Ben Shepherd departs Sound Alliance, US Sydney GM Ryan Bernal replaces him in wider MD role
Ryan Bernal
Ben Shepherd
Ben Shepherd, the commercial director at Sound Alliance, is leaving the company.
The former digital director at Maxus, who is a columnist on the Business Spectator, is calling time on a two and half year spell at the youth specialist to return to Melbourne.
Ryan Bernal, the general manager of US Sydney, has replaced Shepherd in a wider role as managing director. He will report to Sound Alliance CEO and founder Neil Ackland.
Sites owned by Sound Alliance include In The Mix, Faster Louder and Same Same.
Bernal leaves US Sydney after just over a year and a half with the agency, having joined from Whybin\TBWA where was an account director.
Bernal told Mumbrella in a statement:
Sound Alliance was such an appealing opportunity, I couldn’t wait to get started. Not only are they experts in youth marketing, but they own and operate major digital properties like inthemix, Faster Louder and Same Same. They don’t just create campaigns for youth brands, they actually live youth culture 24/7. It’s quite rare to work for a company that literally practices what it preaches and it’s an amazing USP for the organization. The ‘Sound Alliance’ name is a bit of a misnomer, because they do so much more than music and music activations – they are a full-fledged youth agency which I don’t think the market is fully aware of. I look forward to doing some great work and raising the profile of what is already a great company.
Shepherd’s next movements remain unclear.
