network where he was digital director at Vizeum Melbourne. Hale is taking over from Jane Kennedy-Good who has moved internally to a senior planning role on the Treasury Wine Estates business. Previously, Hale was an account director at iProspect in London.
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