Mike Napolitano has been promoted to Melbourne Group CEO. His promotion follows the appointment of Khia Croy as DDB Melbourne’s new general manager.
Lead image: DDB Melbourne’s new leaders, GM Khia Croy and CEO Mike Napolitano.
DDB Australia and New Zealand has continued to reshape its leadership team by promoting its managing director Mike Napolitano as Melbourne Group CEO.
Napolitano will continue to be responsible for leading the DDB Group in Melbourne including brands DDB, Tribal, Rapp and Mango.
He has more than 23 years’ experience in brand and marketing communications and joined DDB Melbourne in 2020 as Group Managing Director. Prior to DDB, he was Managing Director of TBWA Melbourne and has also worked in leadership roles at George Patterson Y&R.
During his time leading DDB Group Melbourne, Napolitano has led a transformation of the agency and the refocusing of the business on a strong creative agenda. The agency said this has resulted in new client wins including Coles, New Balance, Dulux, Movember, and multiple government accounts.
Napolitano has also attracted top talent like group executive creative director Psembi Kinstan, head of planning Matt Pearce, head of DDB Group experience Ella Ward, and chief operating officer Tristan Alexander to the agency’s leadership team.
Earlier this month, Khia Croy was appointed DDB Melbourne’s general manager, while its Sydney office appointed Vanessa Boueyres as managing partner and Westpac account lead.
Napolitano will report to DDB ANZ Group president and CEO Andrew Little, who said:
“Mike is a brilliant leader who not only runs the Melbourne group businesses but contributes significantly to our other leaders and businesses across the region. This is a very popular decision and is most deserved.”
Commenting on his promotion, Napolitano said “It’s a great privilege to lead this amazing team in Melbourne. We’ve all worked hard on making the experience of being here at DDB Group Melbourne one of the best in the industry and that’s true for our people and our clients.
“There is still so much potential in our team and I’m excited and committed to working with the hugely talented leadership group to grow people’s careers and grow our clients’ brands through the creative power of our business.”
