In this week’s list we are running the rule over which media agency chiefs (and their bosses) are Best of the Best.
This year we have split the media agency list into two: holding companies and indies.
And choosing the top media agency bosses within holding companies is no mean feat.
The fact is, there are 15 to 20 leaders that could make the top 10, depending on the criteria.
This year, B&T has considered various factors: how their agency/group has performed – with sources including RECMA and COMVergence; personal accolades; their leadership and how they are perceived by peers; and the broader role they have played in shaping the industry in the past year.
B&T appreciates there are a few leaders who are unlucky to miss out this year, and this was discussed extensively internally.
But in the end, the B&T team felt that everyone on this list was justified and there on merit.
10. Mark Jarrett, CEO, PHD
Mark Jarrett, or ‘MJ’ for short, took over the helm of PHD from Mark Coad in 2019 and enjoyed a strong start to his tenure, but has endured mixed fortunes more recently. The agency, one of the largest and most reputable in Australia, recently lost the lucrative Spotlight Retail Group account (with billings circa $90m), Google, Unilever and Priceline Pharmacy, but has picked up HP, the AFL, super company Hesta and frozen food company, McCain, while retaining Beam Suntory and HSBC.
Under Jarrett’s watch, PHD scored a ‘high’ mark in RECMA’s most recent profile classification, placing the fifth with a strong structure, but a declining vitality score, which assesses new business activity and momentum. Jarrett, a member of the MFA board, is admired as a pragmatic and considered leader who is business savvy and garners strong client relations. This year PHD is gunning for the Federal Government master media contract and defending one its largest global clients in VW Group. How these cards fall could prove pivotal for the agency.
9. Pippa Berlocher, CEO, EssenceMediacom
Having spent most of her career in Singapore, most recently as the APAC president of Reprise, Pippa Berlocher was an unknown quantity when she took the helm of one of Australia’s largest agencies in EssenceMediacom a year ago. But what appeared a left field choice by GroupM’s CEO Aimee Buchanan is now looking inspired. Berlocher was pivotal in EssenceMedicom retaining the lucrative $150m Uber APAC media account, which will be hubed in Sydney, no less. The agency has also ranked second in RECMA’s profile classification and won some silverware at last year’s MFA Awards.
Berlocher has also recruited wisely in new head of planning Alex Williams, CommBank client lead Rohan Nayee and a new data, tech and analytics arm. All of this in the first year of the EssenceMediacom marriage. Berlocher previously told B&T: “I want to get my hands dirty and build something. And we’re very much on a journey to do that.” She could just be the agency chief to watch in the coming year.
8. Jason Tonelli, CEO, Zenith Media
There are two words that sum up the past year for Zenith Media Jason Tonelli and his agency – hot streak. Zenith has been near unstoppable on the new business charts, topping the COMVergence new business rankings for 2023 by winning 15 new clients, including Adobe, Superloop, Autosports Group, Lululemon and RAC Queensland, while retaining Disney Studios. Net billings have jumped $166 million. Since taking the helm in January 2023, Tonelli has rolled out Zenith’s new investment, imagination and insight market proposition of insight and research-powered media.
Tonelli is one of the leading tech, data and digital experts in the Australian media agency space – having led product across Publicis Groupe ANZ. He is well equipped to lead a business that wants to future proof client investments in a media landscape rapidly fragmenting and transitioning towards digital and performance media. Tonelli is also a strong advocate of an inclusive and diverse workplace culture, setting up a next generation board to build the agency’s culture and client offering. But it is undoubtedly his skill to roll out a new agency proposition that has many client’s tails wagging.
7. Melissa Fein, CEO, Initiative
There is a common adage in sport that you are always better off to bow out when you are on top. And that is very much what Melissa Fein, and her colleagues Sam Geer and Chris Colter, are doing as the trio soon leaves Initiative to head up a media division at Accenture Song. Since joining Initiative as CEO in 2017, she has been a sensation and transformational leader. In 2023, Initiative had an incredible year, claiming the second most media account wins – including and was recently chosen as Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year.
In fact, Initiative took home 10 gongs at the MFA Awards, including the Grand Prix with Lego for the City Goes NITRO! Campaign, and the Best Use of Sponsorship for its “Cricket Covers” campaign for NRMA. Fein also picked up CEO of the Year Award in the $20m–$100m category at the prestigious CEO Magazine Awards. The Fein years at Initiative will go down in local agency folklore. It will also be an incredibly tough act to follow when Fein grabs a taxi from Surry Hills to her shiny new digs at Barangaroo.
6. Sian Whitnall & Laura Nice, Co-CEOs, OMD
Whitnall and Nice oversee the largest agency that has not only had a brilliant year, but consistently top RECMA’s rankings on most counts. The dynamic duo filled a massive void left by Aimee Buchanan in 2021. It currently has blue chip companies like Telstra, Coles, McDonald’s and the NSW and Victorian Government media accounts on its books, handling media billings north of $1.5 billion.
For Whitnall and Nice, the past year has been more internally-focussed than external, although the business has picked up soft drinks company Suntory, Amart and retained Nivea and Elastoplast. The work was also very good, the agency won a handful of MFA Awards. But perhaps some of the more important developments happened within their leadership structure and teams. Since chief investment officer Mel Hey left for GroupM, Whitnall and Nice have restructured and promoted within, including Marelle Salib to CIO, Alison Costello to chief transformation officer and James Rawlings to group strategy lead.
The pair have presided over a culture that continues to top RECMA’s qualitative report, which measures agency performance in areas such as new business wins, portfolio growth, awards, agency structure and expertise. A few years into their tenure, Whitnall and Nice continue to run a steady and highly-reputable ship.
5. Peter Vogel, CEO, Wavemaker
Industry stalwart Peter Vogel and his team have been making huge waves in the past year as GroupM’s top performing media agency. They’ve won large media accounts in Allianz and Macquarie Group, and retained the South Australian Government and retained Mitsubishi. Wavemaker’s success was rubber stamped by winning B&T’s Media Agency of the Year Award. Colleagues describe Vogel as a kind, empathetic and supportive leader, who empowers his teams to take ownership and deliver. He is also one of the more optimistic voices in the industry. He recently told B&T: “Awards, recognition, and business momentum are only the outcomes of trusted client relationships, nurturing great talent, and developing effective work. We are optimistic. We have a fantastic base of client partners, who all have strong businesses and clear visions for growth.”
4. Imogen Hewitt, Chief Media Officer, Publicis Groupe & CEO ANZ, Spark Foundry
In January, Imogen Hewitt was promoted to lead media across the Publicis Groupe while expanding her duties as CEO of Spark Foundry across Australia and New Zealand. Hewitt is one of the industry’s top leaders and strategists, having led Havas Media for some time and, prior to that, Naked Communications. She has led Spark Foundry and Publicis Media with great aplomb over the past year. Spark Foundry retained a ‘high’ status in RECMA’s qualitative report, ranking seventh overall, although had a relatively quiet year on the new business front.
Hewitt is the only one on this list to have dual agency and hold co responsibilities. She took the helm of Publicis’ Media at an interesting juncture. Two of its agencies – Zenith and Starcom – had stellar years on the new business front. Under the previous structure, Publicis Groupe agencies operated more independently, this should now evolve under her watch.
3. Mark Coad, CEO, IPG Mediabrands
Mark Coad has risen from country Victoria to become one of the most influential and popular media executives in Australia. He spearheads IPG Mediabrands, which has the media agencies Initiative, UM and Mediahub. Among that lot, it’s been a slightly mixed bag; Initiative is firing on all cylinders, UM has had a somewhat bumpier year and Mediahub is trying to establish itself in this market. Coady has been described by his peers as “such a knowledgable and genuinely good and caring person that is always focused on the people in the team and the right outcomes for them”.
He is also famous for his unrelenting positivity, to the point where colleagues have created a Coady bingo card of all his ‘Coadyisms’. Coad’s positivity could get put to the test as he scrambles to replace Melissa Fein, Sam Geer and Chris Colter at Initiative, but his 30-plus years of experience in advertising – including leadership roles at OMD and PHD – is ideal to bring the next generation of leaders through.
2. Peter Horgan, CEO, Omnicom Media Group ANZ
When anyone thinks industry leadership in Australian media circles, Peter Horgan is top of mind. A long-serving chair of the MFA and Omnicom’s leader for nearly eight years, Horgan has been arguably the staunchest advocate for the media industry over the past decade, if not longer. Testament to his leadership qualities is the size and success of the agencies he has presided over – OMD is consistently the market leader, and PHD not too far behind.
At Omnicom, Horgs has rolled out a program to hire mid-level talent from non-media backgrounds, an effort to improve diversity. The group took home the coveted MFA Awards Agency Talent and Culture Award for large businesses. Not only popular with clients, Horgan has been a mentor and friend to some of the industry’s top leaders, including the names directly above and below him on this list. He is heavily involved in evolving the industry for the better.
1. Aimee Buchanan, CEO, GroupM ANZ
Since taking the helm of Group M in 2021, Aimee Buchanan’s leadership has been nothing short of sensational. She has installed outstanding new leaders at Mindshare (Maria Grivas) and more recently EssenceMediacom (Pippa Berlocher), while leading the group through the Essence and MediaCom merger – one of the most significant in this industry of recent times. Buchanan is an inspirational and empathetic figurehead that brings out the best in her teams.
In the most recent RECMA qualitative report, GroupM overtook perennial leader Omnicom Media Group for the first time in years. In fact, under Buchanan’s guidance, GroupM has move the fourth-placed group with 14 points collectively to top spot with 49, with each of the three agencies – EssenceMediacom, Mindshare and Wavemaker – improving their score.
Buchanan has been one of the strongest advocates for diversity and inclusion, and led the charge for sustainable media in this market. In 2023, she was voted number one in B&T’s Women in Media Power List.
