Former Leo Burnett Sydney chief operating officer Josh Grace will be returning to Australia as Samsung’s local chief marketing officer to replace Philip Newton who left the company last August.
A long-standing Leos employee, Grace left the agency’s Singapore office in 2015 and joined global healthcare company Abbott as its APAC regional marketing head.
Incoming Samsung CMO Grace: “This is an incredibly important time for the brand”
Grace will oversee marketing for Samsung Electronics Australia and will also manage partnership programs, which currently includes Qantas, the Sydney Opera House and Netball Australia.
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“I’m thrilled to take on this position at Samsung Electronics Australia and work with such an inspiring global brand and passionate team of marketers and business leaders right here in Australia,” Grace said in a media statement.
“This is an incredibly important time for the brand as we explore fresh and innovative ways to reach our customers and communicate what makes Samsung different and why our approach to customers is so special.”
Grace, who was a member of the Australian sailing team at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, worked at Leos for more than a decade – first as group business director, then MD of the agency’s direct arm, before moving to work alongside then CEO Todd Sampson as COO.
Speaking to Mumbrella Asia on his appointment to the Abbott Singapore role in 2015, Grace described how he believed Asia was the future.
“I really believe Asia is the future – the centre of where everything important is going to happen in the world in the next 10-20 years,” he said.
“I moved here for my kids too. Australian kids need to understand the enormous change that’s going on, and that Asia is at the heart of it. We, as Australians, can get stuck on an island at the bottom of the Pacific. We’re connected in some ways, but in others we are unconnected. Asia gets more dynamic, interesting and influential day by day, and Australians need to get a grip on that reality.
“In my mind, there’s no time frame for how long I’ll be here. My job is nowhere near done yet. I’ve got ambitions, and those ambitions will take several years to fulfil.”