MediaCom has completed its search for a new CEO for its Australasian operations with the appointment of Sean Seamer as CEO, taking over leadership of the business in early November.
A MediaCom veteran, Seamer joins from his role as CEO GroupM New Zealand. Prior to GroupM New Zealand, Seamer spent 12 years working at MediaCom across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific. He has intimate knowledge of the people, culture and product, plus close ties to the Australian operations from his time as a GroupM board member for Australasia and previously his APAC leadership roles.
Of his appointment, Seamer said: “MediaCom has been a huge part of my career and I’m very much looking forward to being back in the team. The talent in Australia and in the network is world class, so it will be a pleasure to work with them again. MediaCom Australia has great people, a strong product vision and some of the most diverse capabilities. It’s a really exciting time to be in the industry and I’m raring to get stuck in.”
MediaCom is a top three media agency in Australia, with estimated RECMA billings of $1.4 billion and 350 staff across Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Seamer’s appointment follows the promotion of James Sneddon to managing director of the Sydney office and Anny Havercroft to Melbourne managing director.
Mark Heap, MediaCom APAC CEO, commented: “Sean has been one of the big success stories within MediaCom and I loved working with him previously. His background in digital leadership, his experience in developing the business and his ability to inspire those around him are exactly the capabilities we need. We looked at many potential candidates for this role and felt that Sean’s familiarity with our people, product, culture and clients really made him the stand out choice and will allow him to gain traction very quickly. He has worked with many of our senior people in Australia and I’m sure they will be as excited as I am to welcome him back as our new CEO.”
Mark Patterson, CEO and Chairman of GroupM APAC, who is acting Chairman of GroupM Australia, added: “Sean is a well-travelled, very broadly experienced, top class individual with the smarts and the style that make him a great leader in our business. He has excelled in all his roles and in the last twelve months has done a first rate job in establishing our business in NZ where he and I have worked closely. He is just the guy we need to lead MediaCom Australasia.”
Seamer will continue to oversee GroupM New Zealand operations into 2016. He said: ”It’s critical that we continue to foster the culture and direction we’ve established in New Zealand and I’m committed to the journey. I’m very fortunate that I have such a strong agency leadership team there; without them I wouldn’t have been able to take on this opportunity.”
