A management succession plan is in play at Maxus with Mark McCraith moving into the role of CEO, replacing Jon Chadwick (pictured above).

As part of the plan, McCraith will be supported by Katy Websdell (Sydney managing director) and Karly Fragiacomo (Melbourne managing director). Chadwick will move into a new GroupM venture from October, ensuring a smooth transition across both offices.

Of the move Chadwick said “it has been a truly rewarding three years at Maxus, we have grown significantly, built a great culture and it’s now time for the team to evolve into the next stage of development”. “Moving forward, I’m delighted to be staying within the GroupM family and I’m looking forward to getting amongst the start-up space for which we will be sharing more details in the coming months”.

Mark McCraith said of the change: “Jon has done a brilliant job in taking Maxus Australia to the next level. I am honoured to be taking over from Jon to further build Maxus as a great Challenger brand agency. We have a great team and I look forward to further enhancing the foundations that have been built.”

GroupM Asia Pacific CEO Mark Patterson said of the announcement: “The change of leadership at Maxus is part of an ongoing succession plan for the team, I have no doubt that Mark, Karly and Katy are the right team to drive the future growth of our business in Australia, whilst we work with Jon to expand the GroupM offering”.

Ajit Varghese Maxus Asia Pacific CEO said: “Jon has been important part of Maxus and has been instrumental in not only driving growth but also building a strong team and developing expertise in digital, strategy, content and data. Looking forward, it is going to be an exciting time for Maxus as I have no doubt that Mark’s return to Maxus coupled with his recent client experience will further drive our product and thinking”.