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New IPG Mediabrands boss Danny Bass wields axe at Ensemble installing new CEO

Melissa Fein

Melissa Fein: new Ensemble CEO

Just months after taking the helm at IPG Mediabrands, CEO Danny Bass has shaken up the management at creative, sponsorship and activation agency, Ensemble, bringing in Melissa Fein from MCN as the new CEO.

The management restructure sees both the current CEO Justin Ricketts and managing director Tim Hodgson leaving the business to “pursue new opportunities”.

Fein had been the national head of Generate, Ten’s client solutions division, before joining MCN in the merger of Ten and MCN’s sales.

She had previously worked with Mindshare’s ESP Australia and has also worked with News Corp Australia and MTV.

Bass took over from Tajer in May 2015

Bass took over from Tajer in May 2015

Bass said the management reshuffle was a resetting of the course for the agency.

“We are announcing a change in the leadership for Ensemble that sets the stage for new growth opportunities and a renewed focus for this very creative and partnerships-centric business,” said Bass.

“We have an exceptional incoming CEO in Melissa Fein, who has a truly impressive business record in leading creative, media owner and brand partnerships to their full potential. I am simply delighted that Melissa has accepted the Ensemble CEO role.”

While at Ten, Fein oversaw a number of key commercial partnerships for the network including the content series for Toyota’s Kluger featuring Modern Family’s Phil Dunphy and has also worked on sponsorship partnerships for Masterchef, The Bachelor and Bachelorette.

Fein said she was looking forward to working with Ensemble across the other Mediabrands’ agencies.

“There is no limit to the potential impact of brand and media-owner partnerships that strike a powerful connection for people on any device,” said Fein.

“Ensemble is already a highly-visible player and I am looking forward to both leading the business and collaborating with the other businesses at Mediabrands.”

Bass jumped from his role at GroupM as investment director in May of last year to take over as CEO of IPG Mediabrands from Henry Tajer, who was elevated to a global role.

The shake-up at Ensemble is the first major move Bass has made since he took on the role.

Ensemble employs 50 staff across its Sydney and Melbourne offices and clients include the Australian Defence Force, Nestlé and Lego.

The agency recently struck a deal with Beyond Productions to partner in the creation of virtual reality content.

Simon Canning

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