Mediaweek’s Media Movers charts the biggest people moves in the industry over the past week.
Andrew Little and Matty Burton and Priya Patel
DDB Group AUNZ has unveiled new leadership with Andrew Little, regional president, stepping down after 25 years and New Zealand’s Priya Patel and Matty Burton taking on expanded roles.
Little started as managing director of DDB Melbourne and was promoted to CEO DDB Group Australia in 2013. This was followed by a promotion to president and CEO ANZ in 2021. His partnerships with Westpac (13 years), McDonald’s (56 years), Coles (two tenures) and Volkswagen (27 years) mark some of the most consistent and successful agency-client relationships in Australia.
Stepping up to take expanded roles are New Zealand CEO Priya Patel and New Zealand chief creative officer Matty Burton taking on expanded roles in the region effective April 1st. Patel extends her responsibility to regional CEO with Burton moving into the newly created role of chief creative officer for DDB Group AUNZ.
Tony Quarmby has departed Tourism NT after seven years with the tourism body as chief marketing officer.
A spokesperson said in a statement: “After seven successful years leading the destination marketing function of Tourism NT, Tony Quarmby has left the business to seek new challenges and opportunities.
“This provides a new phase for tourism in the Northern Territory and an opportunity to refresh its approach to marketing the destination.”
Rachel Page
OMD has appointed Rachel Page as managing director of OMD Melbourne.
She began her 28-year career as a media agency junior and returns agency side to join OMD Melbourne as a well-respected and proven leader in transforming teams, brands, partnerships and culture to drive commercial outcomes with Seven West Media and Yahoo.
Page’s appointment follows the promotion of Antonia Glezakos, who served as managing director for the last four of her 16 years with OMD, has been promoted within Omnicom Group to executive partner of Smith St.
IAB Australia has appointed Microsoft Advertising’s Nicole Prior as chair of its executive technology council (ETC) and has also become the ETC representative on the IAB Australia board.
Prior, who is head of media and adtech solutions APAC of Microsoft Advertising, replaces Adele Wieser, MD of Index Exchange, who has completed her two-year stint as chair.
Prior brings almost thirty years of experience in the industry to her role working across agency, adtech and publisher side. Previously she worked with Xandr, UM Australia, Mediacom, Starcom and Seven Network.
Pete Mountford
Independent agency AFFINITY has announced the promotion of Pete Mountford to the role of creative lead, following a standout year since joining the business in 2024 as senior copywriter.
With more than two decades of experience spanning digital and traditional agencies, including Leo Burnett and R/GA, Mountford has led creative work for major brands such as Telstra, ANZ, Google, and McDonald’s. His work has been recognised at top-tier shows, including the Webbys, Caples, ADMA, and AWARD.
carsales has appointed Craig Fraser as managing director, following the departure of Paul Barlow after more than 15 years with the business.
Fraser joins the CAR Group Global Leadership Team and steps into the role having joined carsales in 2008. He has since held a number of senior leadership roles, most recently serving as Executive General Manager – Automotive, Corporate, Industry & Leisure.
We Are Social has promoted Suzie Shaw to Asia-Pacific CEO and launched its new offices in Bangkok, Thailand.
Shaw moves into the new position after 10 years as CEO of We Are Social Australia. As APAC CEO, Shaw will be responsible for driving the creative agency‘s growth across Asia-Pacific, fostering regional partnerships, and strengthening capabilities.
Zac Pinkham
Samba TV has appointed Zac Pinkham as senior vice president of international, to oversee the EMEA and APAC business to drive growth and expand market share in key international regions.
His appointment at the company providing AI technology for media analytics comes on the heels of Samba TV’s strategic acquisition of Semasio and expansion to 50+ markets including strong representation across Europe, MENA, APAC, and the Americas.
Gabi Revell and Jarryd Haefele have combined their 22 years in the creative and media industries to launch a new creative agency, Foundry
Revell and Haefele’s new venture aims to bring an innovative and fresh approach to branding and design beyond a typical design agency.
The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) has appointed content creator, Brad Canning, as the chair of its new Influencer Advisory Sub-Committee, dedicated to advocating for its influencer and creator members.
Canning will oversee the sub-committee, while acting as a conduit between the body and the AiMCO board. He will also work closely with AiMCO managing director, Patrick Whitnall, to help develop and advance the sub-committee’s efforts.
TRA has welcomed new appointments to its Sydney team ahead of its third anniversary in market.
Top row David Busfield, Alex Mansfield. Front row Tia Agnew, Melouise Hucker.
Joining the research and insights agency is researcher and strategic consultant, David Busfield who steps into the role of business director and will be responsible for several of TRA’s growing partnerships over the FMCG, tech and financial services sectors.
Busfield joins from Kantar where he held the position of group director, leading one of Sydney’s client service teams and some of the largest client relationships and projects across brand strategy, innovation and creative effectiveness.
The agency also welcomed three research consultants from Fifityfive5, part of Accenture Song: Melouise Hucker as senior consultant (previously senior account director); Tia Agnew as senior consultant (previously senior consultant); and Alex Mansfield as cultural/qualitative consultant (previously cultural insights).