Tag: head of strategy

Sydney, Australia – Newly-launched agency It’s Friday has appointed Cate Mathers as its head of strategy. Said appointment follows the agency’s recent unveiling, spearheaded by its founders Pete Bosilkovski, Vince Lagana and Jeremy De Villiers, as well as signing its first client, Domino’s. 

Mathers was previously the head of strategy at The Works, where she spent eight years working with the agency. She brings in to It’s Friday over 20 years of experience gained in creative, digital, CX and media agencies, where she has worked with clients such as McDonald’s, Canadian Club, Jim Beam, Qantas, Subaru, Playstation, Pepsi International, Telstra, Optus, and P&G.

She has also held high profile roles including global planning director of Jim Beam, head of digital at Leo Burnett, communications strategist and national head of social at media agency OMD.

Speaking about her appointment, Mathers said that she liked the agency ethos around brand energy, adding that she thinks sometimes the industry is guilty of overcomplicating things.

“Our job is to move things; be it people into action, products off shelves or services out the door. Energy is the force that causes things to move. And having the power to move things is what excites me as a strategist. The team at It’s Friday is top-shelf, and we have an ambitious founding client to get started on. It feels like the perfect storm. I’m excited by this collective force and looking forward to creating some seriously big energy behind Domino’s and more brands to come,” Mathers said.

Meanwhile, Bosilkovski commented that when they met Mathers, they knew that she was the perfect addition to the team. He added that Mather’s positivity and optimism are infectious, and that she has a great passion for tackling the most complex business problems and beautifully breaking them down.

He further added that it has been quite a journey for the agency in finding the right strategic leader for us. For them, they were on the hunt for a thinker who has strong convictions and an unrelenting energy and drive for taking the least convenient path in solving business problems.

“For us, it was important that we brought in someone who can impact a Brand’s Energy in a connected way. Having worked in some of the leading media, digital, CX and brand agencies, and on some of the biggest brands, Cate will be a force in helping shape our clients’ brand experiences across owned, earned, and paid channels, with equal energy. We’re very excited to have Cate come on the journey with us,” Bosilkovski concluded.

Sydney, Australia – Creative and technology agency CX Lavender has announced new appointments; firstly, Kirsty Angus as client services director to elevate the agency’s strategic services across the disciplines of technology, creative, data, and brand, while Jamie Parfitt has been elevated to the role of head of strategy, coming from his previous position as senior strategy director. 

Angus’ responsibilities at CX Lavender will include overseeing the company’s business management unit, managing strategic revenue, and driving new business. She has previously held senior strategy and management roles at Wunderman Thompson, Dare Digital, Leo Burnett, and AMV BBDO.

“I am looking forward to applying my strategic approach to business management and relationship skills to the CX Lavender’s suite of clients across financial services, retail and automotive,” she said regarding her appointment.

Meanwhile, Parfitt has been with CX Lavender for four years. He had previously worked with Westpac Group, AMEX and NBN as well as RAA and Ausgrid. 

“Strategy at CX Lavender is going from strength-to-strength. We’re fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to take the lead on an ever-more diverse breadth of projects with clients – from consulting on customer strategy, to creating connected digital experiences, to helping clients get more from their marketing automation,” Parfitt said.

He added, “At the heart of everything is our dedication to putting the customer’s self-interest first to help our clients fuel their continued growth.”

Sydney, Australia – Socially-led creative agency We Are Social has appointed new significant leads to its Sydney team. Caitlin Hislop (pictured right)  has been tapped to assume the position of head of strategy, while Sarah Macrae (pictured left) is appointed to become editorial director.

The two join the 55-strong Sydney team as the company continues to strengthen its strategic and creative capability amid a growing client base.

Hislop joins from Tribal DDB, where she helped shepherd a period of strong growth in the agency working with key clients such as Kmart, Westpac, and Volkswagen. Previously, Hislop was group strategy director at Mindshare, where she led strategic thinking for IAG, IKEA, and HSBC.

For the appointment, Hislop will be leading a team of six strategists, research, and paid media specialists. The agency said that as part of the leadership team, she will be contributing to shaping the future of the business.

Meanwhile, Macrae comes to the role of editorial director after five years at publishing company Are Media which was previously Bauer Media. At the company, she headed commercial content and was able to work with brands CommBank, Dyson, Diageo, and Google for digitally-led content solutions.

She also directed the digital output for the publishing company’s purpose-driven content campaigns on financial literacy, gender parity, and coercive control. Previously, Sarah was a beauty editor in the UK and Australia, working on titles including Cosmopolitan, Woman, OK! Magazine and POPSUGAR.

For the new role, Macrae will be directing We Are Social’s editorial team which consists of 10 content editors and social media managers to ideate and create planned and reactive branded content and establish effective creative partnerships with influencers.

Macrae said, “The appetite for branded editorial continues to grow at pace. I’m so excited to join We Are Social and lead a team of editors and experts that are as immersed in culture as they are in the platforms. The work they’ve created in recent years has been best-in-class and I look forward to building on that to ensure our clients are always at the forefront of cultural conversations.”

Meanwhile, Hislop commented, “I’m thrilled to join the agency, having watched the formation of their leadership team with jealousy from afar. Suzie has an unbelievable reputation for developing talent and our client roster is impeccable so I can’t wait to get stuck in. I’ve always had a passion for understanding how and why people make decisions and that is at the heart of what the agency does. After all, social isn’t about platforms, it’s about people.”

Suzie Shaw, managing director at We Are Social, said, “We’ve enjoyed strong growth this year, which has seen us bring in some exceptional new talent, like Caitlin and Sarah. Their skills and experience are outstanding, and are already helping us go from strength to strength.”

Mumbai, India – Vishal Nicholas, the current head of planning and strategy at dentsuMB, formerly dentsu India, is now also taking the role of head of strategy at dentsu Impact, where he will be managing the planning and strategy for South, Mumbai and Delhi branches for both the agencies.

Nicholas has had stints at Lowe Lintas and McCann where he worked on Flipkart, Tata Tea’s JaagoRe platform, Myntra, TVS Motors, to name a few.

“Ever since I joined dentsu, I’ve always been excited about the Eastern approach to building brands with simplicity and second-order thinking at its core. With dentsuMB, the combination of the East and West make it even more compelling. And with Dentsu Impact’s fantastic roster of clients, I look forward to achieving greater business outcomes for them,” he said, regarding his appointment

He will continue to report to Sidharth Rao, CEO at dentsuMB Group.

“As we continue to strengthen and reshape our creative offering in the Indian market, we needed a planning leader who has experience with both traditional and new-age businesses; and Vishal was the obvious choice to steer the strategy product for both dentsuMB and Dentsu Impact,” Rao said.

Dentsu Impact and dentsuMB are part of the dentsuMB Group in India that also houses the agencies dentsu Webchutney, dentsu One and Taproot Dentsu.

Mumbai, India – Advertising agency DDB Mudra Group has appointed the former executive vice president and head of strategy at creative firm Taproot Dentsu, Anand Murty, to be its new head of strategy.

Murty’s career spans over 18 years. Prior to joining Taproot Dentsu, he also worked as the former senior planning director at creative agency Ogilvy and the former brand manager at consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser. In addition, Murty has led brands such as Sprite, Smartwater, Voltas, and Honda, as well as Pernod Ricard, and GSK, among others.

As part of his new role, Murty will now be leading the strategy function for DDB Mudra’s offices, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Gurugram. He will be reporting directly to Amit Kekre, DDB Mudra Group’s national strategy head.

Commenting on his appointment, Murty said he is stoked to be a part of the team and it is an absolute privilege for him to work with the incredible set of planners that DDB Mudra has nurtured over the years. 

“I look forward to building and keeping up the momentum – and loving every moment of it,” added Murty.

Meanwhile, Kekre said, “I am very excited to have Anand on board. With him on the team, a revamped strategy structure to suit the agency of the future, I am confident that we are in an even stronger position to fuel the Group’s ambitions and growth.”

Australia – Independent creative agency Paper Moose in Australia has appointed James Sykes, former marketing director of beverage company Nexba, to be its new head of strategy.

Sykes brings with him 15 years of experience working with communications company WPP’s European creative, design, and media agencies. He has also previously worked as the director of management consulting firm GET Strategy Consulting Australia, and the chief marketing officer for beverage company Beam Suntory APAC and Latin America. Sykes’ talent was recognized in his works with bourbon whiskey brand Jim Beam and whiskey brand Canadian club, which deems to be Australia’s staple brands.

In his new role, Sykes will be leveraging his veteran experience in both agency and client-side. He will also be bolstering the agency’s overall strategy.

Sykes shared that his bent was always spotting the ideas that make a difference and driving them home, striking a degree of risk that works for everyone.

“Moose is a decade-long example of how I always imagined agencies should be, but never quite materialized. Moose is all scrum, no silo, with production, tech build, and design under one roof. It shortens the distance between idea and reality, so it feels like coming home to a renovation I never quite finished,” said Sykes.

Meanwhile, Nick Hunter, the CEO and co-founder of Paper Moose, commented that having a strategy expert like James is incredibly exciting. 

“His wealth of experience across business strategy, comms strategy, and new product development is a thrilling complement to our creative offering and I’m very much looking forward to him sharpening all aspects of our strategy even further,” said Hunter.

Just recently, the agency has announced the appointment of its two new creative directors for the creative department, namely Jeremy Willmott and Kate Holdsworth.