Digitas Australia has appointed Kate Warren-Smith to the newly created position of managing director.
Warren-Smith joins the national executive leadership team, where she will “play a key role in driving connected experiences for clients, while continuing to strengthen the agency’s connected culture”.
With 20 years’ experience in brand activation, shopper and commerce, Warren-Smith has a reputation for achieving strong client outcomes and building high-performing teams.
She has led VML Commerce since 2021, and spent 13 years at WPP. She joined the holding company when Ogilvy acquired her business Safari Marketing, which was merged with other parts of WPPP to form Geometry. This then folded into VML in 2018.
According to a report in Little Black Book, Warren-Smith was not looking to move when she had a coffee with Digitas Australia CEO Davy Rennie.
Rennie has been busy restructuring the business into different service lines, creative, intelligence, commerce, technology, and integrated media. He was looking for a second-in-charge to lead its Melbourne business after making a series of appointments, including head of strategy and customer experience Sarah Heitkamp (from Publicis stablemate Zenith), chief client partner Millie Menage and head of intelligence Elise Morris.
In her new position, Warren-Smith will be charged with delivering seamless client solutions across CX, commerce and CRM at Publicis Groupe’s digital agency.
Rennie said Warren-Smith is the perfect fit for Digitas’ ‘unicorn mandate’.
“Kate’s ability to deliver creative and commercial impact across a wide range of partners and categories was as evident as her track record for building and maintaining amazing cultures,” he said. “Her vision for being a strategic partner, creating fully integrated brand experiences for our clients across Australia, aligns perfectly with our vision for people, process, and product growth.”
Kate Warren-Smith said: “It’s exciting to join Digitas Australia at a time when we are leading the move from fragmented marketing to unified, connected experiences. What sets us apart is our ability to deliver creative, intelligence, marketing operations, commerce and media, all under one roof to drive impact for clients.”
“I am especially energised by our focus on solutions that blend imagination with commercial strategy, delivering brand moments that are not only seamless but also create meaningful impact throughout the customer journey.”
Based in Melbourne, Warren-Smith commences in her new role this month.
