Gruden Appoints Ad Agency Chief Tim Parker As CEO

Market leading technology agency The Gruden Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Tim Parker as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

Parker brings over 30 years of international marketing agency and leadership experience to the role, having worked in senior and executive positions at leading global agencies including Publicis Worldwide Australia, The Clemenger Group, FCB and Ogilvy & Mather in London.

As CEO of Gruden, Parker will be responsible for driving the company’s growth strategy for rapid expansion in the global mobile market, expected to be worth $1.55 trillion by 2017 (Source: BCG). This will be driven by the growth of the company’s next-generation mobile engagement and transactional platform, mobileDEN, in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.

In his previous role, Parker was managing director for Publicis Worldwide Australia, a leading strategic, creative and digital agency delivering advertising and marketing services to blue chip clients including Qantas, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Sanofi. During his time at Publicis, he helped to drive the acquisition of digital and mobile technology businesses, recognising the importance of these technologies in enabling customer engagement and loyalty.

Prior to Publicis, Parker held leadership positions at Clemenger Group and FCB, a global advertising agency network owned by Interpublic Group. As Executive Director of Clemenger, for over 5 years, he led a significant re-focus of the business operations of Porter Novelli, one of Australia’s longest established public relations agencies.

During his tenure at FCB, Parker held leadership roles across the Asia Pacific region, culminating in his role as Managing Director of FCB Sydney for over 7 years, where he was responsible for re-energising the agency and leading the team that secured new accounts such as Nike (Sydney Olympics campaign), Panasonic and AOL. He was also CEO of Sydney FC for the inaugural season of the A-League.

The Gruden Group (ASX:GGL) listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in May 2016.

Commenting on his appointment as CEO, Parker said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Gruden at such an important and exciting phase of growth for the business. Today’s commercial environment demands a fusion of technology and creativity, and Gruden’s technology enables the great ideas that will drive a better customer experience. We have a clear strategy to take our market leading offering and technology global, to establish Gruden as a leading technology provider enabling clients to attract, engage and transact directly with their customers.”

Gruden chairman Gary Castledine said: “Tim is well known in the marketing and communications industry. He joins Gruden with over 30 years of international experience from world leading agencies where he worked with many of the world’s best known brands. Attracting such a high calibre CEO is an incredible endorsement for Gruden and places us in a strong position to become a leading global fintech player.

“I would also like to extend the Board and staff’s appreciation to Interim CEO Warren Barry whose passion and focus has not only helped to build Gruden into the market leading technology provider it is today, but has prepared the Company for its recent listing on the Australian Securities Exchange. We are delighted that Gruden will continue to benefit from his strategic input through his role as an Executive Director on the Board.”

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