The Agency 50, 2024 counts down the top 50 most influential media agency executives and leaders in the country and how they positively influence the industry, their organisation, and their client’s business.
Criteria for the Media Agency 50
Influence on industry, organisation and clients
Innovation
Company size
Growth
Australian owned/Independent
Company culture
Every day this week, we’ll countdown the names on the list releasing more each day until we’ll reveal who’s in the number one position on Friday at the Mediaweek 100 lunch.
Louise Romeo
Starcom Australia, chief operating officer
Louise Romeo was appointed as chief operating officer of Starcom Australia in 2023.
She has over 17 years of industry experience in the Australian media industry, having held senior roles across multiple holding companies.
Romeo has managed a diverse portfolio of local and global clients across various sectors, including automotive, retail, FMCG, entertainment, banking, travel, and telecommunications.
As chief operating officer, Romeo’s role is unique in market, as it blends the precision of investment strategy with the finesse of operational management. With her continued focus on national standardisation, operational effectiveness, and investment, Louise is committed to shaping the media agency of the future.
A key milestone for Romeo in 2023 was working alongside her Starcom team to secure one of the biggest local pitches of the year, TPG Telecom.
Jane Stanley
Hearts & Science, chief executive officer
Stanley has been with the Omnicom Media Group agency since its launch in New Zealand in 2019. Her experience in marketing leadership spans over a decade, encompassing a full gamut of categories, including brand, creative, digital, CRM, and media.
Stanley is passionate about leading innovation in the marketing and communications field and, in doing so, creating an inspiring workplace for internal teams.
As a business analyst in her early career, she is deeply rooted in the power of data. She understands its ability to provide brand and audience insights that propel business growth.
Under her leadership, Hearts & Science Australia and New Zealand has added brands such as Sony Pictures Home Entertainment to its client list over the last 12 months.
Sue Squillace
MediaHub ANZ, chief executive officer
With over 25 years in the industry, Squillace is an established and experienced media executive who is passionate about building high-performing teams to deliver strategic integrated and innovative client solutions that deliver long-term brand value.
She was appointed as CEO of MediaHub ANZ in June 2023 and oversees the Mediahub Sydney and Perth offices as an extension of Mediahub’s JV partnership.
Mediahub’s recent wins include Arla Foods, New Balance in October 2023 and a partnership with 303 MullenLowe and Carat for the WA Government. Under Squillace, Mediahub also expanded into New Zealand in December 2023.
Squillace recently joined the advisory board for a new industry careers platform using her experience to raise the profile of the industry. She is also an active board member of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and advocate of DEI in the workplace & Industry.
Dominic Pearman
Pearman Media, managing director and founder
With 45 years of experience in advertising agencies, Dominic Pearman has witnessed the evolution of media agencies as they separated from traditional advertising agencies and observed the tremendous fragmentation of media consumption.
Pearman founded Pearman Media in 1996 and to this day, the agency remains 100% independent.
Some of Pearman Media’s clients include sonnen, Aston Martin, Sydney Royal Easter Show and Jaycar Electronics.
Chris Colter
Accenture Song, managing director of media strategy ANZ
Colter made waves earlier this year when he moved from Initiative with long-time partners Sam Geer and Melissa Fein to head up a new media division at Accenture Song. He is now managing director of media strategy ANZ at Accenture Song.
Colter is one of the industry’s most respected and accoladed strategists. He has helped some of the country’s most prestigious brands take the brave leaps necessary to impact culture and grow their brands.
Prior to his new role, Colter was the chief strategy and product officer of Initiative and was instrumental in the transformation and success of the agency, including record business growth, industry accolades and the expansion into the New Zealand market.
He has led some of the most famous and effective campaigns in recent years, such as Meat and Livestock Australia’s Spring Lamb, LEGO’s Star of Christmas and Tourism Australia’s Aussie News Today and Dundee.
Outside of Accenture, Colter is an active industry champion for creative connections strategy, Co-Chairing the MFA Ex and Awards board, lecturing at university and founding ‘StratClub’; the industry community for all media agency and publisher strategists to share unified challenges, inspiration, knowledge to further the craft of the industry.
Simon Rush
JOY, chief executive officer
Rush, a respected media identity in Australia, attributes the agency’s success to its deliberate tendency to fly “under the radar,” with most of their clients attained through referrals.
JOY, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, prides itself on a dedication to recognising and releasing a brand’s potential in every aspect through holistic optimisation.
The agency’s work over the last 20 years has won awards at every major domestic and international award event in media, creative, digital, and social.
A few of the agency’s notable wins over the last few years include DeLonghi Group (AU+NZ), Musashi, Nutra Life, Kismet Films, Perfection Fresh, Brooks Running and The Australian Olive Oil Association.
Lucie Jansen
Spark Foundry Australia, chief investment officer
Jansen leads a large investment team and is a member of the National Leadership Team and the Publicis Investment Council.
An analytical thinker and an expert in navigating the media market, she leads investment strategy for all Spark Foundry Australia clients, including Toyota, Westpac, Arnott’s and Expedia Group.
Jansen has significantly expanded her team in recent years, with her leadership style and team culture resulting in high talent retention levels and contributing to an excellent agency happiness score.
She prides herself on championing excellence, consistency and sustainability in Spark’s investment product, which has delivered superior client business outcomes alongside significant new business wins.
Outside of her day-to-day, Jansen is a mentor for several of the industry’s female talent. She strives to inspire, develop and guide, ultimately playing her part in eradicating gender bias and discrimination.
Anthony Ellis
Publicis Media Exchange, CEO
In 2020, Anthony Ellis was appointed as the managing director of the Publicis Media Exchange (PMX), which is responsible for leading the investment product and partnerships (media, data and adtech) for all Publicis Media Agencies (Spark Foundry, Zenith, Starcom, Razorfish and MBM) across Australia and New Zealand.
In April this year, he was promoted to the new position of CEO for Publicis Media Exchange ANZ. Alongside continuing to drive the Groupe’s client-centric approach to deliver tailored investment solutions, his remit has also been expanded to include Publicis Groupe’s Sport & Entertainment division in Australia and New Zealand.
Ellis is also on the Board the Bestest Foundation, which is a children’s charity focused on helping kids that fall outside the boundaries of the larger established charities.
Mark Jarrett
PHD Australia, chief executive officer
Mark Jarrett is the chief executive officer of PHD Australia and has worked in the industry for 25 years with a career spanning almost every major category.
With his passion for comms planning, he has found considerable success leading PHD, an agency known for its heritage in strategy and planning, helping drive sustainable growth in both revenue and billings of nearly 40% over his CEO tenure making PHD one of the fast-growing agencies in market.
He has driven the agency to focus on harnessing creativity and innovation, with the business being recognised 6 years running by AFR’s Most Innovative in the media and marketing category, as well as picking up multiple awards including a coveted Cannes Lion in 2022.
Daniel Willis
Claxon, chairman and CEO
Willis established the independent performance media agency on the Gold Coast in 2017.
Since then, Claxon has expanded its service offering to include full capability across media, creative, experience and data – all in-house.
The agency’s footprint now stretches to offices in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Claxon’s recent wins include being appointed as the creative and media agency of record for the health and wellness supplement company, First or Nothing as well as Wideline Group and Celebrity Ink.
More to come…