GroupM’s Wavemaker has announced Adelaide managing director Royce Zygarlicki will leave the agency to return to his hometown of Melbourne after seven years.

Zygarlicki has chosen to return to Melbourne for family reasons and will depart the agency in February following a smooth transition.

Upon his return, he will join News Corp Australia team in Melbourne as general manager of sales for its subsidiary The Herald and Weekly Times.

Matt Hofmeyer (pictured above), currently general manager of Wavemaker Adelaide, will replace Zygarlicki in the MD role.

Hofmeyer has been with Wavemaker Adelaide (formerly MEC) for 12 years and has worked with many of the agency’s largest clients, including Mitsubishi and the South Australian government.

For the past seven years, he has been the lead on the South Australian government account, having played a key role in the account’s retention in 2015 and 2013.

Wavemaker Australia CEO Peter Vogel said: “Royce has been instrumental in the agency’s success in Adelaide and the enviable strength of its client relationships.

“He recently oversaw the smooth transition in Adelaide of MEC to Wavemaker, and we thank him for his passion, hard work and commitment over the years.

“I couldn’t think of a better person than Matt to replace him. As one of our longest-standing employees in the Adelaide market, Matt has the experience, ambition and deep understanding of our clients’ business needs to lead Wavemaker Adelaide to greater heights.”