Former Publicis Chairman Andrew Baxter joins KPMG advisory practice
Consulting firm KPMG Australia has appointed former Publicis Communications chairman and Publicis Australia CEO, Andrew Baxter, as a senior adviser to its customer, brand and marketing advisory business.
Baxter stood down as chairman of Publicis Communications in March this year after four years in the role. Prior to joining Publicis, Baxter had been the managing director of Ogilvy Australia for three years.
KPMG’s Paul Howes, Andrew Baxter and Carmen Bekker
Baxter started his career in 1993 at Young & Rubicam, moving to head of account management there in 1998, before joining Singleton & Mather in 2004 as executive director, becoming CEO of Badjar Ogilvy in 2007 and head of the whole group in May 2011.
The former Publicis head is the latest appointment to KPMG’s advisory business which has seen former Virgin Australia chief customer officer Mark Hassell and Google Australia Lisa Bora join the practice. In his new role Baxter will advise CBMA clients on his specialty areas of brand and customer experience and work with senior management on a new market initiative.
Last November former JWT and Saatchi & Saatchi staffer Carmen Bekker was appointed to lead the Australian CMO advisory team.
Baxter said of his appointment: “I’m excited to be joining the fast-growing team at KPMG. The rise of the customer is reshaping how businesses operate, and now more than ever Australian companies need a “whole of organisation” approach to their marketing and operations.”
Paul Howes, partner-in-charge of KPMG CBMA said: “In under a year our CBMA team has grown to over 100 people and is delivering work for some of Australia’s most forward-thinking organisations – Andrew will help us build to the next level.
“He is one of Australia’s most respected brand leaders with over 25 years of pushing the status quo when it comes to helping brands connect with their customers. He also brings unparalleled insights into how clients can bring maximum value to the brand and consumer value chain, as well as a compelling lens to help our clients reshape their customer conversations.”
Baxter will start with KPMG’s Sydney office later this year.
Worked with Andrew on a famous nappy account. I saw him constantly out-smart the biggest creative ego in the business. He cuts through it. Best of luck!
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Here comes KPMG, chasing the Accenture and PwC train. Time for some CMO panels, a few big agency acquisitions and a foray into programmatic media. After denying it all first.
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