Mediaweek’s Media Movers charts the biggest people moves in the industry over the past week.
Andrew Hicks
Woolworths Group chief marketing officer Andrew Hicks will step down at the end of the 2025 financial year, marking the end of a 16-year tenure with the supermarket giant.
Hicks, who has held the CMO role since 2019, announced his departure to staff on Thursday, though it is understood he made the decision several months ago. He will remain connected to the business in a strategic brand consulting capacity as Woolworths continues its transformation.
Nikki Grafton has been appointed as the first CEO of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) in New Zealand.
Grafton’s appointment marks the first time that OMG’s New Zealand operations will have executive oversight as a stand-alone market, rather than under a combined ANZ leadership team.
In the role, she will lead ongoing expansion and evolution of OMG’s future-ready business model and ensure OMG’s New Zealand agencies OMD, PHD and Hearts & Science have the talent, tools and technology needed to drive brand growth and tap into the opportunities available in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Mindshare has promoted Nik Doble to the role of chief investment officer.
Doble, who has more than 15 years of experience in the media industry, joined Mindshare 18 months ago from OMD.
In the new role, he will be responsible for overseeing the investment teams across Sydney and Melbourne. Doble will work with GroupM chief investment officer, Melissa Hey, to oversee a client portfolio including Unilever, Foxtel, NAB and Nike.
Carla Mathisen
SCA has announced the promotion of Carla Mathisen to head of sales Brisbane, where she will lead the strategic direction of the sales team, focus on revenue growth, and strengthen client and agency relationships.
Mathisen has been with SCA for a decade, progressing from account manager to group sales, before taking on the role of head of agency sales in 2023. She replaces Hamish Rose, who is leaving after 13 years, including the last five as Brisbane’s head of sales.
News Corp Australia has launched a new health section led by Ashleigh Gleeson as national health editor. She was previously chief of staff at the Herald Sun and has been with News Corp for nearly a decade.
Tamara McDonald joins the team as deputy national health editor from the Geelong Advertiser, where she was the acting chief of staff and a health reporter.
Bridget Jung, Toby Talbot, Max McKeon, Michelle Holland, Fran Clayton
Ogilvy has welcomed Max McKeon as its new Sydney ECD.
McKeon is known for his work on high-profile campaigns including the lauded Superbowl ad “It’s a Tide Ad”. He joins the agency from Special where he has worked on big-name brands including Uber Eats, Kayo Sports and Pepsi for the past four years.
Shannon Beven has begun as news editor for The Nightly, based in Perth. She was previously a producer and an editor at The West Australian for more than eight years.
Laura Placella has returned as a court reporter at the Herald Sun. She covered the round last year before moving to a city reporter role for the masthead, where she covered the Lord Mayor’s election.
DEPT has welcomed Christine Watts as its new client director for creative and media in Australia.
In this new role, she will contribute to the marketing and tech services company’s growth, leading relationships with clients such as eBay, Ancestry, Canon, Grill’d, and PBS Kids.
Watts brings over 15 years of experience in leading global agencies and brings a wealth of expertise in client service, business development, and leadership to the team. Her advertising career journey includes six and a half years in the United States and a leadership position at Wunderman in New York.
Kelsey Wilkie has been promoted to chief of staff for NewsWire after more than two years as the deputy chief of staff for the media outlet.
Todd Reilly
Todd Reilly, former APAC Domino’s chief marketing officer, has been appointed as the new CMO for Victorian home builder AHB Group.
Reilly will be AHB’s first chief marketing officer. He brings over 20 years of marketing and senior leadership experience, having worked with Domino’s across the APAC region, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Enigma has appointed Joanna Lilley as its new managing director in Sydney.
She will lead Enigma’s Sydney team, driving key client relationships while working closely with Newcastle managing director, Jack Mason, brand strategy head, Olivia Hannah Matthews, and executive planning director, Karl Bates and reporting to Enigma founder Lisa Sutton Gardner.
Emily Holgate joined the Good Food team at The Age, working as an assistant producer for the Good Food app. She previously worked as a freelance writer for a year, covering lifestyle topics for titles including Body+Soul, Broadsheet, The Design Files, and Urban List.
Liam Murphy has started as a reporter at PerthNow. He was previously a news reporter at Examiner Newspapers for six months, and before that, he was a cadet journalist at SBS in Sydney.