Mediaweek’s Media Movers charts the biggest people moves in the industry over the past week.
Triple M Breakfast co-host Natarsha Belling announced this morning that she will be stepping back from her role alongside Beau Ryan and Aaron Wood after just six weeks in the role. The decision comes as she balances her television commitments with Seven News.
TEG has appointed Simon Cahill, head of commercial, and Jono Whyman, general manager of SXSW Sydney, as co-managing directors for SXSW Sydney. Cahill will also take on the role of TEG’s chief commercial officer while continuing his existing commercial responsibilities.
The leadership changes come as Colin Daniels steps down from his role as SXSW Sydney managing director, a position he held since the event’s launch in Australia. Daniels will remain involved with the festival as a member of the SXSW Sydney board and will continue his role as a founding partner of Handsome Tours.
Paramount Australia, the parent company of Network 10, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, and MTV in the local market, has named Kat Droulers as Queensland sales director – ad sales. This appointment finalises the company’s national sales leadership team under general manager – ad sales, Nick Bower.
Droulers, bringing more than 20 years of experience in advertising and media sales, will lead Queensland’s ad sales team, overseeing Paramount Australia’s metro and regional broadcast assets, 10 Play, and Paramount+.
John Beohm
John Beohm has jumped ship from BINGE to join Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) as the local senior director of content planning and scheduling ahead of the launch of Max streaming service in Australia on 31 March 2025.
For the past four years, Beohm was the director of content at BINGE. Before BINGE, he also held content roles at SBS, Stan and BBC Worldwide.
Larissa Ozard has announced her next move following her departure from Seven last month, taking to LinkedIn to announce she has joined TEG general manager – marketing, live entertainment.
In the post, Ozard wrote: “VERY excited to share that I’ve joined the amazing team at TEG Pty Ltd as General Manager, Marketing – Live Entertainment. Big thanks to Geoff Jones, Tim McGregor and Rachael Carroll for the incredible opportunity!”.
Ozard stepped down from her as marketing director role at Seven after three-and-a-half years last month, after resigning from the company late last year.
Nicola Steele
After 14 years with Krispy Kreme Australia & New Zealand, Nicola Steele has been appointed global chief operating officer (COO) at Krispy Kreme’s global support office.
Steele will relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina, to join the company’s global leadership team as the iconic brand embarks on an ambitious international growth phase.
Steele’s journey with Krispy Kreme ANZ began as a crew member, before rising through the ranks to CEO, a role in which she oversaw significant expansion and market success.
Her tenure has been marked by strong leadership, innovation, and operational excellence, positioning Krispy Kreme ANZ as a key market within the brand’s global portfolio.
McDonald’s Australia CEO and managing director Antoni Martinez has announced his resignation after nearly 20 years with the fast-food giant, including three years at the helm.
Stepping into the role is Joe Chiczewski, McDonald’s Australia’s chief restaurant officer, who will transition into the leadership position over the coming weeks.
Chiczewski, who joined McDonald’s in 2012, has held key positions in strategy, finance, and operations. Before arriving in Australia in September 2024, he served as field vice president for the Northeast US, overseeing 1,500 restaurants. As McDonald’s Australia’s chief restaurant officer, he was responsible for over 1,000 restaurants across Australia and New Zealand.
James Wright, Annabelle Gigliotti and Sarah Smith
Havas Group’s entertainment communications consultancy Organic Pacific has appointed Sarah Smith as acting managing partner as founding managing partner Annabelle Gigliotti steps back from the business following a cancer diagnosis.
Gigliotti tapped Smith for the acting role to focus on treatment following her stage four colon cancer diagnosis, which she has already completed a first round of chemo for, with positive results.
Smith has more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry career including roles as Foxtel group director of communications and PR, Stan head of PR – entertainment and sport, as well as stints with Endemol Shine, Warner Bros. Entertainment, ITV Studio Australia and Universal Music.
Ali Coysh, Emma Greenhalgh, Tom Dodd, Clare Graham, Tom Davies.
Initiative has unveiled its new strategy team lineup aimed at elevating the media agency’s strategy and product offering for client growth.
The team is made up of well-earned promotions and new appointments and follows the recent appointment of Tom Dodd to the national chief strategy officer role.
Stepping into Dodds’ previous role as national head of strategy is Ali Coysh who was previously Sydney, head of strategy; Tom Davies will take on Coysh’s role of Sydney Head of Strategy with the addition of Product to his remit.
Newly appointed Clare Graham joins the agency as Sydney strategy director bringing a creative mindset to the team; Tate Nalen takes on the role of Melbourne strategy director, working alongside Graham plus Charles Dangibeaud, Perth’s head of strategy.
Guardian Australia has expanded its political, business, and economics coverage with a series of key editorial hires and promotions across its Sydney and Canberra bureaus.
Tom McIlroy steps into the role of chief political correspondent in Canberra, bringing experience from The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, and international outlets like the Houston Chronicle.
He is also the author of Blue Poles: Jackson Pollock, Gough Whitlam and the Painting that Changed a Nation. Joining him in the capital, Patrick Commins has been appointed economics editor after a tenure at the Productivity Commission. He previously covered economics for The Australian and spent over a decade as a columnist and senior writer at The Australian Financial Review.
In Sydney, Jonathan Barrett moves into the role of business editor after serving as a senior business reporter for the publication. He previously worked at AFR and Reuters. Luca Ittimani joins the business and economics team following a Scott Trust cadetship with Guardian Australia.
Josh Taylor Dadds
TBWA\Sydney has appointed Josh Taylor Dadds as its new head of strategy.
Taylor Dadds, originally from the UK, joins from Special New Zealand, where he served as the group strategy director for the past five years and helped the agency win Effectiveness Agency of the Year at both the NZ and APAC Effie Awards.
In his tenure with Special NZ, he led the strategy output for a range of regional and global clients including Entain Group ANZ, Optus, and Tourism New Zealand. Most recently, he helped local beer brand Export Ultra enlist Vanilla Ice to save New Zealanders from freezing their beers over summer.
Crikey has appointed Alisha Rouse as editor of the publication.
She joins Crikey from News.com.au where she served as news editor and was previously assistant editor of Daily Mail Australia. Before relocating to Sydney for that role, she was based in London where she worked at the Islington Gazette, Daily Mail and Fleet Street newspapers.
Rouse brings an understanding of “fearless, fun and impactful journalism” having worked for small and large-scale publications.
Simon Lee
Enigma has appointed Simon Lee to the newly created role of chief creative officer and partner. He will oversee the independent full-service agency’s 80-strong team across Sydney, Newcastle, and Brisbane, as it enters a new phase in its 30-year history
As Enigma’s first CCO, and the first leader to join as a partner, Lee brings more than 20 years of experience to the role in leading independent agencies to creative excellence in campaigns for some the biggest brands.
Today the Brave has promoted Cosmo Haskard as client services director.
Since joining the independent agency, Haskard has played a pivotal role in leading accounts including Carnival Cruise Line, News Corp Metro & Regional Mastheads, StrangeLove Beverage Co. and Wendy’s.
Haskard’s has been integral to building strong relationships and driving impactful creative for the agency. He brings over a decade of adland experience from across three continents, including Zulu Alpha Kilo in Toronto, Canada, and adam&eveDDB in London, UK.
Fuller has welcomed the appointments to the independent brand creative agency, with creative director Niccola Phillips, and account directors Maeve Hughes and Nadia Rossi.
The new hires come follow the appointment of Kate Fuller as managing director, Sydney, to deliver east coast growth for the agency.
Phillips joins from her role as creative director at M&C Saatchi where she spent 12 years as head of art and CD. She has led campaigns for Australia’s biggest brands, including Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths Group, and worked across global clients including Mastercard, AMEX, Toyota, Audi and Volkswagen.
Dom Megna, Nicole Miranda and Ben Willee
The founders of Spinach, Craig Flanders and Frank Morabito, have made three promotions to lead the Melbourne agency into its next 25 years as they step back from day-to-day operations.
Nicole Miranda, who joined the agency in 2021, will step up to the role of managing director from director of client services and previously worked with the agency when she was Head of Marketing at Liquorland.
Ben Willee, who joined Spinach in 2011 when the agency added media to its offering, has been promoted to executive director of media and data.
Dom Megna, who joined in January 2023, will oversee the day-to-day running of the creative department as executive creative director. Megna said: “Our clients are always looking for outsized impact and returns – they want an aggressive agency in their corner to get them there.
Hatched Sydney has appointed Tania Babela as investment director with Alex Curry taking on the role of senior account manager.
Babela joins from Kaimera where she was investment director for the past three years. Before that, she spent two years at Joy as the Sydney investment lead. In her new role, she will work across the independent agency’s full portfolio of clients.
Robi Stanton 2025
BBC Studios has named Robi Stanton as executive vice president & general manager of global media and streaming for Australia and New Zealand. In this newly appointed role, Stanton will oversee content sales, channels and streaming, and advertising sales across the region.
With more than 25 years of experience in media and entertainment, Stanton brings a wealth of expertise in distribution, commercial strategy, marketing, and advertising sales. She is currently the commercial director for CNN International and has previously held senior leadership roles at Warner Bros. Discovery and Turner International.
Zitcha has appointed Jim Kane as vice president of sales – global, as the company continues to expand across international markets.
Kane led sales for Walmart’s Sam’s Club division at WPP’s Triad Retail Media, playing a key role in its integration following Walmart’s acquisition. He also helped launch the first retail media network in the sporting goods sector at DICK’S Sporting Goods and has advised C-suite executives on retail growth strategies.
He will be responsible for defining and executing Zitcha’s global sales strategy, driving revenue growth and expanding the company’s international footprint.
Journalist and media commentator Poppy Reid has teamed up with entrepreneur and investor Steve Grace to launch Curious Media, a new podcast company focused on exploring challenging and thought-provoking stories.
The venture aims to bring together a range of unique voices to engage audiences through candid discussions and in-depth storytelling.