The Media Federation of Australia (MFA) board has voted to re-appoint Omnicom Media Group CEO Peter Horgan to a further two-year term as chair, and to appoint Havas Media Group CEO Virginia Hyland as deputy chair.
Non-executive director Megan Brownlow has stepped down from the deputy chair position, but remains on the board.
The MFA board also re-appointed Chris O’Keefe, chief operating officer of Match & Wood, as one of two independent media agency board directors following a hotly contested election. The independent representatives are voted to the board by their peers at all of the MFA’s independent media agency members.
MFA CEO Sophie Madden said: “As an industry we’ve never been stronger and that comes down to the work of the MFA Board, all of whom are active and engaged, and dedicated to making the media agency industry better at what we do for our clients and our people.
“Congratulations to Peter Horgan, Virginia Hyland and Chris O’Keefe on their election by their peers, and thank you to Megan Brownlow for her exceptional service as Deputy Chair over the past eight years. We are pleased she will continue to provide her experienced and objective guidance as a non-executive director.”
Horgan added: “2022 was a very productive year for the MFA with the creation of our industry purpose ‘We Are The Changers’; the launch of our industry-wide diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, Media For All ; and bringing the industry back together at MFA EX.
“I am proud of the work we do together as a collective, benefitting our entire industry, and I am thankful to my fellow broad members for re-electing me for another two-year term. I look forward to many more successes together throughout 2023.”
Hyland said: “I’ve been a passionate supporter of the MFA as an independent agency and then now as CEO of Havas Media. ‘We Are The Changers’ EVP has helped to further unify our dynamic industry, collectively elevating the work we do for clients and ensuring we attract and support diverse talent. It’s a wonderful honour to be voted by my talented peers into the Deputy Chair position, and I’m committed to evolving our opportunity as a great industry.”
Upcoming initiatives by the industry body include:
• The establishment of an industry ESG strategy.
• The development of an industry action plan on workplace safety, including a robust industry framework for the prevention and reporting of workplace safety.
• Expansion of all MFA e-learning programs to three times a year due to high demand.
The full board of the MFA comprises:
Sophie Madden, CEO, MFA
Peter Horgan, CEO, Omnicom Media Group ANZ – Chair
Virginia Hyland, CEO, Havas Media Group – Deputy Chair
Megan Brownlow, Non-executive Director
Aimee Buchanan, CEO, GroupM ANZ
Imogen Hewitt, CEO, Spark Foundry
Mark Coad, CEO, IPG Mediabrands Australia
Melissa Fein, CEO, Initiative Australia
Peter Vogel, CEO, Wavemaker ANZ
Michael Rebelo, CEO, Publicis Groupe ANZ
Danny Bass, CEO, Dentsu Media ANZ
Jimmy Hyett, CEO & Founder, This Is Flow
Chris O’Keefe, COO & Founder, Match & Wood
Mark Jarrett, CEO, PHD Australia
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Top image: Peter Horgan, Virginia Hyland and Chris O’Keefe