Publicis Groupe ANZ has appointed Matt Houltham as CEO of Starcom Australia.
He will commence in the new role in July, reporting to Imogen Hewitt, Publicis Groupe ANZ’s chief media officer and CEO of Spark Foundry.
Houltham replaces former Starcom CEO Nick Keenan who stepped down in October after a four-year tenure leading the media agency.
Publicis said Houltham is a highly credentialed leader with 25 years of experience managing media and strategy agencies across ANZ, the US and the UK.
He also previously led the digital media operations at the former ZenithOptimedia, now known as Zenith Australia, part of Publicis Groupe. Most recently, he played a pivotal role in scaling market research platform Glow in his capacity as global chief marketing officer.
He joins chief operating officer, Louise Romeo and chief client and growth officer, Scott McCaffrey on the Starcom Australia executive leadership team, working closely to ensure the continued growth and success of the agency business.
Hewitt said, “In his various leadership positions, Matt has consistently demonstrated his ability to deliver continuous innovation and achieve outstanding results for clients. He is also a leader with a reputation for positively engaging and developing talent. Matt’s experience across media and creative – alongside his leadership in digital media transformation – is a rare and powerful blend that will ensure the continued growth of the Starcom business in Australia. We are delighted to welcome Matt to the team.”
On his appointment, Houltham said, “Starcom Australia has a fantastic legacy of strong client partnerships built on delivering effective, insight-led media solutions. That success stems from a stellar team who is ambitious, curious and deeply collaborative. I’m excited to join the crew to build on that foundation. With expanded data and technology capabilities through recent Publicis Groupe acquisitions, we are well positioned to elevate Starcom Australia’s impact even further – ensuring that everything we do moves people and business metrics. I cannot wait to get started.”
