Houston has bolstered its leadership team, promoting Gretel Maltabarow to the role of managing director and Stacey Saunders to the role of general manager, effective immediately.
CEO and founder of Houston, Stuart O’Brien said he couldn’t be prouder to recognise the talents of two of the agency’s most outstanding team members expanding their remits further across the agency and their clients. “Gretel and Stacey are two fiercely intelligent, collaborative and creative team members. They have a proven track record in effortlessly making the seemingly impossible happen, in architecting some of the most integrated, innovative and effective work for our clients that keep us on the top of our game”.
“But most importantly, their respective promotions demonstrate their ongoing commitment to our team and show future Houston leaders that we’ll nurture talent and create new opportunities and pathways for our next generation of leaders to grow. I can’t wait to watch Gretel and Stacey use their wealth of knowledge to drive the business forward and create the next era of Houston,” O’Brien said.
Previously group account director, Maltabarow has been at Houston for 8 years. Her new role allows her to expand on finessing Houston’s core capabilities and creative and strategic rigour, drive collaboration across business divisions, foster new business opportunities, and nurture current client relationships. She will also maintain her leadership of Houston’s Account Service team and will work closely with O’Brien and Saunders to ensure the future success of the business.
“Having watched the business grow and evolve over the past eight years, I’m excited by this next challenge. I feel further empowered to make a positive impact with our amazing team and clients by elevating the agency’s offering, and bring together the cross-function expertise of our teams to power client growth. I’m grateful for this opportunity, and couldn’t be happier to share the promotional limelight with the very well-earned step up for Stacey Saunders to General Manager,” said Maltabarow.
Previously chief of staff, 2024 marks a decade at Houston for Saunders where she has held various internal agency operations roles. Her new responsibilities encompass pipeline delivery and management; create greater business performance and agency culture; whilst driving innovation through system change, people and talent development.
“Over the past decade at Houston, I have experienced all facets of our business and feel so excited to lead Houston into its next growth phase alongside the powerhouses that are Gretel and Stu. I am also very excited that my new role will allow me to broaden my impact and provide mentorship across the agency, focusing on development and growth for the team,” said Saunders.
Both promotions are effective immediately, reporting directly to CEO & Founder Stu O’Brien.
