Rory Heffernan has been appointed as chief executive officer of Atomic 212°, effective 1 November.
Heffernan, who has been Atomic 212°’s national managing director for over two years, will succeed Claire Fenner who resigned earlier this month and leaves the independent media agency on 31 October.
He was the first employee of Atomic 212°, joining the Sydney office in 2010 before moving to Melbourne in 2014 to lead digital operations and client relationships. Heffernan was then appointed general manager of the Melbourne office in 2019 before stepping up to the national managing director role in February 2022.
This year, has seen Heffernan awarded by trade media press, including the New Business award in Mediaweek’s Next of the Best list.
“Thank you to Barry (O’Brien, chairman) and James (Dixon, chief data officer and partner) for what has been an incredible journey and experience to get to this point with Atomic 212°,” Heffernan said.
“I am very honoured to take on the CEO role and to lead this fantastic team into the future, building on the success and impact we have had within the industry to date.
“The past two years have been remarkable for our business, with significant growth in staff, billings and revenue. The refinement of our product across trading, data, performance and strategy has led to great results for clients old and new alike, and I’m incredibly proud of the internal development we’ve had for our people – from our leadership team to our industry-leading People & Culture program.
“Thank you to our amazing people and our supportive, collaborative clients for making us the business we are today. I look forward to working with you all to continue to grow our agency and capabilities, as I will continue to focus on innovation and how we best equip our clients and team into the future,” he added.
Rory Heffernan and Claire Fenner
Last week Fenner announced her resignation as national chief executive officer of Atomic 212°. She said of her time at the agency: “After an amazing 10 years at Atomic 212°, I’ve achieved so many goals and had so much success. I’m looking forward to having more time to focus on my family in my next adventure. It’s a decision that doesn’t come lightly, as I have come to consider many members of the Atomic 212° team family.
“We’ve had a phenomenal journey together and achieved unmatched success. I’m incredibly proud to be leaving Atomic 212° as the number one independent media agency.
“Thank you to all the brilliant, talented people in the business and, in particular, the incredible senior leadership team who have all played an instrumental role in the success of Atomic 212° and the success of our client partnerships.
“Thank you to our partners, our clients. We have been so fortunate to attract and work with such valued partners who truly understand what partnership is and are a pleasure to work with every day, working together towards a common goal. We have thrived off the success of your businesses,” she said.
Barry O’Brien
Atomic 212° Chairman, Barry O’Brien, said: “This is one of the better things I get to do: to proudly make this announcement as chairman of Australia’s largest independent media agency.
“Good things come to those who wait and today is a wonderful moment for all of Atomic 212° – and a moment 14 years in the making. Rory was our first employee, and he has grown from the first day he walked into our company. He has played a key role in the growth and success of our clients, our people and our agency. It’s fantastic to see him step up into the CEO position and I know he is going to do a great job.
“Rory will take the reins seamlessly from the great work done by Claire Fenner to lead the team and the company into the future, having set the bar at the highest level for himself and the team with the extraordinary success we have enjoyed over the past few years,” he said.
James Dixon
James Dixon, Atomic 212° chief data officer and partner, said: “Rory has been with us since the start and has made an invaluable contribution to the success of Atomic 212°. I can’t think of anyone better and more deserving of becoming our new CEO.”
Heffernan’s appointment follows a series of client wins and retentions for Atomic 212° over the past year including BlueScope, Great Wall Motor, BMW Australia and New Zealand, Bupa, the Northern Territory Government, Tourism Northern Territory, Northern Territory Major Events Company, Darrell Lea, Victoria University, My Muscle Chef, Vet Partners, Adyen and UKG.
Atomic 212° won Global Independent Agency of the Year (Media) and Global Digital Innovation Agency of the Year in Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year Awards announced in June 2024, and won Best Agency Culture and Talent (more than 100 awards) at the 2024 MFA Awards in September.
It also ranked #1 among independent agencies in Australia in new business wins, including client retentions, according to the FY 2023 report from COMvergence.