whiteGREY has appointed strategic marketer Katie Firth to the newly created position of National Managing Director, based in Melbourne.
Most recently executive partner at TBWA\Melbourne, Firth brings more than 17 years’ experience across marketing, PR, events and activations, and advertising to the new role, teamed with a strong background in key sectors including automotive, travel and tourism, energy, financial services and insurance.
During her career, Firth has worked at leading agencies including Cummins&Partners (as client services director), Publicis Mojo, TBWA, and CHE Proximity.
She has also worked on some of the biggest brands in the country including Medibank, Jeep, Origin, ANZ, EnergyAustralia, Nissan, Mars, Tourism Victoria, and Tourism WA.
Lee Simpson, CEO of whiteGREY, said: “Katie has strong experience across some of the biggest brands in the Melbourne market, putting her in a great position to provide business leadership to our clients.
“She also combines a great reputation for nurturing talent and building cultures with a drive and ambition that makes her the ideal agency leader.”
Simpson said as part of her role, Firth will join whiteGREY’s national executive team, tasked with leading and growing the agency’s Melbourne office.
However, as part of her newly formed national MD role, Firth will also work closely with whiteGREY Sydney, helping the entire agency deliver across its key operational pillars.
“We have great connectivity across offices to give the clients the collective intelligence of whiteGREY, and the broader group – not just one office,” Simpson said.
“Our national roles, including Katie’s new position, facilitate this. It also means smart people can have their ideas executed across the business and not have their creativity limited to just one market.”
Commenting on her appointment, Firth said: “whiteGREY has a distinct positioning backed by a breadth of capability in creativity and tech, both in the agency and more broadly across the WPP AUNZ group.
“It’s always a hard decision to leave an agency like TBWA\; however, this newly created role to help realise the strategy as part of the national executive team was one I couldn’t pass up.”
Firth starts with whiteGREY on 14 January. Her appointment follows the recent resignation of whiteGREY Melbourne MD Claudia McInerney, who is leaving the agency and returning to Sydney for family reasons.
The agency is also on the hunt for a new executive creative director for its Melbourne office, with Anthony Moss to join DDB Melbourne in 2019.
