Mutinex has announced that current APAC CEO Mat Baxter will transition to a board adviser effective 30 September, saying that there is “not enough space” in the day-to-day business for himself and co-founder Henry Innis.
Baxter joined Mutinex as APAC CEO in May this year. It is understood that Baxter had invested fairly substantial capital in the business, though the exact amount is unclear.
“Going in I think we both knew this would be a grand experiment. What became apparent to me in the four months since joining is that there’s not enough space for Henry and I in the day-to-day business,” said Baxter.
“So I took the simple decision to resign, and the board had asked that I serve as an advisor.
“I continue to be as big an advocate for the company today as ever. And I continue to be an investor and shareholder.”
Innis said: “Mat and I are both extremely hands-on operators and I’m a very involved co-founder. I think he felt a little constrained because of that and so we’ve created this new plan to address it.”
The backstory
When Baxter joined in May, Innis told B&T that he was confident the pair of firebrands could work positively and constructively, rather than combatively.
He described Baxter’s appointment as similar to when Mark Zuckerberg brought in Sheryl Sandberg to help Facebook scale.
At the time, Innis said: “I have always found that when you build good relationships with vulnerability and through trust, rather than through bravado, you tend to get much richer and better relationships.
“I found that Mat and I could do that over that dinner and in a really constructive and deeply personal way. That went a long way to providing a lot of confidence we could work together.”
Baxter joked at the time: “My other superpower is that I’m the Henry and Matt (Farrugia) whisperer”.
‘I’ll be tapping him up’
Mutinex chairman Brodie Arnold said that Baxter told the board he felt he could contribute more effectively as an external advisor than an internal CEO.
Although Baxter is no longer at the business on a day to day basis, his considerable global experience, which includes leading IPG Mediabrands agencies Initiative and Huge, could come in handy as Mutinex looks to scale in the US and further afield.
“The other advantage here is that we get to access Mat’s experience in the US market which wasn’t being directly accessed in his role as APAC CEO, so we’ll be tapping him up for help there too,” Innis said.
“We respect his decision and want to continue to get the benefit of his extensive global experience and advice,” Arnold added.
This leaves Innis at the helm of Mutinex as global CEO and John Sintras as president, US and Multinational. In July, Mutinex hired former Dentsu Media chief Danny Bass as chief revenue officer.
Earlier this month, Mutinex announced a partnership with UM for real-time data integration to boost marketing effectiveness.
Reporting by Tom Fogden and Arvind Hickman
