• Stephanie Douglas-Neal promoted to General Manager, PHD Sydney
A series of promotions have been announced at PHD Australia by CEO Mark Jarrett to dive growth for the business and its clients.
Stephanie Douglas-Neal has been promoted from Chief Client Officer and Head of HR to General Manager, PHD Sydney.
Douglas-Neal joined PHD from Zenith Optimedia in 2016. Since then, she has run multiple accounts at PHD and has led a people development strategy that has seen PHD be recognised beyond the media industry at the AHRI (Australian Human Resource Institute) awards. Douglas-Neal will continue to lead the People and Development team at PHD whilst managing a team of six Group Business Directors who encompass PHD’s growing client portfolio, including Unilever, Virgin Australia and Volkswagen Group.
Morgan and Bailey
Of the promotion Douglas-Neal said: “I am delighted to be taking on a greater leadership role at such an important time in the evolution of PHD Australia. It’s a privilege to work with such a strong leadership team in Sydney, and I’m excited at the opportunity to work with them and the exec team to continue to offer our Sydney clients innovative & strategic comms solutions to drive their brands forward.”
Jarrett said: “Stevie’s contribution to PHD’s client relationships and people initiatives has been highly impactful on the business. As PHD has grown over the years, Stevie’s strategic and visionary approach to our talent program has ensured that we have continued to hire and retain some of the best talent in the industry. As the agency continues to grow, I have no doubt that Stevie is the right person to lead PHD’s evolving culture and client portfolio.”
Earlier this week PHD revealed promotions for Lucy Formosa Morgan and Stuart Bailey to joint Managing Director roles.
The appointments are effective immediately and both will report into CEO Jarret.
Formosa Morgan will be charged with continuing to drive growth for the agency and champion best practices across the ever-changing media landscape.
“Having been with PHD through a transformational period of growth, I am extremely excited to be taking on the joint Managing Director role and continuing the impressive momentum we have in Australia,” said Formosa Morgan. “The agency has incredible leadership and a great vision. I am proud of everything we continue to achieve for our clients. The industry is changing at a rapid pace and to have this opportunity to help lead our clients throughout is a great honour.”
Previously Chief Investment and Commercial Officer at PHD Australia, Formosa Morgan began at Omnicom Media Group in 2006, starting at OMD. Since joining PHD nine years ago, she has built a market-leading investment team, driven commercial success for the business and served as a passionate advocate of PHD’s environmental programme, which has resulted in the agency being named Urban List’s Most Sustainable Agency.
Bailey will be responsible for evolving PHD’s integrated capabilities while continuing to provide strategic and creative consultancy to clients across the business. Bailey joined Omnicom Media Group in 2012 and in 2017 joined PHD as Chief Digital Officer. Over the past three years, he has transformed the agency’s digital product to provide best-in-class digital planning and media expertise, as well as elevated PHD’s data, tech and analytics capabilities to aid clients in accelerating their digital journey and maximising growth for their businesses. Bailey was recognised with an Industry Contribution award at the MFA’s latest awards ceremony for his work across the wider market, highlighting his dedication to driving transparency and education within the industry.
“The last three years have been an exciting journey at PHD, building out best-in-class digital capabilities that help our clients navigate an increasingly complex landscape,” said Bailey. “Clients expect digital expertise to be seamlessly integrated within our offering, and that means building an agency that is set up for the future with the right capabilities, the right people, and the right structure to cope with increasing digitisation of the media landscape. We continue to strive to provide clients with the best expertise to lead their transformation journeys, and I am excited to work with such a talented team at PHD.”
Jarrett added: “We have an abundance of talent within PHD’s executive and leadership team. After a period of sustained success for the agency, these promotions made complete sense from a business standpoint. Lucy and Stuart have demonstrated their ability to lead not just within our agency, but the wider industry. Considering where our business is heading and where we want to be in the future, I am confident in their ability and passion to put us at the forefront of our industry and drive growth for both our business and our clients.”
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Top photo: Stephanie Douglas-Neal