Initiative Australia CEO Melissa Fein has announced the appointment of Sam Geer (main photo) as managing director of the national agency. He has been chief strategy officer for Initiative Australia since August 2018. In a concurrent appointment, Chris Colter (pictured below)is being appointed to Geer’s chief strategy officer role.
Fein commented: “We are placing Sam in this key management role to offer him a broader platform for his talents. He has been a key driver of our mission to bring cultural relevance to brands and accelerate their growth. His trailblazing strategy leadership has been a key ingredient to our growth over the past 18 months and this new position will allow him to infuse his skills more broadly across the agency.”
Fein added, “In Chris Colter we have proven world-class strategic leadership. His credits are truly extensive, from winning the Global Cannes Young Lions competition, leading cultural campaigns like Tourism Australia’s Dundee, to being named Campaign Asia’s Strategy Planner of the Year. More recently, Chris has been an integral part of Initiative’s new business success as well as delivering strong business outcomes for our clients.”
Colter is formerly Initiative’s National Strategy Director.
Initiative is one of the fastest-growing media agencies in Australia. So far in 2020 the agency has won Goodman Fielder, Aussie Home Loans and Pernod Ricard. In 2019 major wins included Carnival Australia, Lotterywest, Deliveroo, Fujitsu, Australian Radio Network, Remedy and KPMG. Also in the past 12 months Initiative has achieved 100% retention in incumbent client reviews.
Sam Geer commented, “I’m exceptionally proud of what we have built at Initiative. With the depth of talent, portfolio of brands and momentum we have in market we are well placed to be a leading agency for years to come.”
Colter added: “I’ve definitely got some big shoes to fill, but with a team of industry leading strategists, entrepreneurial leadership and trailblazing product surrounding me I could not be more excited for the opportunity.”
In addition to its business expansion, the agency has been recognised with major workplace awards including Campaign’s Media Agency of the Year, MFA’s Best Culture and the Australian Workplace Equality Index – Small Employer of the Year and Initiative became the first media agency in Australia to partner with the National ‘Pride in Diversity’ Program
