News Australia has appointed Gerard Richardson as national head of retail and Luke Haynes as industry director for sport and entertainment, adding two senior category specialists to its team of dedicated industry leads.
News Australia said the appointments reinforce its commitment to combining deep industry expertise with its publishing, data, creative and measurement capabilities to help clients identify and unlock growth opportunities.
News Australia’s GM, industry specialisation, Renee Sycamore, said: “Our clients are navigating more complexity and competition than ever before. To help them grow, we need to truly understand what is shaping their industries, not just react to what is happening now. When that expertise is embedded in the relationship, clients get a partner who anticipates what’s coming, not just one who executes a brief. These appointments bring fresh thinking and new energy to two of our most important categories.”
Gerard Richardson joins as national head of retail, leading News Australia’s retail category strategy. He brings more than a decade of experience across the ANZ market, having most recently served as head of commercial partnerships and retail media at Adore Beauty. In that role, he built and scaled Adore Beauty’s retail media business, partnering with global brands including L’Oréal, Estée Lauder and COTY to deliver content-led strategies and measurable outcomes.
Luke Haynes joins as industry director for sport and entertainment, leading category strategy and growth partnerships across sport, entertainment, streaming and gaming. He spent nine years at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, rising to group lead, cultural strategy. There he spearheaded campaigns for Woolworths, CommBank, Origin Energy and Optus across major sponsorships such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Australian Olympic Team and Cricket Australia. Prior to that, he spent five years at RPM in London managing Sky’s partnership with British Cycling and Team Sky.
Richardson and Haynes join a team of existing Industry Leads including Emily Ross for Travel, Taylor Oberman for Finance and Essential Services and Brittany Daniel for Health, Wellbeing and Beauty.
The appointments are effective immediately.
