Digitas Australia MD moving to global WPP role
Digitas Australia managing director, Ian Gough, is leaving Australia and Publicis Groupe, for a new role at WPP in London.
Gough will join WPP as new business director within the marketing and growth team, reporting to Laurent Ezekiel, WPP’s chief marketing and growth officer.
WPP plc recently completed the takeover of the WPP AUNZ, causing CEO Jens Monsees to step down from his role. London-based CEO Mark Read and the company’s board are now looking for a country manager to oversee the region’s operations.
WPP management are also looking still for a replacement for the GroupM CEO role, following Mark Lollback’s departure in March this year, ahead of the takeover.
It was announced yesterday that Gough would be replaced at Publicis-owned Digitas by Rebecca Zemunik.
Ian Gough
In his new role, Gough will be managing new business as part of the global growth team, and catering to clients and new business demands, while building on 2020 WPP new business wins. He will work closely with WPP agencies to support and put together integrated offerings for clients across the areas of communications, experience, commerce and technology.
Ezekiel said of Gough’s appointment: “With his extensive experience spanning global markets from the UK, Hong Kong to Australia, Ian Gough will be an excellent addition to our growth team. WPP has led the new business league tables in the past year and we are looking to build on this success. I’m very much looking forward to working with Ian to bring creative transformation to life for our clients.”
Digitas CEO ANZ Adrian Farouk said: “We wish Ian Gough and his wife, our design director Emma Gough, the very best with their move back home to the UK. We thank them for their important contribution to Digitas, helping to develop valuable client relationships and steering breakthrough work. We can’t speak highly enough of them and needless to say, both will be missed.”
Publicis Groupe ANZ CEO, Michael Rebelo, added: “I would also like to thank Ian and Emma Gough for their incredible contribution to the growth and success of Digitas. I wish them, and their daughter Dani, all the very best back in the UK.”
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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