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.
R/GA VP managing director Rebecca Bezzina exits
R/GA Australia VP managing director Rebecca Bezzina resigned from her role within the agency and is set to exit the business in March. Bezzina was a "near-founding" member of R/GA Sydney, joining as client services director in 2013. After a stint as the Sydney MD for Cummins&Partners, she returned to the agency in 2016 as MD, spearheading two and half years of growth.
VMLY&R names new managing partners
VMLY&R bolstered its leadership following the merger of VML and Y&R last year. Katie Dally and Miles Scott were both promoted to joint managing partners of the Sydney office. The pair report to joint CEOs Aden Hepburn and Pete Bosilkovski, who are also based in the Sydney office. Also, as part of the leadership boost, Dave Di Veroli was appointed to head of strategy and innovation. Veroli has been with the agency since 2013, most recently as strategy director for VML.
Dentsu exec exits for Initiative
Initiative appointed current Dentsu Aegis Network media executive Sarah James to the role of Melbourne managing director. James is currently the managing director of DAN's bespoke media unit, Woolworths@DAN, which operates as a dedicated client services team for the supermarket giant. She was previously chief digital officer for DAN media agency Carat and a member of the agency’s senior leadership team.
QMS beefs up sports business with senior hires
QMS appointed former MCN national sales director Shae Bonney to the role of general manager - sales for its rapidly expanding sports sales, assets and rights division QMS Sport. Bonney will also be joined by Kurt Allison as Brisbane sales manager and Clara Martello to the newly created role of research and insights specialist.
M&C Saatchi scoops top ECD duo
M&C Saatchi Sydney appointed Mandie van der Merwe and Avish Gordhan as joint executive creative directors. The pair have previously worked in the same roles at Cummins&Partners, where they led the agency to be one of the top 20 independent agencies in the world. They’ve also worked across South Africa and the Middle East together.
Clemenger BBDO adds new head of planning
Clemenger BBDO Melbourne appointed Alex Roper to the newly created role of head of planning. Roper has previously worked at WiTH Collective ANZ and M&C Saatchi Sydney. In his new role Roper is responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the agency’s planning department, in addition to leading strategy on key client accounts.
Grant Broadcasters appoints new sales and marketing boss
Regional radio network owner Grant Broadcasters promoted Jeremy Simpson to group general manager, national sales and marketing. Prior to joining Grant Broadcasters in 2016, Simpson had held multiple sales leadership roles at fellow radio network Southern Cross Austereo. He reports to the network's new COO Rick Lenarcic in his new role.
VMLY&R names new managing partners
VMLY&R bolstered its leadership following the merger of VML and Y&R last year. Katie Dally and Miles Scott were both promoted to joint managing partners of the Sydney office. The pair report to joint CEOs Aden Hepburn and Pete Bosilkovski, who are also based in the Sydney office. Also, as part of the leadership boost, Dave Di Veroli was appointed to head of strategy and innovation. Veroli has been with the agency since 2013, most recently as strategy director for VML.
Creative agency Edge nabs former McCann GM
Independent creative agency Edge named Nicole Gardner as executive director - account management. Gardner has more than 20 years of experience, with her most recent role being at Quantcast. She was previously general manager at McCann Sydney, joining after McCann acquired independent agency Smart.
Hootsuite has 'leadership refresh'
Social media management tool Hootsuite named former Dell, Oracle and Marketo executive Heather Cook as managing director in a leadership shake-up. It also revealed a new head of sales, Pamela Kemp, who will lead the marketing function in Australia and New Zealand. Kemp has 12 years of digital and content marketing leadership experience, including roles at software company 9 Spokes, Deloitte and law firm King and Wood Mallesons.
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