Neil Ackland is exiting oOh!media after seven years with the outdoor media company. His departure coincides with the senior executive appointments of Mark Fairhurst and Andrew Every.
Ackland has decided to move on from oOh!, having been a key member of the oOh! executive team since 2019 following the company’s 2016 acquisition of Junkee Media, which he founded.
Cathy O’Connor, oOh! CEO, called Ackland’s departure “bittersweet”. She said: “An entrepreneurial and visionary leader, he’s been clear with me for some time now that his goal is to return to leading a company. As oOh!’s retail media division moves into a new phase of execution – we have agreed now is the right time for him to pursue his next professional chapter outside of oOh!.
“I thank Neil for his leadership, dedication to his team and for continuing to drive innovation in our business over the years we have worked together. We wish him well in whatever comes next.”
Ackland said of his exit: “After eight incredible years at oOh!, the time has come for me to start a new chapter. When I sold Junkee Media to oOh! in 2016, I made a choice to immerse myself in a larger, listed, market-leading media business in one of the most exciting and fast-growing categories: Out of Home.
“I leave with immense pride in what we’ve accomplished and wish Cathy and the entire team continued success as they unlock the full potential of this extraordinary business.”
New sales and retail media leadership at oOh!media
Mark Fairhurst will step into the role of chief revenue officer. Fairhurst joined oOh! in November 2024 as revenue advisor and had been acting chief revenue officer since December, he brings over 25 years of experience in sales, strategy, and change management.
O’Connor said: “It’s my absolute pleasure to announce the appointment of Mark as chief revenue officer. He is a skilled leader with profound Out of Home expertise and extensive experience in media sales, corporate strategy, change management and culture development.
“Mark has made a significant contribution since joining our business in an acting capacity, as evidenced by our strong Q1 revenue performance which is showing double-digit growth.”
His extensive career includes leadership roles at key Out of Home industry players including; JCDecaux, Eyecorp, APN Outdoor, Fairfax Media, SBS, and most recently, QMS, where he oversaw significant growth as their chief customer officer.
Fairhurst is responsible for spearheading oOh!’s strategic market share and revenue generation plans as well as overseeing the entire sales, go-to-market, trading and sales operations functions. His appointment is effective immediately.
Andrew Every will take on the new expanded executive role as chief strategy and retail media officer. He joined oOh! 12 months ago from the NRL and has a strong track record in establishing and driving the commercial success of partnerships at the edge of media and technology.
“As we move reo, our retail media business, from the establishment phase to the execution and scaling phase after signing a number of recent partnerships with major Australian retail brands, I am delighted to announce Andrew will move into a combined role with responsibility for reo alongside his current strategy and transformation remit,” said O’Connor.
“This combined role is a natural progression for Andrew, given his strategy and execution expertise and strong connection to our retail media business. Andrew has extensive experience in driving commercial partnerships forward, having held senior positions managing enterprise partnerships for both Telstra and the NRL,” she added.
In the new role of chief strategy and retail media officer, Every will remain focussed on strategic growth and moving reo forward at pace.
Top image: Andrew Every, Mark Fairhurst, Cathy O’Connor, Neil Ackland