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.
Howatson+Company appoints chief creative
Independent agency Howatson+Company has appointed Levi Slavin as chief creative officer, following the departure of cofounder Ant White. Slavin has 21 years’ experience in the industry, most recently working at Colenso BBDO in New Zealand. He has also worked in the UK, US and Australia.
Kirsty Muddle heads up Cummins&Partners Australia
Kirsty Muddle, founding partner and managing director of Cummins&Partners Sydney, has been named CEO of the Australian operations of the 10-year-old independent agency.
DDB Group Sydney appoints new CEO
Sheryl Marjoram, McCann London’s CEO, is returning to Australia after two decades to become DDB Group Sydney CEO. DDB conducted an international search to fill the vacancy created by Priya Patel’s promotion to CEO of DDB Group Aotearoa New Zealand from managing director of DDB Sydney.
Kate Silver elevated to Leo Burnett Melbourne boss
Leo Burnett Australia CEO, Emma Montgomery, announced the promotion of Kate Silver to the role of general manager, Leo Burnett Melbourne. Silver joined Leo Burnett Melbourne as a group account director more than five years ago from a marketing management role at iSelect. "It’s a pretty exciting time to be part of Leos – we have a very clear view of where and what we want to be for our clients and I’m proud I can be part of something awesome in an agency I love," Silver says.
Joan Warner departs CRA after 20 years
Joan Warner is stepping down as Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) chief executive officer early next year. Warner has led the industry body since 2001, overseeing significant transformations in the radio industry. CRA will begin searching for a replacement immediately with the aim of a new chief executive taking up the position during the first quarter of 2022.
Seven appoints head of research and insights
Seven West Media has named Craig Johnson as its head of research and insights. Johnson is responsible for measuring and analysing data and insights from Seven’s audiences across all platforms, including broadcast TV and streaming platform 7plus. He was previously embedded at Facebook's Californian head office as a senior vice president – global business partner leader at Nielsen, where he managed the global alliance between Facebook and Nielsen.
Inc. Digital Media boss departs
Loan Morris is stepping down as CEO of inc. Digital Media to return to her family in France. Morris has been with inc. for more than five years and was appointed CEO in April last year. She will leave the agency in November. Replacing Morris as managing director is Claire O’Connor, the former APAC vice president, retail and licensing at ViacomCBS Networks International in Singapore.
72andSunny makes senior hires
72andSunny boosted its team in Australia with four hires in strategy and creative roles. Joining the team are: Genevieve Hoey, Michael Kleinmann - who returns to Australia after a five-year spell at Droga5 New York, Daniel Cook and Job van Dijk. “It’s rad to have such superstars joining the 72 family, we have great energy, and are making lots of awesome work right now. I can’t wait to see what we all create together,” 72andSunny Sydney ECD Luke Martin says.
Guardian Australia expands team
Guardian Australia has appointed Nikki Mercado as account director in Western Australia and Sophie George as state sales manager in Queensland. Mercado has more than 14 years’ experience, working at companies such as Yahoo!, REA and rent.com.au. George has more than 22 years of media experience working with the Daily Mail in Australia and the UK.
NOVA Entertainment makes two senior appointments
NOVA Entertainment has appointed Mary Datoc as managing editor for the network and Michael McPhee as announcer/operations manager. Datoc’s career spans more than 25 years of global media and entertainment industry expertise including 10 years in senior roles with Channel V, and consulting for MTV based in Seoul localising MTV’s international programming content for Asian markets, before joining smoothfm and a stint with M&C Saatchi Sydney. Both Datoc and McPhee will be based in Sydney.
Kaimera in hiring spree
Independent media agency Kaimera has recruited five new team members following several client wins including BritBox, Campos and Under Armour. Daniel Miller is platforms manager. Ayesha Foote, Alana MacIntyre and Ariana Gantous are client co-ordinators. Nathan Brake is social & content executive. Olivia Scott has been promoted to client manager.
Reprise Australia makes two key hires
Andy Holford has joined Reprise as chief product officer. Holford was previously head of customer at Fitness and Lifestyle Group and has also worked at fitness business Les Mills International, and education company EF. Guy McGechan has been appointed general manager, client and commercial at Reprise. McGechan is a member of the agency’s senior management team and has led the Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide businesses for the past 18 months.
Pearman names new head of digital
Independent media agency Pearman has appointed Bhawani Singh as its new head of digital. Singh has worked on a range of big brands including Coca Cola, Unilever, Bunnings, and Harvey Norman. He has also led the digital specialist team in the Business Connect program, a $60 million NSW Government-funded project.
Sydney independent Murmur promotes media director
Sydney independent agency Murmur has promoted its media director Corey Middleton to the role of client service director. In the new role, Middleton will lead all strategic campaign planning elements for clients in addition to the media campaigns. Middleton joined Murmur two years ago from iProspect, and in that time has been critical to the success of all campaigns he’s been involved in.
Blis appoints regional boss
Programmatic advertising partner Blis has appointed Emma-Jayne Owens as managing director of Asia-Pacific. Blis has been growing in the region since launching in 2014 with Owens already operating as managing director for Australia and New Zealand since 2019.
Fifth Dimension Consulting expands executive leadership team
Strategic research and consulting agency Fifth Dimension Consulting has expanded its executive leadership team after significant growth. Lyndall Spooner moved up from managing director to CEO. John Crowley and Alex Vishney have been promoted from directors to joint managing director roles. “We have experienced strong growth during the pandemic as we continue to raise our profile as thought leaders in the industry. We have grown our overall staff base by 20%, increased revenue by 20% and are now rolling out a new organisation structure that will continue to support and grow our high-performance and innovation-led culture,” Spooner says.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.