Joining Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham on the new Mediaweek Heavy Hitters podcast are some of the top media agency CEOs in Australia – Peter Horgan (CEO – OMG), Laura Nice (Co-CEO – OMD Australia), Sian Whitnall (Co-CEO – OMD Australia), Mark Jarrett (CEO PHD Group Australia), and Jane Stanley (CEO – Hearts & Science ANZ).
The episode can be listened to here.
What’s not on their LinkedIn?
The episode opens with each panellist being asked to introduce themselves and give a tidbit about themselves that isn’t on their LinkedIn page.
Peter Horgan: revealed that he’s “a decade-long converted cycling tragic, and it’s my ambition to cycle to every meeting I can possibly go to.”
Laura Nice followed up with “I didn’t actually want to work in media – I wanted to be an air hostess.”
Sian Whitnall’s was technically on her LinkedIn, but laughs that “you would see it as media assistant, but really my first job in media was actually selling sex toys!”
Unsure how to follow that, Jane Stanley tells the team that “I actually make gin on the side,” while Mark Jarrett says that “unfortunately, on a number of occasions, I have failed to prove that getting a taxi is quicker than cycling across town.”
Entering H2
When asked how they were feeling heading into the second half of the year, Horgan said that “We’re excited, last year was a recalibration year, we’re getting used to being out and out and about again. That took a bit of adjustment, but we’re fit for that now.
“So halfway through the year, I think we’re excited by what’s happening. There’s lots of change coming into the market.”
Nice followed on, saying that “I’d say I’m optimistic. I would say the biggest thing for us is how our people have shown up during a pretty tough year – we’ve had stability of our talent, but I think also the challenges that we’re getting from clients are requiring our teams to really lean in and have much more robust challenges. It’s not always answering the brief, but actually challenging beyond the brief. Our teams do that really well.”