Mediaweek’s Media Movers charts the biggest people moves in the industry over the past week.
Ben McCallum
Ben McCallum will exit UM Sydney after three years as the agency’s managing director.
His departure comes as the agency confirmed to Mediaweek in a statement that the role of managing director, Sydney, has been made redundant “to suit the changing needs of business and position the agency for growth.”
McCallum will leave the agency effective 17 April.
Anathea Ruys, CEO UM Australia said McCallum was a respected member of UM’s team who has always provided valuable counsel to his clients and commitment to the business during his tenure.
She also thanked McCallum for his energy, passion and contribution to the role and wished him all the very best for his future.
EssenceMediacom Australia has appointed Maddison Keogh as APAC client managing partner for Uber.
She will lead one of the GroupM agency’s most exciting and dynamic relationships across the APAC region and to continue to elevate client leadership.
The appointment comes after EssenceMediacom was reappointed by Uber in 2024, when the Australian agency took on an expanded remit working across the APAC region.
Kit Landsell
Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song, has appointed Kit Lansdell as head of effectiveness.
Lansdell brings 25 years of experience to the role across top advertising agencies in Australia and the UK —including The Monkeys (now Droga5), Clemenger BBDO, Leagas Delaney, and Grey London.
He has shaped strategy for some of the world’s most iconic brands. His portfolio spans industries as diverse as sports, financial services, automotive and food.
Australian Radio Network (ARN) has appointed Richard Hunwick as its new director of sales – total audio. Starting 14 April, Hunwick will take charge of ARN’s national sales team, overseeing revenue across metro, regional and digital audio platforms.
Hunwick’s tenure at ARN begins following a strong career in sales.
He spent over a decade as director of sales – total television at Nine Entertainment Co., where he led the company to record-breaking revenue and five consecutive wins as sales team of the year.
Most recently, he served as chief commercial officer at Adgile, where he championed the performance impact of traditional media through advanced attribution tools.
Marelle Salib, Jane Combes, Simon Flaxman and Alex Pacey
Omnicom Media Group Australia has promoted Marelle Salib to chief media partnerships officer, replacing Kristiaan Kroon following his promotion to chief operating officer.
In this role, she will oversee media partnerships and trading and accountability for the Group. During her 14 years with the media agency, Salib forged strong media partnerships that have consistently driven remarkable results for its clients.
OMD Australia has also promoted Jane Combes to chief media partnerships officer for the agency, replacing Salib. Combes will join OMD’s Executive Leadership team and lead the media partnerships strategy for OMD and the agency’s clients.
Salib’s promotion to chief media partnerships officer will also see her appointment to OMG’s Australian Executive Committee, alongside Simon Flaxman, chief commercial officer, and Alex Pacey, chief product officer.
TBWA\Sydney has appointed Matt Keon as the agency group’s chief creative officer.
Keon’s addition to the agency rounds out TBWA\Sydney’s impressive new leadership line up with Elektra O’Malley, as managing director and Michael Hogg, as chief strategy officer.
Also joining the team is Josh Taylor Dadds as head of strategy from Special NZ.
Madi Chan, V. Wassim Kanaan and Hayley Nobel
72andSunny has welcomed the appointments of Hayley Noble, Madi Chan, and creative director, V. Wassim Kanaan following a flurry of recent new business wins including AFL, Cadillac and Deputy.
Noble, Chan and Kanaan will work across the creative agency’s portfolio of existing, new clients – including Google and RealEstate.com.au. They will report to CCO ANZ Wez Hawes.
Noble and Chan join 72andSunny from Host/Havas. Noble is a copywriter whose ‘Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less’, was published by the New York Times. Chan is a D&AD New Blood Award Yellow Pencil and DIA Australian Graduate Designer of the Year.
Poem has appointed Tom Manning creative director to lead its creative outputs, replacing Jessica Cluff, who finished in the role last week.
Manning, formerly national creative director at Havas Red, returns to the independent creative communications agency after a year spent freelancing for a variety of PR and advertising agencies, and brings with him a strong grasp of both the earned and advertising sides of creative. Following a handover period, Cluff will be taking some time off before announcing her next move.
Katie Eastment
Connecting Plots has expanded its offering with integrated comms offering and appointed seasoned PR and communications specialist Katie Eastment to the newly created role of head of PR.
Eastment brings over a decade of experience to the role and joins the agency from The IMPACT Agency where she was head of consumer and most recently group account director. In her time there, she worked across a diverse range of clients including Nestlé, Modibodi, Connect Hearing, Solahart, and The Growth Faculty.
Uber advertising ANZ has introduced the new role of head of strategic verticals with Erin Holt stepping into the position.
Holt joins from Gumtree Group where she was director of advertising, bringing extensive experience from across the Australian media landscape.
Michael Levine, Uber ANZ’s head of advertising sales, welcomed her appointment in a LinkedIn post this week.
He said: “Her leadership and vision will be invaluable as Uber continues to build partnerships with Australian brands and media agencies. Erin’s dedication to fostering high-performing teams, with a focus on both culture and results, made her the ideal choice for this role.”
Holt also shared the exciting career news in a LinkedIn post. She called her 4.5 years with the Gumtree Group “incredible”.
“I’m energised by Uber’s bold vision, its ability to shape culture, and the way it captures attention through brand partnerships that are anything but ordinary. I can’t wait to help brands show up in meaningful, creative ways across both mobility and delivery.”
Susie O’Neill, Mel Tracina and Matty Baseley
As the nation’s regular breakfast radio teams take a seasonal breather, Nova is filling the gap with a new dynamic trio.
From Monday 14 April to Thursday 24 April (excluding public holidays), Mel, Matty & Susie O’Neill will take over the national breakfast slot across the Nova Network.
The line-up brings together familiar voices and fresh chemistry.
Adgile has made two senior sales appointments with Marie Galinsky and Sidney Hunwick.
Galinsky joins the video measurement company from Cartology and steps into the role of sales director, Melbourne, meanwhile Hunwick joins from MiQ in the role of sales manager, Sydney/Brisbane.
“As we move fast into the outcomes era, the market and in particular major brands are coming to us to understand how their video activity is contributing to business growth.” said Craig Service, chief customer officer, Adgile.
“Bringing Marie and Sidney into the team will ensure we are equipped to support this growing demand for our product,” he added.
Emma Yexley, Monique Harris and Marissa Williamson
Convo Media has welcomed the appointments of Marissa Williamson and Emma Yexley to the agency, as it expands its network.
The digital advertising company, formerly know as Convo Ink, has had significant demand for its services, leading to key strategic moves that enhance both its leadership and its premium publisher network.
Williamson joins as strategy lead and brings her extensive experience in advertising agency leadership roles at Joy, Havas, and Urban List.
Convo Media has promoted Yexley to the position of commercial director. She will work closely with CEO Monique Harris to oversee business development, client relations, and further enhance Convo Media’s innovative content amplification solutions.
LEVO, Clemenger Group’s boutique strategy and transformation consultancy, has bolstered its team with the appointments of Catherine Hooson and Mark Dalton.
Hooson joins as practice director, experience strategy, from Alvarez & Marsal and has held leadership roles at Deloitte Digital, Accenture and CHEP Network.
She boasts two decades of experience transforming customer and employee experiences for major brands and government organisations.
Hooson has a proven track record of building high-performing teams and driving commercial success. Her expertise will strengthen LEVO’s ability to create meaningful, people-centred experiences while continuing to elevate its presence in the consultancy space.
Dalton will step into the role of executive creative director, bringing over 20 years of experience in creative and art direction to the role.
ARN has unveiled a major restructure of its commercial team, appointing five senior leaders to new state-based director of sales – Total Audio roles, as it looks to accelerate growth across its audio portfolio.
The new appointments in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are effective immediately and reflect ARN’s push to simplify access to its expansive offering, from broadcast and streaming to podcasting and digital, through a single point of contact in each state.
The five new sales directors are all internal promotions, signalling the bench strength within ARN’s commercial ranks.
• Ashlea Reece steps into the Sydney role after 15 years with ARN, most recently as Sydney Sales Director – Agency. She is known for her deep market knowledge and innovative client solutions.
• Nick Flood takes on the Melbourne role, bringing over 20 years of experience across Australia and New Zealand. He previously served as national sales director – Independent Agencies and Direct Advertisers.
• Emily Buckby becomes Brisbane director of sales – Total Audio, after nine years at ARN and past roles with Nova, TEN and oOh!media.
• Sonia Russo, a 16-year ARN veteran, will lead the Adelaide team. She previously held senior positions at Clemenger BBDO and Starcom MediaVest.
• Aaron Bryant will head up Perth, leveraging his experience at Nova, JCDecaux and Initiative, as well as six years at ARN.