Atomic 212°’s national managing director succeeds Claire Fenner, who resigned earlier this month and leaves the agency on 31 October.
Independent media agency Atomic 212° has appointed Rory Heffernan as chief executive, effective 1 November.
Heffernan will take the leadership baton from Claire Fenner, who steps down after leading the agency for several years to spend more time with her family.
Heffernan joined Atomic 212° in 2010 and was the agency’s first employee. He has since held several roles at the agency including digital operations and client relationship, GM of its Melbourne office and, most recently, as national managing director where he was an integral member of the leadership team. This year he was placed third in B&T’s Best of the Best new business chiefs list.
“Thank you to Barry (O’Brien) and James (Dixon) for what has been an incredible journey and experience to get to this point with Atomic 212°. I am very honoured to take on the CEO role and to lead this fantastic team into the future, building on the success and impact we have had within the industry to date,” he said.
“The past two years have been remarkable for our business, with significant growth in staff, billings and revenue. The refinement of our product across trading, data, performance and strategy has led to great results for clients old and new alike, and I’m incredibly proud of the internal development we’ve had for our people – from our leadership team to our industry-leading people and culture program.
“Thank you to our amazing people and our supportive, collaborative clients for making us the business we are today. I look forward to working with you all to continue to grow our agency and capabilities, as I will continue to focus on innovation and how we best equip our clients and team into the future.”
Atomic 212° chairman Barry O’Brien OAM said: “Good things come to those who wait and today is a wonderful moment for all of Atomic 212° – and a moment 14 years in the making. Rory was our first employee, and he has grown from the first day he walked into our company. He has played a key role in the growth and success of our clients, our people and our agency. It’s fantastic to see him step up into the CEO position and I know he is going to do a great job.
“Rory will take the reins seamlessly from the great work done by Claire Fenner to lead the team and the company into the future, having set the bar at the highest level for himself and the team with the extraordinary success we have enjoyed over the past few years,” he said.
Heffernan takes the reins of Atomic 212° following a series of client wins and retentions over the past year including BlueScope, Great Wall Motor, BMW Australia and New Zealand, Bupa, the Northern Territory Government, Tourism Northern Territory, Northern Territory Major Events Company, Darrell Lea, Victoria University, My Muscle Chef, Vet Partners, Adyen and UKG.
The agency won Global Independent Agency of the Year (Media) and Global Digital Innovation Agency of the Year in Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year Awards announced in June 2024, and Best Agency Culture and Talent (more than 100 awards) at the 2024 MFA Awards in September.