GroupM’s Wavemaker adds first people and culture lead locally
GroupM media agency Wavemaker has appointed Daniel Mitchell as its inaugural people and culture lead for Australia.
Mitchell joins from Meat & Livestock Australia where he was human resources business partner for three years. Prior to that he held several senior people and talent roles at PwC, where he focused on business partnering, sourcing and mobilising talent across the globe.
Daniel Mitchell, people and culture lead, Wavemaker
GroupM recently announced that Aimee Buchanan, CEO of Omnicom agency OMD, would take up the role of CEO, left vacant following the departure earlier on the year of Mark Lollback.
Mitchell will be part of the Wavemaker senior management team and work closely with state and national leaders to develop and deliver people initiatives and solutions.
Wavemaker CEO, Peter Vogel, said: “It’s an exciting time to be joining Wavemaker, as there’s a buzz following a few big, exciting announcements in quick succession. There are busy times ahead but extremely positive things to make you excited to be a Wavemaker. I’m delighted to have Daniel on board. His experience at PwC and more recently MLA, has exposed him to all aspects of the employee life cycle.
“He has the right blend of commercial and HR expertise, strategic thinking and a focus on culture, employee engagement, and coaching. He will help drive the Wavemaker people proposition to ensure success for the business and support all our people with their individual career development plans.”
Mitchell said of his new role: “This is a different industry for me, but once I was introduced to what Wavemaker and GroupM do, I was sold! Before joining I spoke to people from Wavemaker, GroupM and WPP and those conversations fuelled my determination to become a Wavemaker!
“I’m someone that needs to work with purpose so it’s extremely encouraging to know I work at a growth-focused place that also values their contribution to wider society through things like a pro-bono partnership with Whitelion through UnLtd. That speaks to the culture and what the agency is about. It’s why I wanted to join and why I’m excited about being part of shaping the future of Wavemaker.”
Wavemaker recently announced it has won L’Oréal across Australia and New Zealand. In the past few years, Wavemaker has won a number of ‘new economy’ clients, including DoorDash, Netflix, AirBnB and Bumble.
GroupM is part of WPP.
