Hothouse Interactive’s founder and CEO Simon van Wyk has stepped down to focus on client development, handing the reigns to former Lion Nathan marketing director Lee Hill.
Lee, who took over as Hothouse chief last month, was most recently the managing director of PMP Direct Australia (part of the PMP print and media group) – a position he held from June 2004 to March 2006.
Prior to that, Lee spent more than a decade at Lion Nathan in various marketing roles between 1992 and 2003.
He was Lion Nathan Australia’s communications and strategy director; national marketing director of Lion Breweries New Zealand; and marketing director for Tooheys; Castlemaine Perkins and the Lion Nathan wine group.
During that time, Lee was instrumental in launching XXXX Gold in Queensland and turning around the Tooheys portfolio.
In his new role at Hothouse, Lee will spearhead the company’s growth strategy.
Commenting on his appointment, Hill said: “With the transition of the web from a publishing platform to a fully interactive branding medium, Hothouse is at a critical point in its evolution. “My job is to make sure we fully leverage our formidable skills and make a profound difference to the marketing landscape in Australia.”
Van Wyk chose to step down from managing the business in order to focus on developing his clients’ digital strategies, the agency said.
“This will include helping Hothouse clients, including Toyota and News Ltd, to fully explore and embrace emerging media channels to drive consumer engagement and build their businesses online…
“He’s stepping down from running the company and managing the growth of Houthouse and handing over to Lee, while he focuses on client development in the Web.02 space,” a Hothouse spokesperson told B&T.
