New IPG Mediabrands boss Danny Bass wields axe at Ensemble installing new 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 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
Well done legend…
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A brilliant hire. Mel is an exceptional talent and will undoubtedly bring that to bear at Ensemble.
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more churn at Mediabrands, revolving door of madness, why would any client put their trust in Mediabrands with ever changing management. Who will be next.
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Melissa is the best in the business ….
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Ruthless company. Smart and hard working people seem to lose their jobs there for no reason. Next to no stability – would never give them my business.
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@Christian that is one of the most ridiculous comments I’ve read on here for a while, and there are plenty to choose from. No doubt you work at a competitor. For what it’s worth, Mediabrands has the lowest churn (staff and management) of any of the major groups. Oh, and unlike you I will openly admit my bias by telling you I work there.
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Such a shame. Why mess with an agency with such strong momentum. Justin and Tim – will be in touch soon. No-one knows the industry like you guys. Mel – good luck.
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Well done Mel… Great hire!
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Hatched job if ever I saw one. Why cull the management team of an agency with strong momentum? As a competitor I’m happy to see them messing with a winning formula but not at the expense of two guys who were doing a good job and had grown the business out of nothing. I’ve heard Mel is good but the end doesn’t justify the means. Another example of a lack of loyalty from a cut throat media agency.
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I know nothing anything about the internal running of the company, but why would they need both a CEO and Managing Director? Clearly they don’t if both have been replaced by one person…
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Can only second @fromthesidelines comments and ask why?Seems like a very blunt instrument, current clients will be distrupted, all the work put into new clients is in limbo and staff get jittery….best of luck to the incoming CEO but there has to be a more elegant solution than this…
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As a competitor of Ensemble I can honestly say this made my day. They were the agency we most feared and respected. They had momentum and the right model. Losing the two guys who understood this business is a huge mistake. Any Ensemble clients reading this – you have just lost the of the specialist experience you were buying. Time to move on (unless Mediabrands are [Edited under Mumbrella’s moderation policies])
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Seems like a bit of a kick in the nuts not commending them for the work and years put into the business to date, for which has made it so successful. Management may have reasons for decisions like this but there is always a standard for which it should be communicated and managed both for internal and external stakeholders… Both of which has come across too aggressive in this instance.
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Find me an agency in this space that has done so well in the last 5 years?
Surely a large part of this success is due to their leadership? I wonder if media agency executives actually understand what it is they do?
Mel – you will be a great successor – but the business will be worse off without those guys.
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Congrats Mel & good luck.
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