Maria Grivas will take over the role of CEO in October of this year, and lead the Mindshare team into a new era.
The announcement made by parent company GroupM sees Grivas bring 20 years’ industry experience to the media company, in which she has focused on implementing data-led transformation in media and brand communications.
She replaces Katie Rigg-Smith, whose promotion to Chief Strategy Officer of WPP Australia & New Zealand, after 23 years with Mindshare, was recently announced.
Grivas will be leading strategy and operations for Mindshare’s 250-strong network across Sydney, Melbourne, and New Zealand, and will have a hand in performance agency Neo, m/SIX and bespoke luxury agency L’Atelier.
Aimee Buchanan, GroupM Australia & New Zealand CEO, says: “We were looking for a highly empathic leader to shape the next era of Mindshare’s product and culture proposition and we are thrilled that Maria fits that bill so well.”
“Maria brings with her a unique blend of high emotional intelligence, coupled with the smarts to build on what Katie and the team have established in Mindshare ANZ.”
Maria Grivas says: “I am passionate about the very valuable role media agencies play towards marketing effectiveness for brands, and I am so aligned with the legacy created by Katie towards this ambition.”
“What I love about where Mindshare is heading with ‘Good Growth’ is the conscious redefinition of effectiveness for the 21st Century.”
Mindshare manages close to $400m in media investment billings in the region and counts some of Australia’s biggest and most-loved brands among its clients, including nab, Foxtel, Streamotion, Tourism New Zealand, Nike, Treasury Wines Estate, IKEA, Volvo, University of Melbourne, Kimberly Clark, Craveable Brands, General Mills among them.
