Move and win roundup: Week of October 28, 2024

Droga5 has appointed Emma Montgomery as global chief strategy officer. She will be responsible for connecting the agency’s strategy and creative offerings globally and will be based in the NYC headquarters. Before joining Droga5, Montgomery served as CEO of DDB Chicago. With a career that spans Australia, US, and UK, she brings a vast international expertise to her new role. Montgomery was also the CEO of Leo Burnett Australia before relocating to the US in 2023. 

Sling & Stone has added to its Australian leadership team.

• Stefanie Safahi has been appointed as associate director, startups. Prior to Sling & Stone, she was senior account directof from Icon Agency. Safahi is also a co-founder of VC Women Down Under, a 200+ strong community of female partners in Venture Capital.
• Amy Brinker gets promoted to director, Australia. Brinker has been with the agency for four years, leading clients including Google Cloud and Stripe. She will join the Australian and global leadership teams.
• Lucie Buchan has also been promoted associate director.Buchan will continue to build out Sling & Stone’s capabilities in research.

Third Hemisphere, a PR agency has opened a Melbourne office as Erika Rutledge and Milanny Odon joined the new office to support the agency in amplifying voices in the climate, technology, and finance sectors. Rutledge joins the agency as an account director, bringing over a decade of experience in PR. She has worked for Thrive PR + Communications, Publicis and Red Havas. Odon joins Third Hemisphere as an account executive. Before joining the agency, she worked in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, including Ogilvy and Telus International.

The chief executive, chief creative, and chief strategy officers of Accenture Song’s creative agency The Monkeys Melbourne are exiting the agency after more than seven years. Paul McMillan, Ant Keogh, and Michael Derepas will launch their own independent agency, per a report by LBB.  The Monkeys has confirmed the news and said, "We wish them all the best for their future endeavours.” In 2017, the three joined jumped from Clemengers to join The Monkeys Melbourne and head up operations following Accenture’s purchase of the agency. Their departures come at a time when Accenture Song is set to integrate The Monkeys into the Droga5 brand, starting December 1.

Paul Hutchison, CEO of Bohemia, a media agency owned by M&C Saatchi Group in Australia, has reportedly stepped down from his role. He became CEO in 2022. Moving back to the United Kingdom is reported by Australian media as the reason for his departure. Before joining  Bohemia, Hutchison served as CEO of Wavemaker UK. Prior to Wavemaker, he worked for MEC, Vizeum, and DLKW Lowe in the UK.

Clarity, strategic communications and digital marketing agency, has announced the formation of its Clarity Global Crisis Council, providing an expanded follow-the-sun crisis and reputation management service. Following Clarity’s 2023 acquisition of Australian crisis and reputation management agency Sefiani, the global service has been driven by Sefiani in Australia. It will be led by its crisis management team of Robyn Sefiani, president ANZ & reputation counsel at Sefiani and Nicholas Owens, president of corporate and crisis communications at Sefiani.

Uniqlo has retained Starcom as its media agency for Hong Kong following a competitive pitch. The new contract will last for one year, and Starcom will continue to take charge of media buying, planning, and e-commerce for the brand in the Hong Kong market. The partnership started in September 2022. Starcom is also Uniqlo's agency of record in Singapore. 

Bluemarlin, global brand acceleration agency across Asia, EU and the USA, has appointed Samantha Dumont as the new executive creative director of its new London HQ. Dumont initially joined the agency as a guest ECD, making an immediate impact on key client projects across India and the EU. In the new role, she will focus on extending the agency’s capabilities across consumer goods and corporate clients, particularly in the growing beverage, personal care and energy sectors. Additionally, she will provide immediate leadership to the creative team, fostering a dynamic culture at the new studio in Shoreditch.  

Starcom Australia CEO Nick Keenan has departed after serving the role for over four years. The search for a new CEO  is underway. Publicis Groupe ANZ CEO Michael Rebelo confirmed the departure to the press and thanked Keenan for his contributions. Keenan was appointed to lead Starcom Australia in 2020 when he joined the agency after two years as chief executive of a fast food restaurant, Red Roster. Keenan worked for MediaCom, Maxus, CrownLotto and CrownBet, prior to Red Roster.

MSQ and Elmwood has appointed Ambrish Chaudhry as head of strategy for Asia. In this role, Ambrish will lead efforts to deepen the strategic offering across brand design, content, and communications, driving growth for the group’s rapidly expanding client base in Asia. Ambrish was previously head of strategy, Southeast Asia and India for WPP’s Design Bridge and Partners and has held senior roles within WPP across consulting, advertising, and market research.  

GroupM is launching a new division in Australia and New Zealand next January and has appointed Lisa Squillace to head Motion Entertainment, GroupM’s global entertainment division in ANZ. Before joining GroupM, she served as national sales director of Paramount ANZ, and board of directors at ThinkTV Australia.

Kathleen Gunther has launched Gunther Consulting, based in Melbourne, a new fractional marketing service aimed at empowering agencies and marketing partners to scale their brand presence and drive sustainable growth. With over 20 years of experience building brands across Australia and New Zealand, Gunther has held senior marketing roles at agencies including Omnicom, Social Soup, and YoungShand. Most recently, she was marketing director at Icon Communications.

Little Dot Studios, a content studio and digital media network, has promoted Tim Beecroft to head of agency sales, ANZ and appointed Clare Rees as NSW sales director in the Australian office. Prior to joining Little Dot Studios, part of All3Media, in August 2022 as the Victorian sales director, Beecroft was at News Corp. Rees joined Little Dot Studios ANZ to work alongside the Sydney team. She comes to Little Dot Studios from Schwartz Media where, as the NSW sales manager.

Campaign can confirm that DDB Sydney and Westpac have ended their relationship after 13 years of collaboration, effective February 2025. The account went to pitch in September this year with independent Howatson+Co, DDB, Accenture, and  Saatchi & Saatchi making it to the shortlist. In May, DDB appointed Vanessa Boueyres as managing partner to lead the Westpac account, one of the agency’s largest teams. Boueyres previously served as head of marketing at sustainable furniture company Koskela and held senior roles at Woolworths Group and M&C Saatchi Group AUNZ.

In a joint statement issued to the press, DDB Sydney group CEO Sheryl Marjoram, chief creative officer Matt Chandler and chief strategy officer Rupert Price said: “It’s a bittersweet farewell for us, as our time with the bank has resulted in some of the agency’s proudest moments. Over the years we defied the banking category with emotionally charged work that connected with Australians.

“We saw the brand through leadership changes, a Royal Commission, the global pandemic, and a 200th anniversary; we co-created products, services and platforms, and had the privilege of shining a light on the brave men and women of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. Saying we’re proud of this relationship would be an understatement, we loved shaping this brand and believe it always showed in our work."

Campaign Asia-Pacific cannot currently confirm the winner of the pitch.

Andrew Murray has joined OpenDoor, part of GroupM, as transition lead, marketplace/investment. Murray departed ­­­­­­­­the IPG media agency UM Australia earlier this year when the agency let go of an undisclosed number of staff members in its Sydney and Melbourne offices. He was the national head of trading, who was leaving immediately after a tenure of 20 years with the agency.

Detmold Group, global innovators in sustainable paper and board packaging solutions, has appointed Orchard as its digital agency through a competitive pitch. This will see the digital creative agency work across businesses, including Detpak, and Paperpak. The new partnership will see Orchard further grow the e-commerce and martech offerings for the Detmold Group. With over 70 years of history, the Detmold Group operates globally and works with brands such as Woolworths, McDonald's, Uber Eats and Dusk.  

Teeth, the Singapore-based independent agency, has expanded its creative leadership team. Diego Barboza has been appointed creative director, joining Mikey Batt. Barboza brings 14 years of experience from Brazil and Singapore, having worked with agencies such as Ogilvy, David, JWT, Iris Worldwide, and Publicis/LePub. Batt has over 18 years of industry experience across New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and will continue to guide Teeth's creative direction. The expanded leadership team also includes Steve Kyriakou and Hazyrah Mokhlas.

Grey has promoted Duffy Lau to managing director, Hong Kong. He will report to APAC CEO Sarah Trombetta. Lau has been with Grey Hong Kong since 2014, starting as an associate account director, Greater China. He was most recently general manager of the agency from 2021. Before joining Grey, Lau worked for Leo Burnett Group and McCann Worldgroup in his early career.

Mindshare China has announced the renewal of its partnership with Master Kong Beverage. Mindshare will continue to deliver integrated omnichannel media services to Master Kong Beverage’s entire product line. This is a one-year contract, effective from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. Additionally, Mindshare is tapping into WPP’s broader network, collaborating with Grey in China to create a bespoke client-servicing team for the brand. Master Kong Beverage, a household name in China, owns brands such as Master Kong Iced Black Tea, Master Kong Green Tea, and Master Kong Jasmine Tea. The partnership between Mindshare and Master Kong Beverage started in 2014.  

Master Kong’s renewal comes at a critical time for Mindshare, which lost two major clients in China earlier this year: Dyson and Yum China. Dyson, valued at $124 million, ended its 11-year partnership with the agency in April, moving to Publicis Media. Yum China, a $400 million account, also cut ties with Mindshare after 26 years, following a media review initiated in February after GroupM’s involvement in the bribery scandal in China came to light. At the time, Campaign had reported that GroupM agencies were excluded from re-pitching for both Dyson and Yum China’s business. 

Atomic 212°, an independent media agency, has elevated Rory Heffernan as chief executive, effective November 1. Heffernan was most recently national managing director and an integral member of the leadership team. He will take the leadership baton from Claire Fenner, who steps down after leading the agency for several years to spend more time with her family. Heffernan joined Atomic 212° in 2010 and was the agency’s first employee. He has since held several roles at the agency, including digital operations and client relationship, GM of its Melbourne office.

Tug Sydney, a digital marketing agency, has been appointed by Australian women’s fashion retailer, Suzanne Grae, to manage its SEO, paid search, and paid media. The agency was initially tasked with enhancing Suzanne Grae’s organic search and has now expanded its remit with responsibility for increasing share of voice and driving audience traffic on digital channels through both search and paid media. Tug Sydney’s clients include Merlin Entertainment, Budget Direct SG, Heinemann and Bluebeam.

Stan’s chief marketing officer, Diana Ilinkovski, has left after a decade of working for the brand, effective immediately. According to Australian media, she “resigned from her position as CMO to spend time with her family”. Ilinkovski joined Stan in 2014, ahead of its launch, as marketing comms manager. She moved into the head of brand, creative and comms role in 2016 and then to marketing director in 2019. She was promoted to chief marketing officer in 2021.

FCB Interface, a part of FCB Group India, has appointed Noor Samra as national planning director. Sarma joined from Leo Burnett, where she was senior vice president strategy. She also worked for J. W. Thompson, PepsiCo and Quantum before Leo Burnett. Her experience includes working with brands such as Spotify, PhonePe, Whisper, Visa, HDFC Life, Lay's, Kurkure, Doritos, Quaker, and Heineken among others. She will play a key role in FCB Group's strategy council, collaborating with leaders across the network to elevate the agency's strategic offerings. 

Mitali Srivastava Hough has exited McCann Worldgroup, stepping down from her role as senior VP and head of planning for the Mumbai office. With over 25 years of experience, Hough has worked with agencies like DDB Mudra, Ogilvy & Mather, Famous Innovations, and TBWA India. Hough hinted at her intent to mentor her creative consultancy, The Equal Agency, and continue advising various other agencies. In addition to her consultancy work, she is diving into a collaboration with musical maestro AR Rahman, where she will be contributing as a writer on a major project that is an amalgamation of creativity and technology.