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Chief growth officer Peter Collins amongst the latest exits from VMLY&R

WPP AU NZ-owned agency VMLY&R has experienced three more departures from its ranks, including chief growth officer Peter Collins.

Collins had been with the agency just over three years, taking the role after spending a year as the head of sales at 4mation Technologies.

Chief growth officer Peter Collins is the latest exec to depart VMLY&R

Other departures include associate strategy director Bryan Wilmot, and head of people and culture Tara Jackson.

In September last year, WPP announced it would be merging creative agency Y&R with digital agency VML to create VMLY&R.

Wilmot joined the agency as associate strategy director just one month after the merger was announced. Wilmot previously spent six years at Leo Burnett, starting in 2012 as social media coordinator and steadily getting promoted up the ranks to leave as a senior strategist.

Jackson departed VMLY&R in June, after just shy of three years with the agency. She joined in 2016 as agency director and spent six months as head of people and culture for Australia and New Zealand. Jackson previously worked at VML as executive producer between 2011 and 2014.

Jackson is now working at non-profit organisation Hands Across the Water as head of sales and marketing.

The four departures follow the exits of regional operations director Jeremy de Villiers, head of strategy and innovation Dave Di Veroli, head of platforms and experiences Tim Fletcher, and managing partner Katie Dally.

In May, co-CEO Pete Bosilkovski announced his departure from the merged agency, and was soon followed in June by fellow CEO Aden Hepburn. As a result Jon Bird was installed as the agency’s new CEO.

A spokesperson for WPP AU NZ told Mumbrella: “With the arrival of new regional CEO Jon Bird, VMLY&R is undergoing a measured restructure and streamlining of its business.

“The reported departures are a mix of natural attrition and some Sydney staff choosing to leave the business. Tara Jackson, head of people and culture, left VMLY&R three months ago for lifestyle reasons after relocating to Queensland. Chief growth officer, Peter Collins, left a month ago to pursue other opportunities. Bryan Wilmot, associate strategy director left last Friday.

“VMLY&R continues to strategically reorganise and restructure for the future in a variety of ways – promoting from within, transferring staff from its U.S. operations, and hiring for a range of new roles, with announcements to be made soon.”

It had been reported elsewhere that design director Mark Berry has left VMLY&R, however a WPP spokesperson confirmed to Mumbrella that he was still with the agency.

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