Katie Rigg-Smith appointed Mindshare CEO
Mindshare has confirmed last night’s reports of the appointment of chief strategy officer Katie Rigg-Smith as the new CEO of Mindshare Australasia.
Rigg-Smith is to take the helm of the agency after the departure of boss James Greet to run Ikon Communications was announced yesterday. Mindshare has also promoted chief exchange officer Sharb Farjami to the role of COO but with continued oversight over the trading desk.
Although Rigg-Smith will not be the first female leader of a major Australian media agency – her predecessors have included Belinda Rowe at Zenith Optimedia, Anne Parsons at Mediacom and Tracey Michael at Initiative – she will be the only current one. She will also be among the youngest.
“It’s a testament to the breadth of talent at Mindshare that we can promote Katie and Sharb into these leadership positions,” said John Steedman GroupM CEO and chairman.
“Both Katie & Sharb are outstanding talents and I know they will take Mindshare to the next level and continue to deliver original thinking to their clients.”
Rigg-Smith has been with the WPP agency for 14 years. She joined as a graduate trainee around 14 years ago and was given the chief strategy role two years ago.
“I am incredibly excited by this opportunity and look forward to working alongside the Mindshare leadership team in continuing to focus on great thinking that delivers results for our clients’ business,” said Rigg-Smith.
Sharb joined the company two years ago from Viacom. Mindshare said it will appoint a new strategy officer “in due course” to replace Rigg-Smith.
Nic Christensen
Congratulations Katie. Always a pleasure to work with you and it’s fantastic to see you get this role. Good luck with it. Phil
User ID not verified.
Are her gender or her age really relevant? How about we just list some of her professional accomplishments instead, seeing as that’s how she probably got the job.
User ID not verified.
First class person. Well done.
Tim mindshare Melbourne is also xx led.
User ID not verified.
Hi Me,
Not to mention Nicole Body at Mediacom in Brisbane. I was thinking of national CEO roles rather than state based.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Hi Sarah,
In the context that there has been an ongoing debate about the lack of women in senior media agency roles, yes it is: https://mumbrella.com.au/a-message-to-the-men-of-the-media-federation-146342
In terms of her ability to do the job, of course not.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Well done Katie
User ID not verified.
Congratulations to Katie and bravo to GroupM for an inspired choice. Sarah, you are 100% right, her gender should not be at all relevant. However, given the current state of our industry, I agree with Tim that it is an issue that needs to be raised.
User ID not verified.
I may be biased but…. Katie you are such an inspiration to many people in the industry – much of this is based on your work ethic, dedication and how generous you are with your time to everyone. You deserve this promotion and will be amazing.
(you’re also a pretty awesome little sister xxx)
User ID not verified.
Congrats. What an excellent appointment. Someone with intelligence, charisma and highly developed media and marketing skills.
User ID not verified.
Good to see someone stay with the same company for 14 years and end up as CEO! Well done Katie.
User ID not verified.
A great achievement for both Katie and Sharb and very well deserved! Congratulations to both! They will take the agency to the next level without a doubt.
User ID not verified.