UM Australia has appointed Ben McCallum to lead its Sydney office.
McCallum will join as managing director, and will take up the role on February 1, 2022, reporting directly to UM CEO Anathea Ruys.
McCallum is considered a trusted client advisor, industry leader and a strong advocate for driving change in the industry, to the benefit of his team and his clients.
He is also well-recognised for his exceptional capabilities in strategy and media buying and his strong leadership, people and team management skills.
McCallum will be charged with spearheading UM Sydney’s vision, by continuing to build a high performing culture for talent and drive strategic growth for clients.
Ruys said: “The scale of UM Sydney and the clients we have in this market warrant an increased seniority in the role that leads the Sydney office and offering. Media has never been a more exciting and challenging environment as we focus on the best way to connect brands and people and it is critical that we have leaders across the business that can help make that complexity simple for our clients, teams and industry.
“Having a world-class leader such as Ben in this pivotal position for UM will enable growth and stretch for our internal talent, allow us to have visibility across the market and industry, and provide deep partnership with our most senior clients. I am delighted he is joining the team.”
McCallum brings a wealth of international and local experience and achievements to UM, having previously held senior leadership roles at MediaCom for nearly five years, most recently as Managing Director.
Prior to Mediacom, McCallum was Group Investment Director at ZenithOptimedia, moving to Australia from the UK to take up the role in early 2015.
Commenting on his new role McCallum said: “I’m ambitious for my team and our clients. Ultimately, our success is defined by our ability to help our clients to grow. I’m excited about of the level of sophistication that is evident at UM and the way we can help clients to accelerate growth with technology, media and big ideas. I’m looking forward to seeing UM continue to fly and to my next chapter within this dynamic industry and business.”
Ruys added: “I am proud of our continued momentum at UM and look forward to inspiring growth across our clients’ business in 2022. Ben’s natural curiosity, real commitment and focus on people – which aligns very strongly with my approach to leadership – and his real love of the way brands can use media to drive real change for their businesses will ensure success for our team and our clients going forward.”
