Ogilvy has appointed Kirsty Muddle as its CEO for Australia and New Zealand. She replaces Sally Kissane who departed earlier this year.
Muddle will lead Ogilvy’s operations in Australia and New Zealand overseeing all capabilities spanning advertising, PR, social and influencer, customer engagement, consulting, and health.
Kissane spent some three decades with Ogilvy and announced her departure in July.
Muddle joins Ogilvy from Dentsu, where she currently holds the role of CEO of Practices & Products for Australia and New Zealand, leading Dentsu’s practices across creative, PR, government, customer experience, Salesforce, insight, data and technology, commerce and B2B marketing & media.
Muddle is also a longstanding member of B&T’s Women in Media Power List.
She brings more than 25 years’ diverse experience, having built new businesses from the ground up and led large, established organisations. Throughout her career, Muddle has been recognised for fostering innovative approaches that not only help clients grow their brands and forge more meaningful connections with customers, but also for inspiring and building connected creative teams.
Laurent Ezekiel, global CEO of the Ogilvy Group, said: “Kirsty has an undeniable track record of delivering real value and impact for clients. She deeply understands the complex challenges businesses face today and champions creativity not just for its own sake, but as a powerful force that can solve those challenges. Her ability to build strong, trusting relationships with clients, always putting their needs first, and her knack for bringing together diverse capabilities – from social and influencer to cutting-edge technology and data – to create truly impactful solutions, makes her an exceptional leader for Ogilvy in this key market. I look forward to working with her as we enter this next exciting chapter for Ogilvy.”
Rose Herceg, WPP president for Australia and New Zealand, added: “When we searched for Ogilvy’s new leader, we felt we were asking for a unicorn – a modern marketer built for the emerging world, with strong business experience across the communications spectrum. In Kirsty, we found that rare blend; a genuine love for creativity that moves mountains, coupled with experience harnessing the disciplines that creativity needs to thrive in a dynamic, fast-moving media landscape. She was truly a standout choice, and we can’t wait to see the impact she’ll have at Ogilvy, bringing the kind of fresh, entrepreneurial perspective every business needs to stay ahead.”
Muddle said of joining the agency: “Ogilvy is a place where every leader I’ve encountered has a strong point of view, saw change as an opportunity, and spoke with clarity about AI, data and integration but wasn’t lost in it. Importantly, they also never forgot why this business was born – the power of creativity to drive growth. That enduring belief made Ogilvy feel like home. I’m humbled to partner with an incredible set of clients and the exceptional talent within both Ogilvy and WPP to harness the network’s full power and collectively move us all forward into what’s next.”
Prior to joining Dentsu more than three years ago, Muddle was a founding partner at cummins&partners, where a stellar 11-year stint saw the agency establish a strong creative reputation.
“Kirsty has been a fantastic leader and a member of our team, helping to establish our Dentsu Creative presence in the ANZ region and recently leading our CXM and B2B practices. I’ve really enjoyed working with Kirst for the last four years and wish her every success in this next chapter,” said Rob Harvey, dentsu ANZ CEO.
She also spent nine years at Mindshare, both in the UK and Australia where she further strengthened her robust media skills, and her love for the interplay between humans and data.
In addition to her agency leadership roles, Muddle has been awarded Woman of the Year and Executive of the Year twice, and sits on the boards of the Australian council of Advertising (ACA), the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), and Ridgeway; an Indigenous Social Change agency.
Muddle will start at Ogilvy in early 2026 and joins the agency at a time of momentum; Ogilvy was recently appointed by Tourism New Zealand and Specsavers among others. It was also recognised for its ability to deliver meaningful impact for clients and their brands, earning the Network of the Year honour at the 2025 APAC Effie Awards, Gold in the Youth Marketing category for Ogilvy Sydney’s “A Masterclass in Government Sex Talks” for the Department of Health and Aged Care, Silver in the Engaged Community Services category for Ogilvy Sydney’s “Flying High in a Frugal World” for KFC, plus two other bronze awards.
Dentsu has confirmed, that with Muddle’s departure, David Halter, currently ANZ Chief Strategy Officer, will be expanding his remit to Chief Practice Officer – Creative. “David is a phenomenal client leader and brand strategist with strong client relationships from all parts of our business. He will be supported by Vanessa Nicol, who will step into the interim role of Chief Operations Officer – Creative and will lead our daily operations and delivery,” said Harvey.
“Vanessa and David have worked together in previous roles. This is a powerful partnership and I’m excited about what David and Vanessa will deliver together alongside the broader Dentsu Creative leadership team.
“Paul Whittaker will continue to lead our CXM practice as the Managing Director for Merkle Australia.”
